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Japanese phones get smart, tapping-in to huge new markets

There's an enormous market for a telephone device that can access host-based applications, and Japanese technology companies are reaching that market with the 'smart telephone.' While such a device hasn't yet been widely implemented in North America, that should change soon as increasing numbers of companies bring out their own versions of the smart phone, and as back-end support systems become available.

The smart telephone picks up where the personal computer left off. For some time there have been discussions on converting PCs-or, with host interaction, other kinds of terminals - to voice communications tools through the addition of modems, linkage to PBXs or other kinds of digital switches and sophisticated software. While some companies have achieved success in these endeavors, the systems are usually used by trained individuals in call centres.

Instead of providing voice communications capabilities to a terminal, smart telephone manufacturers take a reverse approach, adding intelligence to a telephone. The result is a front-end device that can be deployed anywhere a telephone jack is located, requires little (if any) training, is non-intimidating and nearly maintenance-free.

The number of potential end-users is virtually unlimited - as are the applications that can be supported. Companies such as supply houses, parts distributors, transportation companies and insurance firms can let their customers and agents use smart telephones to complete forms or file claims. Financial institutions could use them internally to expedite resolution of customer inquiries, or provide the systems to their large customers to streamline their cash management or brokerage account activities. Companies that rely on a geographically-dispersed sales or service staff could use smart telephones to instantly place orders, check inventory or access customer information.

A department store in the Himeji region of Japan used smart telephones - with attached card readers and printers for generating receipts - to create a low-cost point-of-sale network that supports the use of a private-label credit card at about 500 stores in the area. While many of the businesses in the network are too small to justify the cost of installing a standard POS terminal, the smart telephone makes it economical for the store to add even the smallest retailer to its network.

The second largest property and casualty insurer in Japan has outfitted its agents with smart telephones. By plugging the telephones into any standard telephone jack, inserting an integrated circuit card memory card (similar to a handheld computer game card) and entering a personal identification number, the agents can access a range of information. By making simple menu selections from the telephone's LCD screen, for example, agents can obtain policy details, rates used to calculate premiums, or other information to assist in the policy sales process.

To increase the functionality of smart telephones even more, some manufacturers have integrated fax machines. Juken Industry Inc., one of Japan's leading suppliers of construction materials, has installed 2,500 fax-equipped smart telephones in the offices of major distributors, high-volume direct outlets and some residential builders to speed up the ordering process. The system even supports bar code readers to further streamline the data entry process.

All smart telephones include a handset, LCD screen, programmable microprocessors, and built-in modem. Some models offer only a conventional telephone keypad, while others also feature a retractable QWERTY keyboard or touchscreen displays. Most support a range of peripheral devices.

To operate the devices, many require insertion of a memory card into a slot on the phone's exterior, while others require only that a password be entered. Applications that run on the smart telephones can be either loaded on the memory card, or stored on the device after being downloaded from a host.

Whatever the design of the device, the key to successful smart telephone solutions is the support provided to the back-end processing and communications systems. Individuals depending on conventional telephones are accustomed to an extremely reliable service, and expect a similar degree of availability for smart telephones.

For this reason, the companies discussed above - and many others that have implemented smart telephone solutions - depend on an on-line transaction processing computer that is both hardware and software fault-tolerant to ensure reliability and transaction integrity. In addition, because there can be no guarantee of the success of the applications implemented on smart telephones, companies should select a platform that supports a low cost of entry, but that can be easily expanded without impacting ongoing operations.

An equivalent degree of reliability should be featured by the communications front end (to link the back-end host computers that support the various smart telephone applications) to the actual telephones.