Mobile Phones...Keitai Culture

Mobile Phone
Originally uploaded by pookie_san99.

Last week a Japanese company,Softbank Corp agreed to buy Vodafone Groups Japanese mobile phone unit for 1.8billion yen.Softbank is Japans second largest Internet access provider.Vodafone with 15 million Japanese customers has a 17% market share but lags behind its two big rivals NTT DocoMo and KDDI Corp in terms of network coverage and subscribers.
The mobile phone business in Japan is an 8.5 trillion yen market.In fact to call the "keitai" mere mobile phones is to overlook their versatility and the multitude of functions they can now perform.

As well as mundane email and phone calls,they can be used for online services such as video and music downloads,share trading and auctions.Most models also come equipped with digital cameras.

One of their more sensationally reported uses has been the so-called keitai encounters via email dating sites.Such sites are said to make it easier for "enjo kosai" (paid companionship or teenage prostitution)to take place.
My Vodafone keitai (above) though two years old comes with a 1.3 mega pixel digital camera.Most of the features I dont use,though I can access sites such as CNN.I mainly use it to get weather reports and train timetables.
And if you're wondering..yes it is pink.I told the Vodafone staff I didnt care what colour it was as long as it was bilingual and NOT pink! Of course I got my bilingual phone but its HOT pink.At least it stands out and I havent lost it yet....