Big in Japan: Are children becoming addicted to cell phones?

by Matthew Firestone on

At the risk of sounding like the anchorman on your local news channel, I’ll go head and pose a somewhat sensationalist question:

Are children suffering from cell phone addiction?

If you’re a member of the Japanese government, then the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’

According to Mr. Masahuru Kuba, a high-ranking government official who is proposing a limited ban on cell phones in schools, young students are suffering from the negative effects of cell phone overuse. In particular, Mr. Kuba believes that cell phone addiction can cause kids to inadvertently participate in cyber crimes, and sacrifice free time in favor of exchanging text messages with their friends.

“Japanese parents are giving cell phones to their children without giving it enough thought,” says Mr. Kuba. “In Japan, cell phones have become expensive toys that have moved beyond mere communication devices. Parents are finding it more and more difficult to monitor what they’re children are doing with their cell phones.”

Indeed, the numbers are striking. According to government statistics published by the Ministry of Education, about one-third of Japanese sixth graders have cell phones, while almost two-thirds of ninth graders have them. However, some Japanese children commute long distances by trains and buses to schools, and busy parents rely on cell phones to keep in touch with their children.

Along with the proposed partial ban of cell phones in schools, Mr. Masahuru Kuba is also recommending that Japanese cell phone makers implement special child-friendly models. Specifically, these models would only feature talking functions and global positioning systems (GPS), which would allow parents to monitor the location of their child.

In particular, Mr. Kuba is worried about the growing trend of using cell phones for internet access and e-mail. According to Mr. Kuba: “Some children are spending hours at night on e-mail with their friends. One phenomenon is ‘the 30 minute rule,’ in which a child who doesn’t respond to e-mail within half an hour gets targeted and picked on by other schoolmates.”

In addition, other children have become victims of internet crimes. In one high profile case, a young girl was asked to send in her snapshots for a beauty contest, and was then blackmailed for money in order to have them taken down from an explicit website. While Japan does boast a relatively low crime rate in comparison to other developed nations, Internet-crime is sadly on the rise, especially since Japanese people tend to be very trusting people.

So, once again I pose the question to all of you: do you think that children are suffering from cell phone addiction?

Feel free to chime in and share your thoughts as this is certainly not a clear cut and dry issue, and it’s likely that you’re going to start to hear more about this in the years to come. After all, cell phones in Japan are already equipped with television, so it’s only a matter of time before Americans can start taking their favorite shows with them everywhere…

Sense Networks can show you around town with Citysense

by Justin Glow on

Have you ever, upon arriving in a new city, wandered aimlessly in search of a popular place to eat or drink? Of course you have.

A new mobile company, Sense Networks, promises to make this much easier in the future with a new, somewhat creepy/bizarre cell phone application called Citysense that supernaturally senses the information emitted by cell phones and displays the results as a heat map on your own miniature screen (right).

The blotches of red represent large groups of people in a particular location, assuming most of them have cell phones. That data is then cross referenced with Yelp and Google Maps to provide information on what is actually at that location. So popular events, restaurants, or nightclubs are easily spotted and displayed along with their pertinent information.

Currently the service is being publicly tested with BlackBerry users in San Francisco only, with plans to support the iPhone and extend to other major U.S. metro areas in the near future.

For more information, visit Tech Crunch’s article on the service, or head directly to Sense Network’s website.

European Union regulators approve in-flight mobile phone use

by Grant Martin on

It is officially starting to happen — this morning, EU authorities approved the use of cell phone calls in flight, thus opening the floodgates for widespread mobile phone service and development on all European carriers.

You may recall that last month Emirates, the Dubai based luxury carrier boasted the first cruising-altitude mobile service on their aircraft and that several carriers in the United States are tinkering with the same technology. The difference in these cases is that by and large these services are limited to particular flights and routes.

These new rules applied in the EU essentially let any carrier develop and implement any technology to their liking. So you can expect several carriers to come up with several different means of communicating over the course of the year. It also means, however, that the airlines will have authority over the service. Your mobile signal will come from the aircraft, so the crew will have the ability to restrict or remove service at their discretion. And they will also have the ability to charge for it.

But at what rates? Will standard minute and roaming fees apply? Will the airlines charge extra for the privilege of crackberrying at 30,000 ft? There’s no official word on service and rates yet, but considering airlines are now charging to be nice to you, I wouldn’t doubt if we had to pay.

Either way, don’t expect your KLM flight to turn into a chatterbox immediately. Carriers need to integrate service at cruising altitude (ground towers usually don’t reach to 30,000 feet at 600MPH, especially if you’re over water) and unroll their own rules and regulations. Enjoy your silence while you have it.

How to use your mobile phone abroad

by Jeremy Kressmann on

I understand why many people don’t pack a mobile phone when they leave the country. Aside from the high costs for international roaming, many associate mobile phones with the annoyances and stresses of day-to-day life. Nevertheless, I am a strong proponent of bringing your phone along for your trip. With a few small modifications, your phone can become a tremendous enhancement while you’re out of the country. When I travel with my friends, we usually carry two phones so we can meet if we split up. Not to mention the joy it brings to my friend Nick or my parents when I dial them from Spain at 3 in the morning. And the best part of all this? You can even avoid the painful international price-gouging that usually comes with using it.

But before you can enjoy this blissful world of cheap local calling worldwide, you’ll need to take a few simple steps to get your phone ready for travel. Here’s Gadling’s guide to using your mobile phone abroad. Follow along as we take you through the steps.

IT’S THE NETWORK

The most important part of using your phone abroad is having a model that is compatible with the worldwide wireless networks. For 95% of the world (excluding Korea and Japan) that standard is GSM. You’ll want a phone that is compatible with the GSM system. If you live in the U.S., both AT&T and T-Mobile, along with a few smaller wireless carriers, use GSM systems. Check with your provider if you’re not sure. If you have service with a GSM carrier, you’re already a step ahead, though you still need to confirm if your phone is tri-band or quad-band, which I will explain in the next step. If you are a Verizon or Sprint customer, your phone is not compatible unless you have a “world phone” – but don’t despair. You can easily purchase a cheap phone online or through a third party retailer.

TRI-BAND VS. QUAD-BAND

In addition to a phone that works on a GSM network, different countries operate using different “frequencies” within GSM. Don’t worry about matching a specific frequency when you travel – instead make use of a phone that works across all the various frequencies. A phone that is quad-band works across all four GSM frequencies and will allow you the most flexibility. Tri-band phones will work in most situations, but there’s a few exceptions. Quad-Band is always your best bet. Check your phone’s user manual to find out what kind of phone you have.
BUYING A PHONE

For those lucky enough to already have a GSM-compatible, quad-band phone, skip this step and move to the next step, unlocking. For everyone else, you’ll want to get yourself a compatible phone. You can rent these types of phones online, but they can be purchased for about the same price and you get to keep it indefinitely. Sites like Amazon and eBay have lots of cheap handsets for sale. Find one you like and keep your eye out for the word “unlocked,” which I’ll explain in my next step. Also make sure it accepts a SIM card and that it’s quad-band or tri-band as mentioned before.

UNLOCKING

So you’ve gotten yourself the right phone, but there’s one last step before you’re ready to use it abroad. GSM phones use a technology called a SIM card that identifies your particular phone and its account on the wireless network (see the photo above for an example). If you open the battery pack on the back of the phone, you’ll see a little plastic chip wedged into a slot. That’s your SIM card. Wireless companies in the U.S. “lock” their phones so that if you take out their SIM, it’s useless. You will need to remove this protection before using it abroad. So we’re clear, you can still use “locked” phones in other countries – it’s just that you’re paying $2.00/minute to your favorite phone company back home. By unlocking, you’re using local service providers and getting cheaper rates.

There are a few ways to unlock but the easiest is to buy a phone that comes pre-unlocked. Search for the term “unlocked” on Amazon or eBay and you’ll see what I mean. You can also unlock a phone you already have that is locked. Surprisingly, your wireless carrier will typically give you the codes and instructions to do it, provided you’re not a brand new customer. I called up AT&T and they simply gave me the instructions. Done. It’s not always that easy however – if you’re unsure at all, take it to a third party wireless store and they’ll do it for a small fee. Or check out this.

LOCAL SIM

Your phone is unlocked, congratulations. All you need now is a local SIM card. You can either buy these online (check out Telestial) or you can buy a SIM card when you arrive at your destination. In most countries, mobile phone stores sell prepaid wireless service for low rates along with a SIM card for their network. Once you’re set up, you can add more minutes with refill cards bought at places like ATM’s, convenience stores, newstands or even online. You might also wonder if the SIM card you buy in one country works in others. The answer is typically yes – I have used SIM cards from Spain while traveling in Italy at rates that were still reasonable. The tricky part is when you go to add minutes in other countries. To make this process easier, try to find a wireless carrier who operates in more than one country. A good example in Europe is Vodafone, which offers service and minute refills in Spain, Italy, Germany, the UK, France and Belgium among others.

That’s it. It can definitely seem confusing at first, but there are plenty of resources online to help you if you get stuck. Sites like Telestial or Howard Forums are great resources if you need more information. Give me a ring and say hello once you’ve got it working, will you?

The pocket translator goes mobile

by Jeremy Kressmann on

One of the more difficult parts of my trip to Russia last year was the language barrier. Aside from having to navigate a whole new alphabet, it was difficult at times to find anyone that understood English. I frequently found myself pointing and gesturing or making use of a few phrases of poorly pronounced Russian I had picked up from my guidebook. That’s why I was excited to hear about Steape, a Dutch company that produces a line of language dictionaries and phrasebooks you can download to your mobile phone.

According to the Steape website, the company offers two main products, Steape Travel and Steape Mini Speaking Dictionary. Steape Travel offers a catalog of around 100 commonly used travel phrases, whereas the Mini Speaking Dictionary offers a database of around 500 traveler-friendly words. Both can be purchased on the Steape site for only $4 each. If you purchase Steape Travel or Mini Speaking Dictionary, you’ll also get Steape Knowledge as a free bonus, which has basic vocabulary like numbers and days of the week. The interface for each application works basically the same way – you search for a word or phrase you want to use and press the action key to have it pronounced using your phone’s speaker.

Currently, the applications are supported on more than 160 phone models and in 17 different languages. Check out the site to verify compatibility for your particular phone model and language needs. For only $4, Steape seems to have a cheap and highly useful application on their hands. Then again, as Jamie suggested recently in her post, there are “alternative” methods to help you learn foreign language phrases for your next trip.

[Via: Xellular Identity]