Glimpse of smart phone future
By Zhu Shenshen |
July 1, 2012, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WHETHER it is monitoring your body fat and muscle ratio using a smart phone sensor, buying a cup of coffee by swiping your phone or getting water and dust proof handsets, Asia's top telecommunications expo held in Shanghai last week had cutting-edge mobile devices and services ideal for the job.
Themed "The New Mobile Era," the Mobile Asia Expo featured mobile products and services that will change how we communicate, interact, learn and entertain. Highlights included a wireless wallet, mobile healthcare and waterproof functions.
And such micro-innovation and improvements on mobile devices help give consumers a wider choice in addition to brand leaders such as iPhone and Samsung.
Mobile payment and NFC
Paying for goods and service using your mobile phone will become widely available later this year, even when you travel to other countries.
During the expo, top telecommunications carriers China Mobile and China Unicom showcased their mobile payment services and devices.
They all feature a technology called Near Field Communication or NFC, which allows smart phones to establish links with other devices such as POS (Point of Sale) machines.
In Asia, cross-board NFC roaming services are expected to debut by the end of this year. For example, these will allow Japanese consumers to pay through phones in South Korean restaurants. China will be added to the roaming network later.
Sony Mobile, which has developed three NFC function phones, will introduce more NFC models through cooperation with local financial firms. In addition to mobile payments, NFC can also be used in many other functions, including socializing and entertainment, said Charlie Liu, Sony Mobile China's chief technology officer.
Mobile healthcare
A pad-like device with two screens, an Android system and wi-fi technology is being used in hospitals to help doctors and nurses improve work efficiency and better manage patient data. Produced by NEC, it allows staff to bring updated and complete records to a patient's bedside.
The device and system are being tested and used in hospitals in Guizhou and Jilin provinces and Wuxi in Zhejiang Province.
For more everyday medical use, with a handset sensor jacket by NTT DoCoMo, you can monitor your body fat ratio percentage. Simply type in personal information, such as your age, height and weight, and touch the jacket according to instructions to get those figures within minutes.
The jackets, which resemble phone covers, consist of a sensor, a microcomputer for data processing and a battery (if needed) for body fat ratio detecting, heart rate or body temperature monitoring and additional functions including temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure measuring.
Boredom proof phone (water, dust and scratch)
Even after being dunked in a glass of wine during a demo, two Sony waterproof phones still work when retrieved. In addition to being waterproof, they are dustproof and scratch-resistant and feature a big screen, plus the latest Android system.
Combining ruggedness, a fashionable design and a big screen, such phones are aimed at sports enthusiasts, tourists and people who enjoy a night out, said Magnus Ahlqvist, Sony Mobile China's president.
NEC also showcased waterproof handsets with built-in sensors and functionality including monitoring location, temperature and the time of sunrise and sunset.
Themed "The New Mobile Era," the Mobile Asia Expo featured mobile products and services that will change how we communicate, interact, learn and entertain. Highlights included a wireless wallet, mobile healthcare and waterproof functions.
And such micro-innovation and improvements on mobile devices help give consumers a wider choice in addition to brand leaders such as iPhone and Samsung.
Mobile payment and NFC
Paying for goods and service using your mobile phone will become widely available later this year, even when you travel to other countries.
During the expo, top telecommunications carriers China Mobile and China Unicom showcased their mobile payment services and devices.
They all feature a technology called Near Field Communication or NFC, which allows smart phones to establish links with other devices such as POS (Point of Sale) machines.
In Asia, cross-board NFC roaming services are expected to debut by the end of this year. For example, these will allow Japanese consumers to pay through phones in South Korean restaurants. China will be added to the roaming network later.
Sony Mobile, which has developed three NFC function phones, will introduce more NFC models through cooperation with local financial firms. In addition to mobile payments, NFC can also be used in many other functions, including socializing and entertainment, said Charlie Liu, Sony Mobile China's chief technology officer.
Mobile healthcare
A pad-like device with two screens, an Android system and wi-fi technology is being used in hospitals to help doctors and nurses improve work efficiency and better manage patient data. Produced by NEC, it allows staff to bring updated and complete records to a patient's bedside.
The device and system are being tested and used in hospitals in Guizhou and Jilin provinces and Wuxi in Zhejiang Province.
For more everyday medical use, with a handset sensor jacket by NTT DoCoMo, you can monitor your body fat ratio percentage. Simply type in personal information, such as your age, height and weight, and touch the jacket according to instructions to get those figures within minutes.
The jackets, which resemble phone covers, consist of a sensor, a microcomputer for data processing and a battery (if needed) for body fat ratio detecting, heart rate or body temperature monitoring and additional functions including temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure measuring.
Boredom proof phone (water, dust and scratch)
Even after being dunked in a glass of wine during a demo, two Sony waterproof phones still work when retrieved. In addition to being waterproof, they are dustproof and scratch-resistant and feature a big screen, plus the latest Android system.
Combining ruggedness, a fashionable design and a big screen, such phones are aimed at sports enthusiasts, tourists and people who enjoy a night out, said Magnus Ahlqvist, Sony Mobile China's president.
NEC also showcased waterproof handsets with built-in sensors and functionality including monitoring location, temperature and the time of sunrise and sunset.
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