The buttons are easier to type on, the battery
lasts longer, it's familiar. No, we're not
talking about BlackBerry this time, but the
Japanese feature phone. Glorious, folding
forefather to the smartphone, and the form-
factor that gave birth to gara-kei, a
shorthand phrase for "Galapagos phones".
It's a negative term pointing to devices that
simply wouldn't survive outside of Japan.
However, it's not stopped the country's
biggest carrier, NTT Docomo, from revealing
two new feature phone models (and a
refreshed paint job for an older phone) just
last week. Our Engadget Japanese
colleagues were told by Docomo's
spokesman that these phones are still so
popular with some customers that they
practically sell themselves -- many still enter
their stores looking for a new flip-phone, not
a smartphone.
While developing countries continue to buy
up feature phones, where prices continue to
plummet , Japan's feature phones remain
resistant to the smartphone substitution seen
in western countries. Docomo has also
started offering an unlimited voice call
service -- a feature that's arguably more
comfortable on longer-shaped feature
phones and another reason for the carrier to
continually refresh its gara-kei lineup.
Fujitsu's latest model, the F-07F , has a 13-
megapixel camera, 1,000mAh battery and a
3.3-inch color display: specs that make it a
high-end feature phone, but (camera aside)
pale in comparison to cheap, entry-level
smartphones like the Moto E . Here's one
more surprising point: feature phones might
cost less to make, but due to carriers
subsidies for smartphones (in a bid to keep
its customers upgrading), feature phones
often cost more per month than mainstay
Android devices from the likes of Samsung
and Sony. There may have been a few
smartphones in flip-phone clothing , but
Japan's gara-kei aren't going anywhere
soon.
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