Toshiba innovates ‘invitation-only’ mobile phone 22 March 2008
Posted by Michael in Branding, Innovation, Japan, News, Products, Services.add a comment
This set of handsets from Toshiba targets the ultra-luxury segment who want to be seen with the rarest of personal devices. Although Toshiba brought some interesting things together, none are terrifically unique. A high-profile designer, a long wait for exclusivity factor, some concierge services and a hunt-for-it availability. The ‘invitation-only’ is a bit misleading as it is available to people who seek out a special code in a magazine. What could have been more interesting, and perhaps even more lucrative, is to make it truly invitation only.
[From InventorSpot]
Google turns to ‘Lab Japan’ 15 March 2008
Posted by Michael in Innovation, Insight, Japan, News, Telecom.add a comment
Japan’s handset-toting masses, it seems, have a lot to teach the Net giant. The country has become a vast lab for Google as it tries to refine mobile search technology. That’s because Japan’s 100 million cell-phone users represent the most diverse—and discriminating—pool of mobile subscribers on the planet. While Google also does plenty of testing elsewhere, the Japanese are often more critical because they are as likely to tap into the Net with a high-tech phone as a PC and can do so at speeds rivaling fixed-line broadband. And because Japanese carriers have offered such services for years, plenty of Web sites are formatted for cell phones.
[From Businessweek]
