Traditionally, Symbian Smartphones came in three varieties: S60, UIQ and FOMA. While S60 and UIQ are covered and used all over the world, Foma phones (also known as Raku-Raku, whatever that means) are limited to selected Asian markets. The recent Symbian Smartphone Show had a Renesas booth showcasing a few devices…an opportunity we used to bring you this mini-hands-on:
0a FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview

FOMA devices come in a variety of form factors – here are a few shots of the three sample phones:
1a FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview 1b FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview 1c FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview

One of them has a flip-out antenna for TV on the go:
2a FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview 2b FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview

The individual devices are surprisingly big:
3a FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview3b FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview

The Japanese heritage can be felt by looking at the devices carefully – for example, the funky external LCD shown below:
4a FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview

Amusingly, the keyboard of the three phones are completely different from each other:
5a FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview 5b FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview 5c FOMA / Raku Raku phones   quick hands on preview

Finally, here’s a little video showing the phone’s software. I unfortunately didn’t have the time/the tools for a more thorough review, but think that the video covers all important aspects:

In the end, I don’t think that the upcoming demise of the FOMA phones will make anyone shed a single tear. The devices IMHO can’t even be considered smartphones: they are not programmable except for J2ME, and don’t even have a “common platform”. People currently having an S60 or UIQ phone can safely ignore them – while they definitely are innovative and look cool, their software can not stack up in any way…


Related posts:

  1. What raku-raku means
  2. Nokia invades Raku-Raku land
  3. Symbian reaches 30 million smartphone shipments in Japan – what it means for S60 developers
  4. NTT DoCoMo unleashes 9 FOMA handsets
  5. Nokia XpressMusic 5800 – big hands-on preview

2 Responses to “FOMA / Raku-Raku phones – quick hands-on preview”

  1. Thanks for the helpful information.

    FYI Raku-Raku translates into Easy Easy. These phones are meant to be easy to use mobiles and are marketed to digital immigrants (like the elderly who didn’t grow up with cellphone technology).

    In the UK Vodafone have a similar offering with their “Simple” branding. Thankfully these phones live up to the promise a little better than these NTT Docomo offerings.

  2. Hi David,
    thank you so much!

    I linked to your web site in a new post – thank you!!

    Tam

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