Phones Goose Transit Gropers

'Ringtone therapy' with cellphones treats obesity, too

(NEWSER) - Japan has had multifunction smartphones longer than the rest of the world, but one feature is new even to the cellphone-loving Japanese: a ringtone that cures hay fever. The offering from Japan Ringing Tone Laboratory—which also sells a gizmo that purports to be a dog-to-human translator—is designed to dislodge pollen stuck in the user's nose. To take advantage of the miracle treatment, sufferers must hold their ringing phones up to their noses. More»

Tokyo launches 'groping prevention week'

(NEWSER) - Japan has dispatched undercover police officers across Tokyo's commuter rail system to make sure men with wandering hands feel the strong arm of the law, the Guardian reports. Sexual harassment has long been a problem for Tokyo's subway, with two-thirds of young women saying they have been inappropriately touched while traveling. A recent surge in groping cases is blamed on websites offering men tips on how to grope women and get away with it. More»

(NEWSER) - Twitter is planning to launch a service aimed at Japanese cell phone users, Marketwatch reports. The new site will be specifically designed for easy mobile access and browsing via handsets. Twitter and its Japanese partner, Digital Garage, are expected to approach Japanese mobile operators to support the site, according to reports in the Japanese press. More»

Makers stifled by hardware too advanced to leave country

(NEWSER) - Able to surf the internet, stand in for credit cards, and check body fat, Japan’s smartphones make ours look primitive—yet we’re sticking with what we have. That’s because Japan’s phone makers have been “a little too clever,” writes Hiroko Tabuchi in the New York Times. Thanks to standards no other country can handle, Japan's manufacturers have created an insular market. More»

(NEWSER) - Japan's mammoth 3G wireless network is beginning to buckle as users download world-record amounts of porn, Bloomberg reports. Mobile carriers have been forced to restrict the heaviest users of their "unlimited plans" to prevent outages. Privacy laws prevent the firms from saying what is being downloaded, but porn providers say cell phone business is booming. More»