A Japanese Perspective on Windows CE

By John Jerney

Japan may be the number two world economy, using current measures, but it’s head and shoulders above everyone else when it comes to the energy and excitement of its mobile computing scene. While we in the United States dream about handhelds with color screens and wireless Internet connections, this is already old news to seasoned gadget freaks in Tokyo and elsewhere on this island nation.

Nowhere is this more evident that in a section of Tokyo known as Akihabara. Less than an hour’s walk, and only a few subway stops from the grounds of the Imperial Palace, Akihabara started as a modest neighborhood. Following WWII, it became a well-known black market for radio parts and other electrical goods of the day.

Named after the JR [Japan Rail] train station close by, Akihabara has grown to encompass literally hundreds of electronic shops — many six, seven, or eight stories tall. In the process, it has followed Japan’s ascendancy in consumer electronics, eventually reaching its present-day status as the premier electronics market in the world.

Recently Casio introduced into this market the first Handheld PC featuring the Japanese version of Windows CE. Sales of the English-language Cassiopeia, available earlier, were understandably modest as most Japanese consumers waited for a version supporting their language. Officially known as Windows CE 1.01, the system has essentially the same suite of applications found in the English edition, but with one major addition: handwriting recognition.

As many of you know, Japan’s complex writing system encompassing four scripts (Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, and Romaji) can be a nightmare using a keyboard, but is nearly-ideally suited for handwriting recognition. Windows CE 1.01 employs the MS-IME-97 system, derived from the version found on the desktop edition of Japanese Windows.

The Japanese (Kanji) Cassiopeia is no doubt an impressive system, but even casual observation shows that it faces a Herculean challenge in a market already crowded by feature-rich devices ranging from the Sharp Power Zaurus, the Toshiba Libretto, as well as competition from a more local super-hero, the IBM Ultraman.

Press releases and news stories offer one perspective on the situation. However, to gauge the true feelings of a not-so-typical Japanese consumer, I turn to my trusted friend and seasoned Akihabara-watcher Matsushita Shuji.

Matsushita-san has been making regular treks to Akihabara almost as long as there’s been an Akihabara. With unswerving persistence, Matsushita-san is always able to track down first arrivals of almost any gadget. Finding the Kanji-equipped Casio was easy work however, as Casio introduced the device during the traditional gift-giving season of mid-summer with great fanfare.

“The Kanji Cassiopeia is loaded with 24 MB of ROM, six times larger than the U.S. version,” explains Matsushita-san. “This vast space was necessary solely to contain the Kanji system without spilling a byte. Now you can understand the magnitude of the Kanji problem!”

To accommodate a slightly different keyboard layout, which includes six additional keys necessary for the Kanji environment, the Kanji Cassiopeia is a bit larger than its U.S. counterpart. “The upscale model A-51 is equipped with 8 MB of RAM. The standard edition, the A-50, has 4 MB. Everything else is the same as the U.S. model specification,” reports Matsushita-san.
Performance on the device is acceptable, though perhaps a bit slower than the U.S. version. Matsushita-san attributes this to the extra burden required to process the double-byte codes that are part and parcel in a Kanji-based system. He also expressed surprise with Microsoft and Casio’s decision to use a desktop version of the handwriting recognizer instead of creating a special version for CE.

“The ‘Kanji Lexicon’ is summoned when you cannot find the right Kanji to choose in the standard conversion table,” explains Matsushita-san. “On a desktop computer, you draw the Kanji stroke by stroke with your mouse or digitizing tablet into a very large on-screen slot. The computer then locates the correct character, or its nearest candidates. One more click and the character goes into the text you are editing. Very time-consuming but the accuracy is surprisingly good.”

“When the Lexicon is transplanted to the Cassiopeia, the input slot inevitably shrinks due to the smaller screen. The lack of resolution can, however, be troublesome. If you draw an oblique stroke with the pen, the display often reproduces a vertical stroke, then a horizontal. The smaller screen can be frustrating at times,” comments Matsushita-san.

Surrounded by the most active handheld market in the world, the Kanji Cassiopeia has its work cut out for it. Certain drawbacks notwithstanding, though, Matsushita-san credits Casio for getting the product to market in time to feed on the spending frenzy of the mid-year bonus season. Twice a year (mid-summer and late December), Japanese “salarymen” are treated to a special pay bonus that can sometimes equal months of salary. Getting to market to catch this can be as important as the product itself.

But Casio’s compatriots are a fiercely competitive lot. Matsushita-san reports that Toshiba’s Windows 95-based Libretto palmtop has captured significant attention among Japan’s technology-savvy consumers. Likewise the Power Zaurus — Sharp’s replacement for its highly innovative and equally successful Color Zaurus — is expected to reign high for months to come. Even 3Com’s PalmPilot is selling well, now that the clever Japanese wizard Yamada-san (affectionately known as Hacker Dude-san) has ported Kanji to the pocket-sized device.

To enter Kanji, the Cassiopeia A50/51 displays a standard table of characters and the user composes his or her document by tapping on the appropriate character.

If the user cannot find the right Kanji character in the standard screen, the “Kanji Lexicon” screen is summoned, letting the user draw in the character, stroke by stroke.

The Cassiopeia A50/51 displaying a Pocket Word document being “spell checked.” The drop-down list lets the user select alternative spellings using a hotkey combination.

In fact, Sharp is so confident that it has plans to introduce an English, French, and German version in North America and Europe as quickly as six months from its Japanese launch date, an unusually short lead time. Sporting a bright TFT color display, integrated digital camera, and built-in Internet, Web, and email support, Sharp apparently believes that the time is right to bring forward the best of Japan as quickly as possible.

This doesn’t mean exactly the same device however. Sources indicate that Zauruses outside of Japan will employ trusty keyboards for the more weary Westerners. Likewise, Sharp expects to have to tailor the options available for the Power Zaurus according to local markets.

Sharp is also expected to enter the Windows CE market before the end of the year. This means that the company will offer consumers a choice between Microsoft’s Windows CE and Sharp’s own proprietary operating system. The good news is that the new Windows CE device will likely sport a color screen making the choice just that much more tantalizing.

In the meantime, the Kanji Cassiopeia has scored an impressive coup for the time being. But is it a decisive win for Windows CE? “I’m not very sure,” says Matsushita-san. “The Japanese market has a notoriously short attention span. So initial brisk sales of the Kanji Cassiopeia does not, in itself, mean anything. I will come back after a few months and see.”

I’ll keep you posted.

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