I have just spent the weekend updating the ‘pixs’ RSS reader with a new feature that I think might be even better than the reader itself - I have added a web page translator tool that will read in any website and re-format it for reading on a cell phone. Which means you don’t have to settle for only reading the cut-down version that websites tend to publish on their RSS feeds.

Sounds good but what is even better is the image re-drawing function that will shrink images in height and width and also in file size so the whole site will display on the cell phone handset.

The code is brand new so the results are a little bit raw and I have seen a lot of areas that can be improved, but I have big ideas for this project and have new features I want to add. The two major drawbacks are that the site only works for XHTML compatible handsets and currently has only a simple re-sizing algorithm for the images.

I am going to road test it for a while longer, which might turn into quite a while longer as I have a new design contract starting tomorrow, so as always if you can try it out on your handset and let me know what results you get I will be really grateful.

Today I am launching the first draft of my cell phone RSS reader service: pixs.jp, and I would be grateful for any feedback you might have if you try using it.

I have been interested in a simple way of implementing a mobile internet site with contemporary content and have found that the easiest way to do this is by formatting the vast amount of RSS feeds availably into a format readable by cell phones. It is a simple idea but so far I haven’t found a site doing it in quite the same way as me.

This project started out as a way for me to get the western content that I like reading onto my cell phone here in Japan. There are plenty of mobile sites here but few that cater for the English reading market so I decided to make my own. Since I made the service, me and my friends have found it extremely useful so I have decided to publicise it with a mind to making it into a bigger system.

The service is free and will remain free. If one day I can find a way to spin money off the top of it then I might do that, however, the content will never be affected as a result so I hope people will find it a useful day to day tool.

If you have any feeds you would like to see on the directory then please submit them, I will vet them of course as I don’t want anything unsavoury appearing on my site, not that I am suggesting that you, my dear readers, would do something like that, but hey, there are plenty of weirdos out there.

And if you have any suggestions or find any bugs, or if the system doesn’t work on your handset then please leave me a comment on this site. I will find it which ever post you choose to make the comment on so please don’t be shy, it will help to grow this into a useful service for everyone.

So what are you waiting for? Point your phone to this address : http://www.pixs.jp

If the beta is successful I will put up a .com and .co.uk mirror to speed up the accesses for you guys outside of Japan.

Thanks for your support.

Marcus.

I have always been intrigued by the potential for e-learning on the cell phone, it just seems to be a perfect medium for taking bite-sized lessons when you have nothing better to do, and I can easily see the day when salary men are swatting up for their MBA whilst taking the train to work or students are cramming for their physics finals on the bus to school.

Well that day is getting closer now, for the Japanese anyhow, as AU have launched a new service on their ezweb portal for delivering lessons directly to the cell phone.

The service is called ‘manabi’ and so far has four lesson packs available which mainly focus on learning English which is a national passtime of the Japanese at the moment.

The packs contain short lessons and quizes to test your knowledge and feature a fair splattering of colorful characters and cuteness.

With a monthly revenue stream for subscriptions this may prove to be a lucrative gap in the market. Watch this space for more details.

If you want to see some very nice concept cell phones that are on the cards from Vodafone then you need to see this nice flash driven site.

http://www.vodafone.jp/designfile/

It is a classy site and the phones look great, my personal favorite is the ‘wallet’, which I think blends the normally hard, high-tech mobile phone into an elegant style accessory.

The flash is a bit hard to navigate but is definitely worth a look.

Hint: If the music annoys you then do switch it off on the first screen before launching the flash.

Today I saw a prime example of the proliferation of the cell phone into Japanese society.

I was riding the Metro home after work, finishing tonight at 9pm, which is early for me, and as I was being packed into an already overcrowded carriage I saw something that made me want to laugh.

Sitting down in front of me, looking as stern as anything, was a businessman who must have been in his fifties. He had his briefcase up on his lap and was holding his umbrella like a cane and in his hands was his cell phone, this guy obviously meant business.

The intense look on his face couldn’t give it away but the reflection in the mirror did.

He was deeply engrossed, trying to jump his way to safety, in a game of SuperMarioLand.

I’m sure there is no-where else in the world where you would see such a site. I only wish I had the guts and audacity to have taken a photograph of him to post here. Unfortunately I am too polite - I guess that comes from living in Japan too long.