Photos: More phone fun in Japan

By Andy Smith October 18, 2006, 4:12 AM PDT

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KDDI, Japan’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, has opened its Designing Studio in Tokyo’s Harajuku area. Part one of CNET News.com’s recent tour of the facility is now live.rn

rnA Sharp LCD TV cell phone is shown here. TV phones get five channels in Tokyo. The service is free, but people have to get a fancy phone (with TV tuners and a good LCD) to watch. KDDI’s rival NTT DoCoMo estimates that a million people have TV phones in Japan.

The Casio GZ One can sit underwater for 30 minutes and survive.

Several manufacturers have talked about using fuel cells to power phones, but most such devices are still in the experimental stage. Pictured are early prototypes. KDDI hopes to offer a fuel cell phone next year.

Fuel cells aren’t as bulky as they once were. The wedge under this phone is a direct methanol fuel cell.

Press the button on this GPS-enabled device and it sends a signal to a private security company that will then drive by to help if you are in trouble. The device has been on the market for a few years and service costs 2,000 yen ($18) a month. Parents buy it for their kids.

KDDI is out with an experimental game called “Check the Harajuku Gao!”rnConsumers walk into a booth and get their picture taken. A computer then analyzes their face and tries to determine their occupation. When CNET News.com editor at large Michael Kanellos (left) gave it a try, the game said there was a 48 percent chance of him being a Web designer, a 40 percent chance of him being a fashion designer, and a 36 percent chance of him being a bartender. So he has lots of career options.

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