Dump your iPhone -- these mobiles are awesome

CNN's Kristie Lu Stout went to Seoul -- Asia's most wired city -- and reported on which are the hottest-selling mobile phone brands. But what about the rest of Asia’s infamously high-tech cell phones? The latest mobile developments over the last year -- robot buddies and e-money scanners -- come straight out of an episode of "The Jetsons."

Chatting with a slightly snarky robot companion

In April 2008, Japanese company Softbank released a cell that’s -- as the Transformers catchphrase goes -- more than meets the eye. When you attach arms and legs to the PhoneBraver, the screen turns into a face with morphing expressions. The robot can be snarky: if you bombard a friend with calls, a speech bubble will quip, “You’re dialing her often these days, aren’t you?” The PhoneBraver retails online for ¥11,400 yen.

It's like your own personal assistant

Cell phones all over Asia use FeliCa technology to pick up the tab. DoCoMo Japan’s Osaifu-Keitai lets you make credit card and e-money purchases, cover transit tabs and even unlock your door. Last January, Sony released a USB device called PaSoRi that enables online transactions, ranging from banking to filing one’s taxes.

Scanning QR codes

QR codes are those black and white pixilated squares you see on Asian ads and business cards. Snap one with your camera-phone and it will connect to a website or input data to your address book. The medium lends itself to creative uses, such as a code on an egg carton that leads to a live-cam of the chicken coop. (Seriously.)

Texting complex emoticons

Emoticons, or texts and graphics that portray expressions (^_^;) are immensely popular among young Asians. Most cellular packages include colorful, animated pictures you can easily add to messages -- such as floating balloons in a birthday invite. Korean texters use Hangul to form faces (ㅎㅅㅎ).

Reading cell phone novels

It’s the new rags-to-riches in Japan: a disgruntled young person writes romantic story snippets on her cell and uploads them to a social networking site. Millions of users get hooked on the installments. Then a publisher comes a-calling and the tale is bound and printed. By 2007, five of Japan’s 10 best-selling novels were written on cell phones. The trend may soon hit the US as companies prepare to launch mobile sites.

La Carmina writes about Harajuku pop culture and all things spooky-cute. She is the author of three books about Japanese pop culture and food, including Cute Yummy Time and Crazy Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo – for which she did all the photos and illustrations. Both books were released in October, accompanied by a US major city book tour.

For more, please visit her website.

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