On a recent visit to Tokyo , I followed standard operating procedures for a foreign tourist and toured the Akihabara district. But I found the most interesting gadgets in the more mundane DoCoMo telephone company outlet across the street from our hotel. The new Japanese mobile phones are nothing short of amazing. I was particularly taken with the P503i telephone. Not only is it an i-mode phone, but it has the first decent user interface I have seen on a telephone .
Most Internet phones use a roller to move a selection bar up and down the screen.
Although this is better than pressing function keys, the one-dimensional movement of the roller and selection bar is very limiting. Basically, as a user, your movement feels constrained, much like it is when you use a mainframe terminal. This limited freedom is one of the reasons current WAP phones are so unpleasant to use . The result is two-dimensional freedom of movement . Furthermore, when you move the joystick over something on the screen, the item enlarges, making your focus of interest easier to see.