(keitai-l) Re: bulky phone fashion

From: Gustaf Rosell <gustaf_at_xpedio.com>
Date: 12/09/01
Message-Id: <5.1.0.14.2.20011209103752.0612db80@dogfood.xpedio.com>
At 03:52 2001-12-09, Juergen and Michael wrote:
> >> If you take them apart it's a lot of air inside, and there is no real
> >> reason for that they should be much bigger than a N503iS.
>
> > *Technologists*, trying to understand *fashion*?!?  Bwah-ha-ha-ha-ha......

Hmmm... OK, I am hit (even though I actually was an industrial designer in 
an earlier life in the nineties).

The design methods described by Juergen (below) is something that many 
Japanese companies have been good at, for cars and home electronics, even 
when they go overseas. But it is very hard to say the same for Japanese 
phone manufacturers. They do not seem to have made any studies at all like 
this (which of course also would be valid for Ericsson and Motorola until 
very recently). It's a bit silly in the way that the design have been kept 
for the overseas models, like:

Sony J5 and J7 (same shape as the first Sony i-mode phone)
Panasonic GD 95-7 (same shape as P503i)
NEC DB7000 (an even bulkier version of the N503iS)

For the DB7000 I strongly suspect they fill all the empty space with 
hydrogen to make it lighter. So all European i-mode users should take care.

Don't smoke and call.

/g


>Actually a design decision is pretty much user driven (it's an
>end-user product after all). If you sometimes wait for people
>at the famous meeting spot Hachiko (for outsiders: People in
>Japan tend to meet at meeting spots rather than home, because
>home could be *very* small and maybe *far* away) close to the
>Shibuya crossing (http://nooper.co.jp/showcase/gallery.php?s=4&l=en)
>you see almost daily some people walking around with a suitcase
>and a clipboard and watching people.
>
>Suddenly they start to ask somebody if they want to have a look
>in the suitcase and show around 10 different Keitai design studies,
>who all differ a bit...some are bigger, some smaller, some have a
>"private window", some not. The people get asked about the first,
>second and third favorite, about their job and age. Than they get
>a little gift for their time and that's it.
>
>The first time I saw it I made my fun out of following these
>interviewers around (top secret, like it is my nature...I was
>wearing a long bright trenchcoat, a hat and sunglasses) and
>tried to get more than a glimpse of the phones, but there was
>absolutely no hint of the brand and I guess that not even the
>interviewers had an idea of it.
>
>So if you want to be part of the design process, just disguise
>your real nationality and gender behind a Shibuya girl costume
>and wait for the interviewers at Hachiko. They will find you!
>
>Gambatte!
>
>Juergen
>--
>Juergen Specht CTO, Nooper.com - Mobile Services Inc. Tokyo, Japan
>i-mode/FOMA consulting, development, testing: http://nooper.co.jp/
>
>
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Received on Sun Dec 9 13:53:45 2001