ok, this post will be divided in like two sections, reasons being that keitai are a kind of weird tech thing if someone doesn't really know what they are, not that they are unheard of but they have a kinda neat history, so, the first part will be for the story of the keitai, why it exist and why it's still around to this day, the second part (don't worry it's all in this one blog post) will be actually how it is using it, pros, cons, weird things you know? ANYWAY, let's start with first of all, what is a keitai.

what we now call Keitai technically are called Garakei, the whole bit being smartphones with actually quite few features of just mentioned smartphones but in a clamshell type body, with the t9 keys and all stuff, and on most models lack of actual touch screen. they have been on a kind of discovery for us in the west, as it is a product dedicated only for the japan market, and it's consistent of a kind of old version of android with no google services attached to it that has a lot of apps that are supposed to run only in japan. you can install apps but it has an entire ecosystem by itself that you can use! (if you live in japan) but why has it become so popular? well, with the whole going dumb devices thing, a lot of people have been really into buying old mobile phones, that just did messages and calls, BUT here is a problem of culture if we can say it this way, in the USA there is a lot of discussion for the "Blue bubble vs Green bubble" for the iphone users, i won't get into details here for this, but i do wanna make a blog post discussing and giving my 2 cents for this topic, but ok, with that it means that the main messaging app for the US population it's the actual "Message" app, which should make sense right? but not fully! in europe we do not use that service, and well yes, people with iphone do use imessage (my entire family from both sides do have iphones, than there is me the weird one with the keitai) but for common acceptance they all use and have installed at least a secondary app like whatsapp, because at least in italy, there is a big market for that! aswell as for others, there is another big one for example that is Telegram, but still, we do not use normal sms even between android phones (YES YES, i know some of you are saying "you MAY not know but they use RNA" YES I KNOW THAT, let's just call them SMS for easier understanding for common knowledge ok? ok.) and so here, using an old phone that only has sms can really make you have issues with some contacts, calling is fine but for messages or some services whatsapp and telegram have both been fully integrated, so, the options are quite lower compared to the usa, but at the same time, here is where Keitai shines! they can install apps for android! that does mean whatsapp, telegram and many others! (the list is limited ofc but there is a good amount of stuff you can do!) but now, let's talk why they even exist.

this will be a very brief introduction, there is an astonishing good video by this youtuber called F4mi that covered the whole creation and development process for this phone, i am a big fan of her channel and i highly suggest you to at least give the keitai video a try, BUT ANYWAY, japan was really ahead of their time compared to the west for online services. to put it short, they had all access to mobile banking, online purchase for tickets for trains and busses and also a full E-mail system dedicated for phone to substitute the SMS system in 1999 basically, all thanks to DoCoMo, which is the (or was, i can't fully remember this exact moment and i got no willing to check rn) company owned phone service, with the whole development of smartphones it took a bit more than the rest of the world for japan (and i suppose adiacent countries, but this is more of a guess) to adapt, they were able to do already a lot of the stuff, and the touch screen wasn't that appealing at first, after a bit the smartphone of course did took place and got an ever growing user base there too, but there were people that still wanted to have a physical button experience, or just didn't like the idea of the smartphone, or maybe this is more of a guess for me, for teenagers, a keitai is much more suited because it gives access to a lot of apps and services without having the exact complete "power" of the smartphone, and so, phones like the one you'll see right below, are being produced even in very recent years! (this is a MASSIVE tldr, like describing harry potter and the entire story of the books with "mage with glasses defeates man with no nose" almost but hey, i guess it works for now)

and now. how is it to use it? the reason why i wanted to make this post is because there is barely any big commentary or review for like decently long time users of this, i've been using mine for a year now, and i've managed to learn a lot of stuff from it, both good and bad. let's do something weird maybe! i'll point out in random orders the points, from what i feel is the most useful to know and the less useful i guess??

first of all, CHECK if the keitai you want to buy is able to receive signal in your country. why? every place in the world have it's own set of standard anything, from signals, radio, channels, current voltages, a lot changes, and from japan to other countries there is a lot that can change, so be sure that it is possible to use the model you wanna buy in your country, i won't get in details for how to check it, i may do it another time, that is a long topic by itself, but with that said, mine IS supported in italy, it's a Sharp Aquos SH-02L and it works fine! BUT until recently for reasons that i'm still trying to understand, the phone wasn't able to call when it was connected on the 4G network. also small tip, if you have one already, make sure to set the APN, basically setting manually the connections of your phone for the network you are in, for me it is Iliad, not sponsor or anything, just to point out my full experience, either way, it was able to call only when connected in G... yes. G basically 1G, it was SLOW but not that slow for text messages on whatsapp, so i did bare with it for quite a while, until recently where for some reason i did forget to change to G from my lunch break (i use it as a hotspot for the laptop to watch videos and stuff when i eat) and it was receiving calls, i then so wondered and tried in multiple times each day, and it started working no problem, so now the 4G issue is solved, but it's important that i talk about this becasue some people might still have similar barriers!

the phone itself is great to use, you can install quite few apps you didn't thought maybe, i have an emulator that supports Gameboy games, and i got tetris on it, basically i can play tetris on the keitai, you may think "wew such high gaming" in a very ironical way, but man, that is a world of difference still from not having games. it's a way to kill time, i got the keitai to stop using socials, not to stop gaming on the phone, i actually barely play on the smartphone, it's just something i never did, the keitai is more for stopping to use socials, and it's the biggest barrier so far, because for me the friction is not even an issue, i would install and uninstall instagram multiple times per day because of this. SO i had to do this, now i have been without instagram for like 8 months, it has been great, and i do suggest everyone to do so, fuck instagram, but ANYWAY LOL, an issue? it's SLOW to type on, i'm a kid that was born still with the T9 and this kind of writing, and i am much quicker than the usual gen z that wants to use this kind of phones. i can kick their ass, but still, it is quite slow. it does have a side benefit, you do a lot more calls, and man, sometimes i saved myself a big hassle thinking (i should just call straight up) like for troubleshotting a small issue with the tv of my mother, or other stuff similar to that, there is a lot there to be said! oh also! it does connect with bluetooth on my car and it has an SD card slot, you can add music to listen there, or to your bluetooth headphones, the modules are not the most recent so there is a bit of latency, but unless you are watching videos (please do not do that) you are actually safe, the quality is good overall and you wouldn't miss out on much, and still on music talking, i do not have spotify anymore so i have added my own files, but i have heard that spotify DOES work, maybe do a bit of a research on that.

the camera is mediocre, it's of course not something that you're buying the keitai for let me be clear! but it's worth mentioning that, it has only the outside camera and mine is 8MP, and sure, it works fine, it is surprisingly sharp if you need to take photos of notes or stuff to read, but for like beauty? nah, it's not meant to use it for photography, not that i didn't try it! it does have a vibe i guess but don't count on it as a main point to buy or not buy... and oh! not sure if i did mention already, but it lacks the google services! but doesn't lack of a store, depending on where you do buy the keitai, it might have a store or another, if you end up with APKpure... CHANGE IT WITH AURORA STORE PLEASE. i had it and it sucked. it was slow, painful, full of ads and would make the experience of app searching horrible, not that you need many apps but it would be sooooo slow even for updates, so, use a different store, you'll be more than fine. and so far i am thinking of other stuff to add, but no like important points are coming to mind, i MIGHT update it in the future but who knows. either way, i do think that if you are debating to get one, make this test, wait for a few months, if you still have the wish for it, go for that, and give it a try, they are not super expensive, and i think they can still last quite a bit so you're in the clear for that, just don't over bloat them.

if you got any questions that i didn't give an answer please feel free to email me! i'm open to any conversation on my mail so don't worry you won't disturb at all! the mail is cristian.brunelli@proton.me ... i will add this and other infos on my about me page, that is still a work in progress LOL

With this all said, please you all take care and don't waste money in stuff you might not need ok? be safe and chill out!

To Keitai or not to Keitai...