Author Archive

Aurora Lights up Japanese Mobiles

“Live!Aurora” is beaming the sights of the aurora borealis from Alaska straight to mobile phones in Japan. Due to the time zone difference, Japanese consumers can enjoy the sites of the aurora between lunchtime and evening. As well as being able to watch streaming video of northern lights, the site also offers video on demand and still images for download. Offered as a subscription service costing 315 yen per month ($2.60).

Posted: 26 February 2007 | Filed under: Content Providers, New Tech & Services | ..Continue >> 

Maintain Your Molars with Your Mobile

Nobody likes going to the dentist, but there have been a couple of dental-related mobile services recently released in Japan that make the whole ordeal that bit less painful. First is Let’s go to the dentist!, a mobile dentist search. Not only can you search and find dental clinics all over Japan, you can also search for specialist dentists and view their locations on a map. After your visit, you can write a review of the whole ordeal to receive points which you can swap for goods or redeem as cashback on your next visit.

Posted: 8 February 2007 | Filed under: New Tech & Services, Sign of the Times | ..Continue >> 

Create Nail Art on the go with Nail Club

Japan is unique in that consumer studies show that females use the mobile internet more than their male counterparts and you can see evidence of this in the large number of content sites aimed mainly at women. Beauty Walker and howzy !BEAUTY are examples I’ve posted in the past. Add recently announced Nail Club [.pdf], a nail art simulator for the mobile, to that list. You start with a blank canvas (an unpolished nail) and create your own design using 72 colours, 300 types of airbrush, 200 holograms, 100 3D decorations and 300 gems.

Posted: 1 February 2007 | Filed under: Japan Market, Mobile Users | ..Continue >> 

Psycho-Analyse Your Mobile Messages

Have you ever received a message on your phone from someone special but weren’t sure whether the text represented their true feelings? It’s this kind of problem that Animo is trying to solve with its new i-mode service Email Truth Checker which is similar to the Feel*Mail handset function I posted on yesterday. To use the service, you choose your gender and the relationship between you and the person whose message you want to analyse (you can chose from partner, crush, superior, family etc.). After you’ve uploaded the message in question, the system analyses the language used and rates the authenticity of the feelings expressed.

Posted: 24 January 2007 | Filed under: New Tech & Services, Sign of the Times | ..Continue >>