携帯電話: Keitai (Cellphone)

This is a little off topic, but I feel it's important for anyone who is a fan of the advancement of technology in Japan. 携帯電話 or simply 携帯 (keitai) is japanese for cellphone, and everybody knows their cellphone is way better then anything else in the world. Their cellphone have better cameras(low light sensitive, 12Mpixel, face reg...), uses Felica(A near-field communication) letting their phone act as their wallet. There are also other random features from figerprint scanner, waterproofed, to 3D movies. But there are also disadvantages to these keitais, like their strict content control(files being locked onto a UIM or must be downloaded thru their network and not USB) and sometimes confusing filing/naming system.

Right now, I'm using a nttDOCOMO SH-01B keitai (Black) by sharp in Toronto, Canada. Since technically, they were not meant to be used here, there are functions that will not work here, and the reception sucks depending where you are and which Hypersim you're using. A Hypersim is a print circuit board on a thin film that overlays on top of your SIM, which tricks the keitai into thinking that it's a UIM. But there are times you'll get an out of signal not because there's no signal, but the keitai is not talking to the SIM, so depending on your Hypersim stability, and if it has auto-recovery, the signal varies. Also, the battery life sucks on keitais....usually, it'll literally last only for a day, 24 hours. One of the things I found was that if you can, switch over to 3G rather than GSM to save battery, and turn off before you sleep and set it to auto-wake in the morning is a life saver.

The restrictions on a keitai is usually no GPS, since it uses A-GPS, which depends on the carrier, Internet, since they don't use chtml(i think), but a properitatery format known as i-mode. No NFC, 1-seg (unless you're in Brazil), simply put is satillite TV, WiFi (only selected models have it) and these are the major ones that I remember off the top of my head. Oh, and the carrier is also important, because out of the three major carriers (au kddi, nttDOCOMO, softbank) au kddi uses CMDA so it won't work here, softbank will have a media-lock on the phones so when you start the phone up, I'll need to get a confirmation from the carrier to unlock functions like camera, so if it loses signal, you're basically screwed. nttDOCOMO is the easiest, just need a hypersim and usually it's fine.

Anyway, I mentioned keitai is because the all of the phone made by Sharp have a built-in dictionaries,( eng-jap, jap-eng, and jap-jap ), while others have appli that requires the internet to look up words. But it's kinda limited, but it's better than nothing when I'm not at home and want to look up a word.

電子辞書: Electronic Dictionary

A electronic Dictionary is a very important tool for those who are serious about mastering japanese, because when you want to know what 漢字 (kanji) means but you don't have a kanji dictionary then you're stuck. With a electronic dictionary, as long as you know how the 漢字 looks like and the proper strokes, then you can find out what it means and the furigana for that 漢字.

NOTE: The order of the strokes is important, I had some classmates that didn't really understand why it's important to learn about the strokes(I'm chinese, so yea ^.^)

Anyway, my first (and only) electronic dictionary is a Casio EX-word XD-GF9800, it's part of the 2009 models, strictly speaking there was only like 2 models that are good for "us", one is this, and the other is the XD-GF10000 which costs like 100 dollars more but it's has more japanese-japanese dictionary, and that wasn't really appealling at the time, plus I wanted to spend the 100 dollars else where.

BTW the most important function that a electonic dictionary should have, and most does, is the jump function, which allows you to highlight 漢字 to look up the meaning, the XD-GF9800 will search through all of the dictionary for the word, and gives you a list.

There are other companies that makes 電子辞書 like sharp, canon(i think), seiko, but like most out there, it's expensive...mine costed around 450....but it's very useful. Anyway, they have other functions too, like a E-book, I think all of the 電子辞書 2010 model all have color touchscreens now, (Mine is the last black and white), and they cram alot of other books into these 電子辞書 like travel-phase book, or business terms, or even novels.

私のコレクション: My Collection

My Collection: (From left to right):

The book of sake: A Connoisseur's Guide

Izakaya: The Japanese Pub Cookbook

食べる指さし会話帳 9 JAPANESE FOOD 日本料理

決定版 毎日らくらくお弁当 (今日から使えるシリーズ)

Teach yourself Beginner's Japanese script

Outrageous Japanese

Read Real Japanese: All you need to enjoy eight contemporary writers

日本語擬態語辞典

KY式日本語―ローマ字略語がなぜ流行るのか

酒のほそ道アラカルト:英語で遊ぼう食ウンチク

問題な日本語

日本人の知らない日本語

日本人の知らない日本語2

英語で話す「日本の謎」Q&A―外国人が聞きたがる100のWHY

全図解 日本のしくみ [生活文化・社会・医療・娯楽・スポーツ編]

イラスト日本まるごと事典―ジュニア版

ひらがな大好き

カタカナダイスキ
小学1年国語漢字ドリル

小学2年国語漢字ドリル

小学3年国語漢字ドリル

小学4年国語漢字ドリル

小学5年国語漢字ドリル

小学6年国語漢字ドリル

10分で読めるお話 一年生

10分で読めるお話 二年生

10分で読めるお話 三年生

10分で読めるお話 四年生

10分で読めるお話 五年生

10分で読めるお話 六年生

シャドーイング 日本語を話そう　初～中級編: Shadowing Let's Speak Japanese!

短期集中初級日本語文法総まとめ ポイント20: The 20 Essential Grammar Points for Japanese Beginners

中級日本語文法要点整理ポイント20: The 20 Essential Grammar Points of Intermediate Japanese

みんなの日本語初級1 漢字英語版

みんなの日本語初級2 漢字英語版

みんなの日本語―初級1翻訳・文法解説 英語版

みんなの日本語―初級2翻訳・文法解説 英語版

みんなの日本語―中級1翻訳・文法解説 英語版

みんなの日本語―初級1本冊

みんなの日本語―初級2本冊

みんなの日本語―中級1本冊

みんなの日本語初級〈1〉標準問題集

みんなの日本語初級2 初級で読めるトピック25

Live from Tokyo: Listen to Real Japanese

新毎日の聞きとり50日 上

新毎日の聞きとり50日 下
毎日の聞きとりplus40 上

毎日の聞きとりplus40 下

1日15分の漢字練習 上

1日15分の漢字練習 下

にほんご敬語トレーニング

カタカナ語スピードマスター

文法が弱いあなたへ

聴解が弱いあなたへ

読解をはじめるあなたへ

にほんご単語ドリル ~慣用句・四字熟語~

にほんご単語ドリル ~ぎおん語・ぎたい語~

にほんご単語ドリル ~動詞~

三省堂こどもことわざじてん

どんな時どう使う 日本語表現文型辞典

にほんご500問 ~初級~

にほんご500問 ~中級~

にほんご500問 ~上級~

I got most of my books on White Rabbit Press, some on J-List.

I used みんなの日本語―初級1本冊, みんなの日本語初級1 漢字英語版, みんなの日本語―初級1翻訳・文法解説 英語版, みんなの日本語初級〈1〉標準問題集 as my main texts because that's what we used in my Japanese class (EAS120).

はじめに：Introduction

Hey!

I just graduated from the University of Toronto and I took a class in Japanese during my 5 years in university (including 1 year Co-op). Anyway, I have been "collecting" other Japanese book since then, and I have realized I forgot alot since I wasn't practicing it. So, since I haven't found a job yet, and have the time, I thought I'll start blogging my progression from reviewing what I have learn to new things...^^ and maybe review a few of the books I have come across/in my collection.