Toshiba W55T Cellural Phone
Toshiba’s W55T cellural phone (which is sold through AU / KDDI service currently) turned out to be a very useful gadget.
First thing you’ll notice is perhaps it’s sleek metal design, and how amazingly slim it is. The phone will slip comfortably even in that smaller pocket in your jacket or jeans. It will open with that traditional Japanese keitai "snap" sound effect. With a little practise, opening it up is possible with one hand, for example when carrying a suitcase or bag with other hand.
Interesting design gimmick in this phone is it’s 7x7 led display on top of the cover. It will show caller’s name upon receiving a call, and interesting (and cute!) figures as scrolling text. Every time you close the flap, it will show a random funny figure and time. If only they had used more leds..
The phone has pretty much the feature set that any Japanese phone has, a standard cellphone email, Opera browser that is capable browsing almost any website, calendar, AU Music Player, 2 megapixel camera, MicroSD slot, calculator, and so on. The photos don’t look bad at all when shot in 2 megapixel mode, which by the way, requires the optional MicroSD card. I got my 1 gig card while purchasing the phone and it was pretty good deal, setting me back about 2000 yen. In addition it is possible to record super tiny videos with this phone at QVGA resolution at most.
The QR code reader is a very handy for those who are tired typing URL addresses - most Japanese pamphlets, product packages and advertisements have that strange square filled with black pixel mess, for convenienece of reading the data into phone via camera, so now the handy mobile owner can browse directly to the mobile-friendly website with push of a button.
The phone comes with various themes for menu background and operation colours. The default theme of the phone is an uninspiring moving credit card, background. Another feature a travel themed moving images and then there is very nicely designed seal - type of background thing. But the themes don't add any functionality and exist solely for an eye candy. In addition there are 3D animations which appear when receiving emails that contain smileys. If there is no smiley in email, the 3D animation will show a yellow cubic dog.
In addition there is a rolling text bar which contain news feed, all in Japanese of course. Im yet to figure out how to turn this annoying feature off.
The voice quality of phone call is very good, but the default setting of the speaker is little too quiet, so user must adjust the speaker to the loudest setting especially when using the phone in noisy environment.
“Manner Mode”, the silent vibrating mode is easy to set on by pushing one of the two buttons on back of the phone. This is suitable for noisy places where you can’t hear the phone’s ringtone or cannot allow using phone. I’m not sure if it’s possible to set the phone to vibrate when not in Manner Mode. Another back button will toggle recording mode on for recording voice memos.
Unfortunately I couldn’t test the beautifully designed AU Music Player or LISMO service because the required software is available only for PC. Almost all AU phones feature a music library software AU Music Player which is similar to Apple’s iTunes in function. User can purchase songs from LISMO and arrange them into playlists in their devices and share their preferred songs and ratings and reviews with their friends in LISMO community.
Uploading your own MP3 music to your phone requires using the software, which as mentioned, is only for Windows. The USB cable and ear phones is included in the box. It would seem that the device does not support bluetooth.
Most of the standard mobile phones in Japan have no English user interface or manual - and W55T shows no surprise. The tiny “English Simple Manual” tells next to nothing to the user. Voice Mail does have English announcement function and manual teaches you how to use it though.
Having tested most of Nokia’s latest models, in my opinion, W55T is totally competitive product almost in all ways. User interface was smooth and very fast in function. If they polished the corners a bit on few things, such as the folder arrangement and sending attachment files, this would be a great device.
Personally I liked this simple, stylish design which is available as three variations, Gold, Platinum and brushed aluminium.
The phone is mostly sold through AU deals , mine was free, but user must pay the monthly fee. AU and other Japanese phone operator deals are only available for permanent residents of Japan. But if you want to grab the device while your short stay, you might be able to find it from phone rental services.
The phone works only in Japan, as far as I know.
See also my review of Softbank prepaid phone.
Now, what's your opinion?
thanks
For anyone outside of Japan looking to buy a japanese mobile, consider this. Most (all?) keitai will NOT work outside of japan. The one pictured above uses a network called CDMA-500WIN, a proprietary 4,5G network used by AU.
I believe the only mobiles you can use overseas are AU's Sony Ericsson keitai, and then only in GSM mode with a japanese carrier. Roaming is expensive however, and you will not be able too keep your service if you are not a resident of Japan. Furthermore, some 3G phones from DoCoMo and Softbank will be able to roam but are, most certainly, not usable with overseas service providers.
This leaves the iPhone, which you can find anywhere.
My tuppence... Oh yeah, the Toshiba above is great! A few drawbacks, the platinum finish is prone to scratch and battery life could have been better. I did, however, love it during my stay in Japan.
Also to buy mobile phone in Japan usually requires to sign into a service with carrier. In my case I got AU by KDDI. The rates are a bit high but then you get points every month. I once washed my phone in washing machine accidentally. I got a replacement phone for free because I had enough points.
Personally I don't have experience with roaming abroad, so perhaps, as you said, even the 3G phones won't be able to roam. I have used Softbank in Europe however to check my mail and websites.