Charlie at Wired’s Gadget Lab finds NTT DoCoMo’s two-piece magnetic phone entertaining, but to me, the reasons it’s supposed to be useful range from frivolous to baffling to just plain dumb.
The NTT DoCoMo prototype phone shown in the video above has an embedded DLP projector, presumably using an LED light source in order to project a respectable 20- to 25-in. video image on the wall a few feet away. The downside, as you can hear from the dude asking questions (AOL Switched’s Tom Samiljan if I’m not mistaken) is that the phone is large, or at least small but strapped to a real brick of a projector. I guess we’re supposed to admire the image, and wait for the actual mini-projector technology to catch up. [TechPertPanel - YouTube]
In collaboration with Nissan and NTT DOCOMO, a Japanese mobile operator, Sharp has developed what they claim is the first mobile phone that also functions as a keyless entry and ignition device for cars. Rather than building a new system from the ground up, Sharp has simply opted to include Nissan’s existing Intelligent Key technology in a phone. The system will function like any of the many other wireless keyfobs on the market today, authorising the driver to enter, exit and start his or her car without ever poking any keys around.
A new “intelligent” lithium-ion battery is supposed to prevent explosions and fire accidents by sending constant updates on its own health. Developed by researchers at NTT DoCoMo, the battery uses a 8-bit microcomputer “brain” to monitor its condition and relay the information to the mobile phone user.
Japan, the land of using technology to solve problems we didn’t know we had, has come out with a new robot that will let people shop at malls without ever leaving their home. Robot developer tmsuk revealed a telerobotic shopper that can be controlled using NTT DoCoMo’s mobile phone technology.
The AP’s look into the NTT DoCoMo R&D labs shows the Japanese electronics company is working on some really strange stuff, including music players you control with your eyes, and mobile phones that require your fingers for more than just dialing (think Inspector Gadget).
For Google’s Android platform to succeed, it could use a helping hand from cellphone-crazed Japan. NTT DoCoMo is Japan’s largest wireless provider, and in addition to being a logo on Android’s Open Handset Alliance, the company has started discussions to get the Linux-based platform on some percentage of their phones. Whether or not such discussions imply that DoCoMo will side with Android over competing platforms in the long term is still unknown, but it’s an important play for Android all the same. (Note, this picture is not the DoCoMo phone). [infoworld]
