SHARP IS03

My trusty old SANYO W63SA started acting erratic the other week, so I decided to retire the poor guy after 30 months of service. I considered joining the iPhone revolution but eventually decided against it since the SoftBank coverage is less than spectacular down here. Since I wasn't too keen on the idea of switching carriers, the decision to pick up KDDI's SHARP IS03 was a no-brainer.





Some specs:

• 3.5-inch screen with 960×640 resolution capacitive touchscreen (rivaling the iPhone 4's Retina display)
• world’s first “combination LCD” combining a main display and a secondary memory LCD (which shows the time and battery life even when the main display is off)
• 1GHz Snapdragon processor
• 9.6MP camera with CCD sensor and auto focus
• Android 2.1 with Flash Lite 4.0 support
• Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
• ports: microUSB, microSD/microSDHC (32GB max.)
• apps for YouTube and Twitter pre-installed
• battery life: 200 hours standby, 230 minutes talk time

Pretty impressive. Here's a shot of the "memory" LCD in action. Although the main display is off, the secondary display will always show the time and battery life.



The feature certainly won't change your world, but it's nice to be able to glance over at your mobile and check the time without having to pick it up, especially if you've got your hands full with paperwork. I was also somewhat surprised to find that the phone still had a pull-out digital TV antenna.



In a sense, the IS03 does its best to combine the glitz and power of the new wave of smart phones with the more traditional bells and whistles that have come to define Japan's keitai generation. I'm hearing now that the battery life isn't quite up to par with manufacturer claims, but I guess we'll see.

Drop Test: FAIL

Funny, for 4 years I couldn't break my P200 if I tried, but one good tumble is enough to split the LCD on my W380 wide open.



I thought about getting the screen replaced, but it'd probably make more sense to throw the money it'd take to repair the thing at a new point & shoot.

Ring a Ding Dong~

カエラ！〜





ドコモに異動しようかなぁ。。。

New Toys

So I finally got a proper internet connection going. Having a fast connection for the first time in forever is nice and all, but it's another sizable chunk out of my bank account that I'm going to have to deal with at the end of every month. On the plus side of things, Yamada Denki gives you a pretty hefty ２万 in credit to use as you see fit once you sign your contract with OCN. My new toys:　



I still intend to get my SLR one of these days, but the DSC-W380 gives me a nice, compact alternative to hold me over for the time being. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how my P200 is still alive and functioning after 4 years of abuse.

That's More Like It

November 28, 2008: My not yet fully operational Death Star.

November 27, 2009: Now witness the firepower of this FULLY ARMED and OPERATIONAL battle station!



Gonna go for my run an hour early because 東京事変 are performing on Music Station tonight. I guess this is how all my students feel whenever Arashi is on TV.

ついにハイビジョンTV！

Mitsubishi 32V. The store only had 3 in stock, but I managed to nab the last one by showing up first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, I was running on 4 hours of sleep and forgot to pick up an HDMI cable for the PS3. Oh well. The lame coffee table setup is just temporary until I get a proper television stand.



My old TV is going into the bedroom with the PS2 for those rainy day/typhoon Persona 4 sessions.



update: Got an HDMI cable, and indeed, the difference in picture quality at 1080p is pretty staggering. That Advent Children Blu-Ray disc is gonna get quite the workout.

「オーッホッホッホッホ！!」

It's Monday morning over here in Japan, but the weekend's really just beginning thanks to "Silver Week." We've got until Wednesday off, which makes for a whopping 5-day break from work. Apparently, the next time Japan gets this particular string of holidays is in 2015 (thanks, wiki), so I guess I should feel pretty fortunate that I happened to be around this year. What's weird is that I'm usually out traveling during these extended weekends, and as a result, I haven't been entirely sure what to do with myself at home over the past couple of days. For what it's worth, I did get a substantial bit of shopping done today: laundry detergent, milk, beef, green onions, eggs, shampoo, orange juice, Frieza's chair, etc.





Yes, in one of those odd impulse purchases that I'll undoubtedly have to explain in vain to house guests in the future, I ended up buying a フリーザ chair for my iPod.

でかっ！

Times like these I wish I were on SoftBank. There are needs and wants in life, and a 30 cm cell phone strap definitely falls under the need category.



It's just so ridiculous.



I didn't care for her much as a teenager, but Ueto Aya can pretty much sell me anything nowadays.

Blue Monday

Listening to:
安室奈美恵
WILD / Dr

I woke up 15 minutes after I was supposed to be at work today, which marks the first time that I’ve been late before even leaving the crib. I don’t know if my alarm clock failed to go off or if I just slept through it, but I think that the thing is about ready to be replaced anyway. I’ve actually been looking to get one of those swank blue LED clocks for my nightstand, but I already bought a little something for my iPod the other day:



I suppose that it can wait.

I was on the fence about Amuro's "WILD" single, but that animated video for "Dr." sealed the deal. Oddly enough, it's the instrumental for "Dr." that's been getting the most play from me. That beat is just incredible.

AU Wooo H001 (Hitachi)

My W63SA has been both durable and dependable, but the soon to be released H001 is filling my mind with adulterous thoughts. It supposedly features a 3D display, which I'm assuming is the first of its kind as far as mobiles go. These things usually sound better than they actually turn out being, but my interest is piqued to the point that I'll probably hit up an AU spot to check out a floor model in person. I really, really don't need to be buying another phone right now, but that black and red one is a sexy little thing.

Smart Went Crazy

It's becoming apparent that I'm going to have to fly back home at least once a year just to get some serious shopping done. You know, strictly the essentials: movies, games, gear, sneakers. Before flying over here, I jokingly noted to myself that I would be spending all of my free time at Best Buy, but that turned out to be a lot closer to the truth than I had bargained for. Since I currently reside in the land of 4000 yen DVDs, being able to pick up entertaining trash like Blades of Glory and Clerks II for $5 a pop is like a dream come true. At any rate, I'm ready to get some serious gaming done.

SANYO W63SA

There she is. I’m quite smitten with her.



I’ve decided to name it “Akina,” after the wonderful little saleslady who sold it to me whom I’m equally smitten with.







To be perfectly honest, being able to watch television on your mobile is sort of an unnecessary luxury in my opinion, but the LEG (lower-echelon geekiness) in me can't help but get excited about all the gratuitous bells and whistles anyway. The phone itself is AU’s top Global Passport model, which means that I should be able to get coverage back in Hawaii, and which also means that I’m now tempted to fly home for Christmas just to test it out. That’s probably neither realistic nor intelligent, but “realistic” and “intelligent” are two words that I certainly cannot use to describe my spending habits over the past 3 weeks. There’s something about the products in Japan that makes me want to purchase everything. Even the laundry detergent smells better here.

New toys

I was about due for a new laptop anyway, so I figured I'd take the plunge and get me a new MacBook to replace my G4 PowerBook.



I like it. Plus, I managed to land a "free" 8GB iPod touch and a printer by pretending to still be in college. I just hope those rebates come in before I head off to Tokyo.

Philippe Starck/Fossil Veiled watch

I was pleasantly surprised to find that my Starck watch arrived this morning. I'd been meaning to get something a little icy for my wrist without going the jewelry route and buying a chain, so the Starck Veiled watch seemed like a sensible alternative. For better or worse, it turns out that the thing is more of a bracelet that tells time (but just barely) than an actual watch. As I'm liable to do on a semi-frequent basis, I've gone and purchased a product that's functional, but only marginally so. The thing looks swank though, and I'll probably wear it out on the weekends, so I guess I'm pretty happy with the product. Besides, if you really think about it, most people use their mobile phones as their primary means of telling time, so is buying a wrist watch strictly for looks really all that absurd? Either way, I think that I'll eventually have to buy something a little less conspicuous for work.

INFOBAR2

KDDI's INFOBAR2. The whole retro-futuristic design is pretty slick, but you kind of get the feeling that you'd be better off displaying the thing on a shelf next to your Kubrick figures than actually using it on the daily. My i425 has sort of served as a reminder of why I've made it a point to stay away from candy bar models, so I can't really say that I was particularly drawn to this phone initially. The INFOBAR2 does little (in terms of appearance) to sway pundits who may be partial to clamshells, but upon closer examination, it's clear that the INFOBAR2's design is truly several steps beyond marvelous. The phone actually isn't that impressive until you start to look at it from odd angles, which reveals the curvy surface of the phone that is some kind of crazy.



Pretty wild.

Now, I love phones, but you knew there had to be something else to warrant this entry right? ;-) Indeed, NIKEiD is putting out special edition Dunks to commemorate the release of the INFOBAR2.





Fresh. I can't honestly say that I'd make the effort to seek out just the INFOBAR2, even if I were in Japan, but I'd be willing to drop a hefty sum for the mobile + the Dunks. Which inevitably begs the question; do we really need kicks that match our cell phones?



Well, yeah.

My rapidly receding waistline & rapidly expanding Motorola collection

Listening to:
Rilo Kiley
Under The Blacklight

Something strange is happening. I dropped another 4 pounds overnight. So within the past 6 months or so, I've managed to cut 24 pounds now. I don't know if you'd call that excessive, but it's downright bizarre by my standards. At first I thought it was because I've been stressing out a lot recently, but I don't feel particularly unhealthy, just really lean. So I guess I'm doing ok. I haven't been walking lately (so who knows where all those lbs. are going), but I'm thinking that once I get used to my work schedule I'm probably going to extend my summer exercise regimen to a year-round affair. Say what you will about people who lift weights obsessively, but you can't deny that it's incredible for relieving stress.

After a month or so of debating whether or not I should drop my Boost phone and go exclusively with AT&T, I've decided to stick with both providers and picked up one of these to boot:

Not that I was tired of my i860 by any means, but the i425 was dirt cheap. And now I have a backup Boost phone for my backup Boost phone. I use my Boost almost exclusively for AIM and mobile web (more specifically, ESPN.com), so I really don't need the thing...but we don't really need socks or underwear either, and I rock both of those on the daily.

後藤真希...ゴッチン？

最近まで新しいiPod欲しかったんだけど、やっぱりSansaで行こうかな。正直言うと、この後藤真希の『Some Boys Touch』のPVを見てからそう思うようになったんだ。後藤さんはやっぱ少しかっこええよなぁ。ハロプロから卒業したらしいんだけど、つい最近オレもちょっとファンになったんっす。今度は彼女のアルバム買おうかなと思ってたんだけど、この間モーニング娘のシングルコレクションを買っちゃったばかりだから今は金ねぇしなぁ。まぁクリスマスはもうすぐだし、誰かプレゼントにくれや。＝）

ちょっと古いけど。。。後藤真希『Some Boys Touch』



CMもたまに利くもんだな。ハハ。