Looks like the folks at NTT (the phone service provider in Japan) are up to their old tricks again. They have begun to install a new type of GreyPhone (it’s still grey) that accepts international calling cards as well as the regional cards that older NTT phones accept. Recall that these phones are especially cool because PowerBooks with Infrared capabilities can obtain public, wireless Internet service from them:

I was at Haneda airport yesterday, and spied a new NTT phone I’ve never seen before. It’s quite a bit smaller than any of the greyphones, and accepts not only the standard 105 unit NTT cards, but also the IC cards used mainly for international calls. It’s really no bigger than a large desktop phone, but mounted vertically. It also sports an analog jack and the IR port. I took a picture if you are interested. Looks good too…..has a brown receiver that almost gives the impression of wood (though not as much in the pic), and the base appears to be stainless steel.

NTT has updated their irDA phone page to include Mac setup info, and Apple Japan has posted the CCL scripts for using these phones.