electro^plankton

i aint impressed by these phones, i rather have an iphone

The Japanese have a huge advantage in cellular technology but Jobs said "Asia", not just Japan. Although I guess Asia means Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and India. I don't think Apple has a presence in any other Asian countries.

Why I never heard before of this high tech mobiles?!

Features vs Execution

Do you really think this just comes down to feature lists? seriously..
Of course the iPhone will work on the networks in the country its being sold in, when its in Japan it will work with japanese networks, when it makes it to europe it will be 3G, Why are these basic point even open to speculation?

Its like saying the PS3 will never go on sale in the PAL regions because all the current ones are NTSC..

"Do you really think this just comes down to feature lists? seriously..
Of course the iPhone will work on the networks in the country its being sold in, when its in Japan it will work with japanese networks, when it makes it to europe it will be 3G, Why are these basic point even open to speculation?"

I think what he's saying is the Japanese iPhone will either only be modified enough to work on Japanese networks or will require a complete redesign in order to take advantage of Japan's cellular networks. I mean, the iPhone has no digital TV tuner or a front mounted camera for video chats.

"I think what he's saying is the Japanese iPhone will either only be modified enough to work on Japanese networks or will require a complete redesign in order to take advantage of Japan's cellular networks. I mean, the iPhone has no digital TV tuner or a front mounted camera for video chats."

That's just exactly it. If Japan gets a new hardware design just to utilize their networks, the rest of us well feel pretty lame with iPhones inferior to their Japanese cousins. I don't think Apple will do that. If anything the iPhone will only be modified with a WCDMA antenna to work in Japan. Without all those extra features, it probably won't sell that well there.

I can easily imagine that the Japanese, with their loads of features, wouldn't be impressed. I, too, am not impressed. If I'm not mistaken, the iPhone will not sync with my Exchange server. Since its OS is closed to development by third parties, there may be a dearth of apps to install on it and likely no freeware at all. If it's all the same to Steve, I'll just keep rebooting my Windows Mobile phone.

iPhone still have great disadvantages against it's own market. It was a mistake in the first place to be released at such an early time as CES Show. It's just like showing your best card to your opponent before you even get a glimpse of what the others have. Nokia, SonyEricsson, and Motorola all have music phone market. Right now all these companies have better featured phones than iPhone that would have a lower price when iPhone comes out. iPhone is going to be taught a lesson that Apple will never forget.

Apple has quite a presence in China - my students there were going crazy for their iPod shuffles and many big electronic stores had Apple displays. Unlike Japan China has decided to wait out the 3G upgrade - so they are still stuck in 2G.

The iPhone would will work just fine there. That is market of over 1.3 billion people - add that to India (over 1 billion too, which is also mostly 2G GSM) and you have a quite a big customer base in Asia.

You know, you mentioned that we'd never have wireless digital broadcasts in America...but um...we do. It's why you can watch HDTV with a standard antenna. I agree we're far behind Japan. We're also far behind Europe as far as cell phones go. But the iPhone brings about a lot of technology that those companies don't have, specifically ease of use. I think it would sell fine just for the design.

while most of the things that you said here EW true, I have to point out that none of the Sharp phones have fingerprint readers (only fujitsu on NTT DoCoMo and on AU KDDI), and none of the phones with digital TV tuners have fingerprint readers... (incdluing the 20 phones announced by ntt and au last week)

also, on top of AU KDDI and NTT DoCoMo, the development of cellphones is also fueled by J-phone (now softbank, previously vodafone KK japan) as j-phone brought out the first camera phone with sharp, first TFT screen, first phone with music player, first megapixel camera phone and first VGA screen phone...

Sound like the iphone should have supported 3G networking and the platform named Qode.

Then it may have been a bigger hit.

www.qode.com

Just my opinion but what do I know.

"The Japanese have a huge advantage in cellular technology but Jobs said "Asia", not just Japan. Although I guess Asia means Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and India. I don't think Apple has a presence in any other Asian countries."

While that is true, countries like India does receive many phones we don't get here. A friend of mine has all of his relatives send him phones and he resells them here, of the ones I've seen him use so far, I've never seen any of them make it over here, and they have all been in at least some ways superior. So I believe it will have more competition in parts of Asia than you would immagine.
Of course most of this is argument is moot considering how apple's logo has somehow become hypnotizing to the majority of people.

But as was the point of the..blog(?, i dont know the correct term here), I do not believe the iPhone will sell well in Japan, at least I certainly hope not. I mean seriously, the Sony Bravia is just flat out sexy.

Thank you swampthing for mentioning NeoMedia's qode. I've been running it on my Nokia Symbian OS enabled mobile and it works amazingly well ... Perhaps the best mobile code scanning application available. It can do code scanning, manual barcode number entry for UPCs, and keyword entry.

I heard that NeoMedia and Gavitec will be combining qode and Lavasphere so qode will be code agnostic and able to read both QR and Datamatrix in the very near future. I've also had the pleasure of lab testing Lavasphere while over in Europe and it is a fantastic mobile app with flawless code scanning capabilities. NeoMedia is lucky to be teamed up with Gavitec.

btw, NeoMedia has some major brands lined up for their grand US launch of qode this year. However unfortunately, a non-disclosure prevents me from discussing these deals at this time. Just know that things are cooking down in Ft. Myers and soon we will see NeoMedia's smartcodes on millions of 'physical objects' throughout Europe, China, Australia, and North America (US, Canada, and Latin America).

Stay tuned . . . .

Nice post by qode. If you hink this individual is pulling your leg, think again. In Latin America, they have Kellogs nailed shut, plus a whole host of other large brand partners all lined up there as well.

Apple iPhone is coming to asia in 2008 at the earliest so there is no need to discuss whether it has a 3G or 4G and moreover with that amount of time in their hands Apple can easily integrate a 3G or 4G for the delight of customers.
This post is just jumping the gun and there is practically nothing new that we did not know earlier.
hence it lost all its meaning

Who has to pay for the upgrade from 2G to get up to 3G or 4G. The person who purchased the device?

I would think that Apple would just have pre-installed it.

But the bigger thing is Qode as I see it.

When is this "grand" launch going to take place and who will be involved. Some of us are already aware of News Corp. Who else maybe on board with Qode for this big launch?

If Kellogs is involved, How do we know? Where is this information? Where can we find it?

How can customers click on the logo or keyword if this news is not made public?

Is Apple involved with this "Grand Launch".

I would hope so. This could very well promote their product to the next level.

Uh...dude...there's no apostrophe in "Steve Jobs".

@asdf ... who cares about fingerprint recognition, japanese phones (like the ones made by NEC) have FACIAL recognition.

My cell phone by Docomo do these things since 2005...

For most consumers in Japan, buying an iPhone would be taking a big step backwards. You only have to go to any of the phone carriers here and realise that the iPhone may be stylish, but there are heaps of other phones here just as stylish and with tonnes of better features anyway. Considering it's coming out in 2008 doesn't make it any better, since all the phones will have grown a generation anyway- in either case, it's pretty much a lose/lose situation for Apple's iPhone here in Japan.

I agree, the iphone will really need a full overhaul including many modifications just to enter the market here in Japan. It would essentially be a completely different iphone than the others used outside of Japan. I don't think that would be reasonable. But you never know....a man will run very far to catch a dollar...even to the land of the rising yen if he has to.

The iPhone's multi touch interface is a marvel. and it should be the standard from wich interfaces should be built. the kind that Changes depending on the application that is opened. This is the one major aspect of design that other phones does not have. Simply having touch screen isn't enough. you want a touch screen that supports all your fingers not just a "stylus" finger. As far as getting the iPhone to work with the Japanese Phone providers thats a simple task. All of this is Software. the Software can be met to pay for the Vending machines, the Kiosks for paying the jikan rail tickets. etc etc. ALL OF THIS IS SOFTWARE. and is no way going to hamper the iPhone's adaptation in Japan. Although again this is the beauty of the phone. its not the Hardware that matters in it anymore its the software. It becomes much more upgradeable than your typical smartphone. because it has the ability to upgrade itself so will the interface. you just add the software you want and your phone becomes a different phone than it was before. Marvelous.

I've lived in Japan for the past eight years and am used to and look forward to the new phones and technologies that seem to come out every four months or so. Apple's iPhone is cool and all but it'll have to do a lot more for me to switch out my new Sony from DoCoMo. As it looks like for now only one carrier (Soft Bank)will be picking it up. If so it definitely won't do well over here. Soft Bank is new and only has a decent signal if you live in down town Tokyo.

Another foreigner in downtown Tokyo here. On opening day I see a substantial market for iPhone: mac lovers, foreigners, and some style/tech heads in Tokyo. From the original blog, it sounds like everyone uses the techy features available on a phone, but check this out:

Out of the ~1000 times I've boarded a train over 2.5 years, I've _never_ seen anyone scan their phone to pay for anything--they usually use company-purchased, dedicated commuter passes, which are bureaucratically-low tech. And on the same ~1000 train rides, I've seen someone watching TV only twice. (And as mentioned, this tech has been out for years and years.) And I've never met anyone who wants to pay for a video chat.

The most common way most people use phones here is for texting email. (#2 is actually talking.) On any train car, I see generally 20%-40% of people texting, and roughly the same with headphones. If the iPhone can combine those two, it's liable to be a hit here. (Not to mention, 5% play Nintendo DS, ~1% PSP)

BUT: the touch screen must prove to work well with Japanese texting habits. Good software--Japanese T9-like predictive text--is a must, but even so, rapid punching of the same key happens a lot, to toggle through different characters. (Even with a full keyboard typing in Japanese is rough.)

If iPhone's touch screen, style, and sound delivers, it could still do well here. It's likely to be more popular in China.

"As far as getting the iPhone to work with the Japanese Phone providers thats a simple task. All of this is Software. the Software can be met to pay for the Vending machines, the Kiosks for paying the jikan rail tickets. etc etc. ALL OF THIS IS SOFTWARE. and is no way going to hamper the iPhone's adaptation in Japan."



All of that is software?!??! Hah, you must be kidding me. So I guess the software created the physical piece of material you TOUCH with tour finger to use the fingerprinting technology (as stated with the japanese phones). And the link between the phone and the cash management system, that's all software too? There's a piece of hardware, or a chip, that is integrated onto the phone, to provide for all these nifty features. The ability to watch LIVE tv? Not possible on the iphone, unless you find some way to use the actual NETWORK to stream it down for you. The iphone (as it stands now) isn't ready for these type of technological advances, yet. It would probably have to be re-designed.

Been living in Japan 2 years and I can tell you this, I know dozens of people here all frothing at the mouth to get their hands on an iPhone. As for all those features listed in the ad.. this is a very gross over-generalization. For one, I don't know a single person with TV on their phone. Next, no one I know uses their phone for Felica, Suica, or any other IC system. They simply use their phone. The "GPS" feature is actually done using triangulation between cellular antennas. So, that feature is in fact mostly software. That feature I will concede that people use.

A few thoughts:

-The iPod is very popular with mobile phone owners in Japan even though it means carrying an extra gadget.

-In Japan, even sophisticated 3G mobile phones are primarily used for e-mail, voice, and iMode web browsing

-The SMALL SCREENS on sophisticated 3G mobiles are TOO SMALL for comfortable web browsing, or video or TV viewing

-Image, style, and user experience are highly valued in Japan

-Some 3G functionalities may be more pleasing to people obsessed with technology than to most users

-Video chat on a SMALL screen has short-lived gimmicky appeal

My guess is that as soon as enough early adopters show others how COOL it is too use the iPhone, it'll become a must-have item in Japan.

-Much online multimedia will become feasible on an elegant hand-held device running a UNIX-based OS

-I hope that Apple ensures that computer viruses can NOT cripple peoples' phones - OUCH!

iphone will suck just like macbook and macbook pro.
Apple's got good design with no real cutting edge technology inside.

I have learned some things about the Iphone you might want to pass on.
Iphone is 2g and not 3g compliant (2g = dialup, 3g = DSL)
Japan & China are talking about 4g soon.

My point, iphone users will lose patience if they have to wait for blotted
pages to download. Just like dial-up users do now.

The Nokia N95 would be a much better choice for the money and features
http://www.nseries.com/index.html#l=products,n95,demo

Iphone, sweet deal for AT&T??
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/2007-05-21-at&t-iphone_N.htm

AT&T employee spills edge update
http://gizmodo.com/commenter/cnordb01/
will 236.8 Kbps DL and 59.2 Kbps be fast enough for Iphone users?

Ive been living and working in japan for the past 6 years. People here change phones like they change underwear. The above article i find kind of hard to believe. Generally speaking, MOST people never use even half of the options that their phone has to offer. Currently im using a Samsung 709sc/ offered by Softbank. Its a super slim slide phone about .4 of and inch thick. The main reason i bought it was for STYLE, and the fact that I can change the phones band from 3g to gsm and use it in the US when i go back to visit family... Long story short, i have about 100 different things i can do with it, but when it comes down to it, i use it for mail and calling. As for the article... I know people who have that same sharp phone. there is no possible way that the person he described could watch tv for 45 minutes and continue to use the phone for the rest of the day. The battery would be dead after 30 minutes! As for buying stuff out of vending machines...Perhaps in Tokyo the e-scan machines are plentiful, but here in Nagoya they are few and far between. And besides who wants to be bothered to fill out paperwork setting up bank accounts? Anyone that has ever lived in Japan knows that everything is a hassle! EVERYTHING! In someways Japan is very much behind the US. They still dont have Bluetooth hands free here! Ive been importing them and selling that on the side. Banks close at 8-9pm and when banks close so do the ATMs. There are few banks that are open 24 hours, so better spend wisely, oh you have e-pay on your phone? good luck trying to find a place that accepts it other thank a convenience store. People in Japan are followers. not to put this in a derogatory way, but whats stylish with one, is stylish with all. iPhone is hot! It will sell! and when everyone gets a glimpse of the first iphone im sure that it will sell better than expected by the above writer, who obviously is in the dark. Jobs im sure has done his homework in asia. Hence the release in 2008, not 2007.
iPhone seems easy to use, stylish, includes many of the same options most phones have here. The final word is PRICE. This will surely determine how many will switch from their current phone to the iPhone. Im predicting within 2 years the iPhone will be half as popular as the iPod here in Japan.

PS: check out the iPhone HP. note: MAC AND PC! cross-platform isnt going to hinder any buyers just because they use PCs.
two kinds of computer users MAC users and those who wish they were using a mac. hehehe

As another user from japan i thought I would add my two cents... I thought this article was too blown up unrealistically BUT the people screaming "people dont use those functions on their phones here!!" are wrong in my book, I have had video chat conversations with my japanese friends, once even when one of my friends was over seas in australia (the japanese phone could still send me video from there) and although I have kind of a ghetto phone that cant do tv, another one of my friend watches tv on her phone all the time, and I've seen a lot of people do it on trains, and I've seen people use their phones for train passes, although the poster that said most people use ghetto company paid for plastic passes is right, but I think the idea that no one uses their phones to pay for stuff is wrong.. and i live super downtown near ikebukuro, in tokyo, so that might have something to do with my view...

Penetration of the Japanese market will be difficult unless the iphone incorporates much of the "local" cutting edge functionality. I am less concerned about chipping up to 3G and 4G and more worried about the lack of "digital wallet", "digital TV" and other functions including adaptation to the Japanese language and the unique mobile symbol speak of the younger generation. As an example, the long-awaited launch of the Motorola RZR in Japan was a huge failure... Too little, too late despite the "24 Jack Bauer" cachet... Initially debuting at around 250 USD it has since fallen to around 1USD (with contract) within a period of 3 months. While the design always attracts interest, the feature set always results in people drifting away to look at other phones. It debuts with a 2MP camera while the rest of the market is already moving to 4MP plus. Very sad. Don't get me wrong. I am a huge fan of Apple and have been since the early 80s. I am also enamoured by the elegant interface, but in Japan it is necessary to have the basic feature set plus that little bit extra to justify the cost and to create buzz, and the basic feature set bar is set very high.

@Darrik

I've been living in Nagoya for 2 years now, and I must say you are right, BUT I must contrariate you on something. People are useing TV function on their phones, and are useing very often. I'm going by train 40 minutes form Okazaki to Nagoya, and people are watching TV all the way, so the batery holds. Other things, on my phone i can book tickets for any show I want, I have finger scan, I can read my mail, my favorite page, or any other page extermly fast, I can listen to radio or personal music, I have REAL gps, and other things, wich I use regulary.
But even the Iphone hase only a few of this qualities, i think it will sell here in Japan, but only because is 'cute' like the japanese says, not because of its functions...

I have lived in Nagoya japan for the last 7 years and i laughingly agree with nimble 2's assessment of the japanese people. The author has clearly never been to japan and his mythological friend was built up from docomo, and KDDI cell phone PR. The iPhone may not be able to do as much as other phones but what it does it does far better than what is offered in japan. Just like the iPod crushed it's japanese competition (even though the comp had far more features) the iPhone will be a hit. One thing Westerners don't consider is that the japanese are enamored with western society and culture. The japanese love american stuff, (if it is made well) Western clothes, music and poorly copied style is everywhere. The iPhone will be bought simply because it will get a salaryman a bit more attention from his hostess girlfriend and the hostess will buy it because it is the most expensive phone to match her 3,000 dollar purse. However the japanese are fickle and apple will have to do a tech tap dance to keep their attention.

The only reason apple will sell atleast a few iphones in asia will be only because of the stylish design and interface. The features, well, not exactly cutting edge. 3G is widely used all over asia now..The time has gone when only a few people had it..The ipod was a real hit.I agree. It had all the qualities of an mp3 player. But iphone is not simply an mp3 player..It has to pack a loads of features to actually impress asian customers.

Your article is comparing two completely different devices; like a Blackberry to a regular cellphone. The iPhone is a lifestyle device, it's not supposed to be a Swiss Army knife for work.

I'd also like to point out something about cell phone situation in Japan.... Some people over there have never touched a computer but have used Internet so much that they even have a blog, shop online, and do any other online activity you can think of. This alone shows how much their cell phone technology fis advanced. iPhone sure is a big step, but definitely not there yet... but it will surely help catch up.

Besides technology, unlike US cell phone companies who all sell same damn exact phones such as Motorola Razor, cell phone companies over there have whole lot more choices to offer. People can not only choose from so many phones with completely different functionalities (not just a f@cken mp3 phone like in US) as others have mentioned already, but also numerous variations in design (ex. shape, color. Some models have 20+ colors available). Not to mention that designs get overhauled every year. Apple will surely be introducing different styles for iPhone in the future and this will definitely be another big key for it to be successful over there.

I'm another Westerner living in Japan (Nagoya), and I have to back up the other guys like Tavix are saying. Japanese phones — the most expensive models, anyway — can do most of these things, but no one uses those features.

I've never seen anyone pay for anything with his cell phone. Not once. You certainly can't use it to pay for trains and subways in Nagoya, a metropolis of 3 million people. No one uses the videophone features, or the web browsers, on their cell phones either. I've certainly never seen anyone order from a magazine with one. I don't know anyone who has sprung for a TV-capable phone.

The cell phone may be the most important item carried by a Japanese person, but it's used almost solely for messaging and email.

That said, however, Apple has their work cut out for them. The iPhone is lacking in other ways that *must* be rectified:

• The iPhone needs a really good, really easy-to-use Japanese input system with smart text prediction. Japanese phones have this down cold; I'd rather send an email in Japanese on my Samsung phone than try to type in English on an iPhone any day of the week.

• Japanese love inserting animated icons, emoticons, and other weird symbols into their messages and emails. This must be incorporated into the text entry system.

• SMS and MMS both need to be supported seamlessly.

• The iPhone needs to be able to scan and read QR-codes. They use these everywhere in Japan.

• The iPhone could get a leg up on its competitors if it had good support for Korean, Chinese, and Portuguese text alongside Japanese. There are large immigrant communities that this would serve better than any existing phone.

Ultimately, the iPhone could be the perfect fit for Japan. As commenter "Steve Jobs" notes, many Japanese have completely skipped the home computer revolution and gone straight to using their cell phones for all their Internet needs.

One more thing: Japan is the number-one blogging nation on the planet. If the iPhone came with an integrated blogging app that worked with the popular Japanese blog providers (like Mixy), they would sell 10 million of them within a year.

No western phone can match the top japanese phones, not even by a long shot.

That's a cool phone. Canada is behind USA, which is behind Japan. Here we just bash rocks together.

I don't know why the article says the US will never have wireless digital TV signals. We have them now and my wife and I (in San Francisco) have access to many free HDTV channels just using indoor rabbit ears.

I live in Japan, and the tv on your phone is perfect, the quality is amazing. I don't have a phone with tv capabilities, but instead it is 11.4 millimeters thick. By the way, the pictures that read as more pictures of the SE SO903iTV after the jump, is actually an entirely different phone. It is a Docomo phone, it is the one that my dad has, and is also only 11.4 millimeters, the thinnest flip phone in the world along with mine. You don't know how far behind american cell phones are. In Japan, there is no such thing as a dropped call, even if your in a place where you think your not gonna get connection, you get good connection.

Alto you retard! You can have credit cards on your phone, you can pay for train tickets, you can turn you lights on from outside your house, you can read bar codes, and EVERYONE has video phones. Going on the web browser is nothing new, it's been around for at least a year now. You must be a poor shit who lives in the slums to not have seen anyone with this stuff. I live in Japan, and have lived there for 13 years and still do, can speak Japanese fluently, so I know what is going on

The current iPhone is JUST a nice looking phone with a nice interface. If you looked purely at the spec sheet it wouldn't get a column inch. 2G, 2MP camera!, oh dear. In Asia this would have been a reasonable handset in 2003.

My Japanese cellphone does a darn site more than the iPhone can EVER hope to do! The ONLY feature I'd like on my phone is the tilt option on the pictures. Other than that, $500 for an iphone? Only a mug would pay that much for a phone that's out of date already!!

Guys and girls
Lets stop acting funny and face the truth boldly,
Apple iPhone is one phone every one is wishing to have one.
its a amazing gadget which is ulike other phones and
its fabolus.

Japan is aware that it will loose all its market of mobile phones if it gives way to iPhone because every one is waiting and wanting to have one.

No phone can beat the iPhone that the fact and no comparisons as its far beyond comparison

Having designed cell phones for both Japanese and US markets, I thought I'd add my two cents:

1. The payment technology used when swiping your phone is an RFID chip called FeliCA. It's a very small chip and would be a trivial functionality to add (but you're right, it's a must have)
2. Barcode scanning functionality can be added with a software update, all it does is use the iPhone's camera.
3. The maximum data speed of the iPhone is not enough for video calling, this is true; however, the actual data (not just hearsay from friends) indicates that music, not video was/is the killer app for the 3G system. iPhone is already an iPod, so this is a non-issue.
4. While the Japanese definitely enjoy their mobile video, I don't think it matters whether that video is pulled from broadcasts or youtube; I think they just want something to watch, and iPhone can provide that.
5. Fingerprint scanning, while interesting, is definitely not a "must have" (yet).

The iPhone definitely has some catching up to do in Japan, but it's all relatively minor and once they've nailed down the few areas they are deficient in, I think it will do very well. The truth is as it is here; there are always some people who use *every* function on their phone, but most do not.

I think the iPhone has the potential to kill all Japanese competitors in that it has (or at least claims to have) a heavily engineered functionality that is almost non existent in Japanese phones: usability. Having done usability consulting for Japanese manufacturers, I can safely say that they are fantastic engineers, but they have no idea how to make something usable. People over there are just as sick of confusing products as they are here, no matter what anyone says about the "abiding culture" of the Japanese. Just take a look at the Fujitsu Raku Raku (a phone designed for the elderly, and the most popular phone in Tokyo) if you want an indication as to the selling power of usability.

I didnt know that is the case in Nagoya. People in Nagoya should come to Tokyo more often......
I have to say that the aesthetics of iPhone cant beat any of Docomo's phones at all, even though I am a fan of Mac.

The only problem will be the price. I also live in Japan and my phone was free! The phone plans here are much cheaper than the plans at home and the mobile phone providers (AU, Docomo and Softbank) provide a large range of their phones for free (or have a deal with the companies ie. part of the service). There is no SMS in Japan, it's email, why bother with SMS when email on the phone is free (on the right plan). Even on the cheapest plans, for 5 dollars extra you can have "all you can send" email. And for 15 dollars extra will get you all you can use internet. I can also watch crystal clear TV when even in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains. It uses a "one-sec"(that term varies from mobile company to mobile company) technology that uses as much less of the signal than a TV would use to enhance the signal and make it viewable. So where digital TV is not viewable, it will still be viewable on a mobile phone. It can also record television onto a mini SD card. also play some Java based games etc...

I'm an american living in Tokyo, So i think i have a fair balance on both sides. Japan is vastly superior to the US in micro-technology, and so the Cellphones can do an incredible amount of things for a very small fee. My cellphone, which is the cheapest, most economic phone on the market can surf internet, scan barcode, take photo and video, and scan radio signals. Personally, if I had to spend $500 on a cellphone, I'd get something a little more worth the money than an iPhone.

AU W51T

I'm currently in Japan, and yeah I can do a ton of crap on my phone from AU by KDDI. I'm using the Toshiba W51T. Sign a 1 year contract a get it for 0-1 yen (less than a penny in both the US and Canada). I can view PC websites, mobile websites, download Apps, play games. Realistically in comparison it is better than a Dell Axim, or a Blackberry.

iPhone

I'm impressed with the interface. That's really about it. Most phones in Japan have music players, and tv tuners, so the rest of the features in the iPhone are nothing new.

Final Notes

1. Japanese are extremely quick at making existing technologies better. iPhone, even backed by Apple, and its popular iPod (even in Japan), does lack a lot of features that the Japanese are use to having. One company, well may be like all the companies, will make their own touch screen designs. I mean hell, probably Nintendo will get involved (DS).

2. Lack of GPS. If it can't incorporate a Navi (Navigational system) then forget it. I use Navi a lot.

3. iPhone, is a brand. Japanese love brand names. It is probably the one thing (well also the design too) that the iPhone has going for it.

To be Successful?

1. GPS!!

2. Incorporate Japanese Applications (apps,mail etc)

3. Add Navi

4. Lower the price

5. Did I say GPS?

6. free iPhones for me

I'd have to agree with most of these posters. iPhone can't compete with the phones of Japan. Probably one of my favorite features is going up to a vending machine, swiping my phone and buying a can of Coke. As hot and humid as Japan is, I use that feature the most. On the other hand I really do hope Apple makes an iPhone that can compete with the phones of Japan. I am a stout fan of the Mac but the iPhone needs much work before it's debut here in Japan.

I find this post to be a classic "gaijin who thinks they know japan" post. Say all you want about Japan's keitai culture, the features the phones have, etc., but the truth is that, like anywhere in the world, most people do not use all the fancy features their phones have. In fact, every single Japanese person I've shown the iPhone to has thought it was amazing and asked where they could buy one.

More features does not equal a better product. Most people would rather own a well thought-out, nicely built product than a feature-packed piece of plastic crap.

Some of the phones being designed and used in Japan are beautiful. Is there a way to use the Japanese phones in USA? I am tired of the lack of style and clunkiness of us phones - I miss my ericsson t28. I do not need video, itunes, etc. on my phone, just something that works well is not humongous and is well designed and interesting to see - especially since it is an almost necessary accessory to our daily existence.

American living here in Nagano City.
If the iphone is to be popular, it will be with the teenage demographic more then any other.

As with all the fancy options our phones have here I have to agree with others that, besides the email,music,internet, video and actual phone useage, the rest is fluff and not used much on our current phones even though those options are readily available. This phone will be a prime target with teens to young adults.

For me, if its not water-proof / shock-resisant(like my trusty Casio w42ca) Im not going near it.
I have dropped my phone about 3 times bike riding, and besides superficial scratches, no cracked screen, or other damage.

The phone also went for swimming lessons during an English camp weekend in the mountains. Fell from a height of about 15 feet off a bridge into a small creek, and sat there for about an hour before I found it. Worked perfectly. I dont know a single person that hasnt dropped their phone at least once. Everyone has some type of battle scars inflicted to their phones.

Knowing the Iphone is not going to be as durable as my faithfully abused phone. We still havent heard of all the potential problems for the non-hardcore users.

With Apples prior problems with screens cracking on their ipod family of players in the past years, I would expect the same round of problems popping up with the possiblity of inferior shock-resistance on the iphone.

Turn-off number one for the iphone.. No user replaceable battery. And I know, because I repair broken ipods, that Apple does a damn good job sealing up their products to deter user dissasembly. Expect a high repair bill to send it into Apple for a inexpensive battery. Either that or expect some blemishing / scratching while trying to dissasemble it to replace the battery on your own.

Im going to pass on this one, and would advise the same to anyone that asks me about the phone

I'm sorry, your Japanese friend's name is "Claude"? Not Yuki or Masa or Shin? I've never seen anyone enter the ticket gate with their phone. Everyone here (I live in Japan) uses IC cards in their wallets to do that. My phone can pay for things, act as a TV remote, scan barcodes, etc. and it's 2 years old now. Only recently have TV phones become widespread. I suspect a little embellishment in your description, but ultimately I agree with your assessment that the phones here may be too advanced for the iPhone to have the same impact they've had in the U.S. Still, I want one, if for no other reason than to have one device instead of two. But having used Japanese cell phones for a while, I'll miss certain things about them, not the least of which are the cute animated e-moji emoticons which convey so much meaning in this country.

I am an American living in Japan. I use my cell phone every day to pay for the train. But, to my knowledge, there are NO cell phones in Japan that can access a corporate email account. They all so email on the phone, but not getting my work email. And schedules on the phone, synching from Outlook never works. Why are there no Blackberry devices here? People shouldnt think it is all so "advanced" here. They have cute colorful phones with no business features.

I am also an American living in Japan. I use my Japanese phone [AU KDDI] every day and the service is good but I don't think that the "Asia Tech" of Japan is all that people crack it up to be. From my experience the phones in Japan are not the tiny things that western people think they are, they are actually about twice the size of your average Nokia or Sanyo you would find in the States. Also the user interface is very complicated. Most phones in Japan fell like your running Windows 98. Even though the iPhone will not bring any stunning new features to the market I guarantee you it's going to be huge in Japan. Sony had been making MP3 players for years before the iPod came out but the iPod is now by far the most popular player in Japan. It's everywhere and the Japanese love the iTunes Store. The iPhone is going to be warmly welcomed by me and Japan sometime next year.
Like Steve Jobs said in one of his Keynotes "we make great software" the iPod was not a new thing, it was the great software that made it what it is.

Thats my 2 Yen.
Seth

I live in Japan since 6 years, I used many different hight end japanese cellular phones, all really sucks ! Many features, but terrible user experience ! I am looking forward the iPhone finally arrive in Japan and I am pretty sure many many peoples will love it !

One of the main problems I see with your comparison, is that the way you word it, you're grouping together all of the features of every japanese phone and comparing it to one phone. Even if you compare phones within the same market, you're going to come out with phones that do and dont' have many features. You're always going to be making a trade off, of some features for others, or sacrificing more/better features for size, weight etc.

I've owned both a fairly high tech (at the time) Japanese phone- the Sharp 902SH, and the iphone. There were features of each that I liked, and features I wish it had that the other has. I agree that the iphone can be improved in many ways, but the same can be said for japanese phones. The large screen and fluid interface of the iphone make surfing the internet much more convenient than on most other phones. In conjunction with wifi, it's been a great user experience. One touch google maps has been very useful for me personally, as is the ability to sync easily with multiple email accounts (yes- no exchange support does suck...). Add in the fact that it's an ipod... it's just a nice piece of technology. But as many people have pointed out, depending on who you are, many of the features of both american phones and japanese phones are just 'fluff'. As a whole, the japanese phone market/infastructure is much more advanced than it's american counterpart- but in the end it comes down to the individual user. What they find most useful, and what they're willing to sacrifice for that. A great phone for one person might be a paperweight for the other.

The one other thing I think you're neglecting is that the iphone functions much more like a personal computer than most phones. There aren't a lot of 'official' ways to do so yet, but it is highly customizable, and firmware updatable. So many of the functions you mentioned could easily be added to the iphone at a later time. (and many already have been if you look at the homebrew market). Sure, you won't get fingerprint recognition in a firmware update, but I think i'm cool with that...

Being a resident of Japan myself, I would have to agree with nimble2's assessment of the Japanese market. There's plenty of room for the iPhone here, and people here will buy it on the logo alone as long as it performs the basic functions properly, and comes compatible with the 3G network. Here's my 2 cents worth about this country and the arrival of the iPhone:

1. Remember that these are the same people who pay through the roof for everything whether it's practical or not. Mark my words, Louis Vuitton will release an iPhone case here shortly after the phone itself is released, and there will be more than a handful of idiots who buy the phone just to be able to buy the case and complete their LV collections. After all, everyone already has the belt, the purse, the wallet, and the luggage - if you want to be different, you have to buy something so impractical that the rest of the herd will think twice about buying it themselves.

2. A camera on the front is essential if Apple wants to sell more iphones. Here you combine the two items included in every Japanese girl or boy's pocket - a mirror and a cell phone. With the chicks and dudes here all plucking their eyebrows and sporting stiff red mullets these days, it's necessary to check yourself out every 5 minutes or so to make sure that you still look like an androgynous heroin addict from planet 80's. The iPhone's huge display would be perfect, and it would leave more space in peoples pockets for stuff like eye pencils and foundation.

3. Apple could also create a "purikura" app to add little cartoon monkeys and nonsensical English slogans to your pictures taken with the iPhone camera. People will excuse the fact that it's only 2 mega-pixels as long as they have the ability to prolong their childhood just a little bit longer.

My prediction is this: iPhone will have a few extra features when it comes to Japan, including a limited edition Billy Blanks iPhone complete with "Billy's Boot Camp" videos and some other "Tae bo" classics, and it will kill the market... At least for six months or so, and then everyone will have moved on to something else that's shiny and expensive.

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Apple won't change any features for the Japanese market when they release the iPhone in Japan, and they won't need to. Japan loves technology and features, but not nearly as much as it loves fashion, especially status symbol fashion. As soon as one of their favorite celebrities picks up their sexy new iPhone on national TV it will sweep Japan in a matter of weeks.

The iPhone cheersquad above only remind me why so many many people hate Americans. They're crybabies. They cannot cope with the fact the Japanese, or anyone else, might actually be capable of developing and implementing better technologies.
Japanese engineers did just that during WWII with superior aircraft and throughout the 70s and 80s with superior musical instruments, and they continue to do so with better motorcars and mobiles.
I'm not saying Apple isn't designing nice goods.
But some of the comments defending the phone are almost sociopathic - such desperation and loyalty are laughable.

OK, I'm going to toss my hat in this ring.

There's a reasonably large contingent of Mac users here in Japan, and I anticipate that the iPhone will have a warm reception, though not overwhelmingly so, at least at first.

People will buy the iPhone for the same reasons they buy Macs and iPods. It's not just the features, or even necessarily the cutting-edge issue (on which Apple is often ahead, but certainly not always). Take the iPod. There are a dozen other mp3 players out there, many of which arguably do much more and/or better jobs than the iPod, often for much lower costs. Yet iPod out-sells them all.
Or my computers (Macs). Is there more software available for Windows-OS computers? Are there lighter, faster, etc. etc. models with more built-in adapters and other features, often cheaper? Definitely. Will I ever again buy a Windows computer? Almost certainly not. Why? Because my Macs look cooler, and are easier to use, and more stable.
There will be a market for style and usability here in Japan (with, as observed above, a few necessary tweaks).
I use my current cell-phone (Softbank) for texting and calling, occasionally checking the weather or train-transfer info. That's about it. It can do a ton of other things, but I don't use them, because they're simply not very elegant. Web-browsing I can nominally do, but it's tiny and looks like crap. I can watch TV, but the screen is too small, and reception is hit-or-miss (no matter what anyone above says. And I live in central Tokyo). It takes pictures, but they're low quality -- not because of the pixels (3 meg), but because the lens sucks. I don't know anyone who uses the video-call function on their phone, nor have I ever seen anyone use it. I have seen people use their phones to pass the train gates, but not many. It's not that hard to whip out an IC card... and you can use the same one to pay for stuff, if you're into that. The barcode thing is pretty ubiquitous, but far from necessary. The calendar and scheduling functions are too clumsy and ugly to bother with. GPS is nice, I agree, but a Google or Yahoo map will do just as well, unless you're completely retarded. Then there's the exciting world of infra-red transmission of phone data...
I currently carry a cell-phone, PDA, and iPod, because my cell-phone doesn't do the jobs of the latter two nearly well enough. If the iPod does, and I suspect it will, look for one in my pocket next year.

OMG, your description of what "Claude" can do with his phone is downright laughable. Sure, many phones have TV and barcode scanners or whatnot, but no one uses these features (besides the TV) to the extent that you described in this article.

From my very narrow perspective as a non-japanese speaking "gaijin gheto"-dweller in central Tokyo, I look forward to the iPhone. Texting and email are weak on Japanese phones if you're not using T9. Nearly everything about my super-fancy gps phone is unusable to me since the more advanced functions are predicated on knowing Japanese. My phone functions,well, like a phone. Even my wife's ipod touch gives her better internet experiences (she can "borrow" unlocked wifi most of the way to work) than I can get using my smart (yet unitelligible) Japanese phone. (I recognize that the best solution would be for me to learn Japanese, but it is what it is...)

This is a lies, authour obviously never has been in japan. We japanese use mobile for calling and checking email. Nobody uses phone as overwelmingly said in this article. TV phones are rarely used and for music everybody uses iPOD, for train and pop machine we use SUICA or PASMO cards. iPhone is a nice phone, but would have a difficulties with our email system and in Japan we have our own email culture, because not being home most of the day.

iPhone will be big because of one simple reason - usability and cool factor!

hello... I'm absolutely impressive with the iPhone. Yet, it's not available yet in Malaysia officially. It's more than just meet the eyes, it's revolutionary of mobile communication. I hope that i can engineered something like that in the future by using Japanese technology.

Japanese technology ???????????
HAHAHAHAHAHA one of the main computer maker grouped in the same country but to poor people how can use it ......
And iphone will be a very good sale in japan whit the right
commercial no mater if is a good product or good design just watch closer Japanese cell phone (plastic + colourful paint)
But who's care after 6 months you need to buy a new one .

Remember this too..while japan has all the fancy schmancy digital fingerprinting-barcode stuff.... Americans are typically Christian and the prospect of a digital Big Brother sounds too much like Revelations. Plus our Constitution was created to protect Rights from God....Not man. Asia and Europe and the rest are at the mercy of the digital state.. Thou state giveth..Thou state taketh away! I love my hacked, unlocked iphone running the latest 1.1.3 fimware and with the announcement of a SDK coming this month, you can keep all the other ugly looking, bulky, corny phones. 3g, 4g or whatever. When I get to the point where I can visit and vacation in expensive japan, I'll rent a 3g phone and put it on my hip while playing sweet tunes from my beloved iphone!

I have to agree that your argument about the iphone not being up to scratch when compared to Japanese phones is completely true. However, your story about your Japanese friend and his magic phone is slightly embellished. Firstly, Japanese cell phone tv or 1 Seg as its called is a notorious battery gobbling monster. 45 minutes of watching tv on the cell phone would kill the battery. Next, you claim that the cell phone has his bank details linked with it. It does not. Any purchases he makes would be on his cell phone bill.

Great little piece. I do a podcast on Japanese pop culture, and we recently had Joel Johnson from Boingboing gadgets on to talk about the difference between North American and Japanese mobiles. As talks on that topic usually do, we eventually started talking about the iPhone, and came to many of the conclusions you did. If you're interested in listening, just click through to my website. It might be interesting to those who want a little bit more information about Japanese keitai culture.

I, too , thought that the iPhone wont make it big in Japan. I still do. Comparing its tech with Japanese mobile phones, it's somewhat lacking. Of course, there isnt one on the Japanese market that looks quite as sleek. The other critical factor for the iPhone would be that it's an Apple. I believe strongly that that would be it's selling point. The design-crazy Japanese consumers are very, very brand conscious.

How I came to this conclusion was by looking at the iPod. It took a while before it actually caught on with the Japanese consumer. The plethora of models and prices mean that the iPod has a lot more competition in Japan, and the bulk of it was also a problem for many. However, as advertising increased so did the brand awareness. And I saw more and more iPod users. But they were still scurrying among other Mp3 players. If you've seen the models by Sony, Panasonic, Aiwa etc that are purely non-export, you'll see why.

Having said that, Apple has established a stronghold in Japan. It's not the main stream - but the design lovers, design lovers, and the design lovers.

Aside from the iPhone lacking many features that are commonplace in Japanese phones, there are other problems. The touch interface as it is is not at all well suited to high-speed entry of the Japanese language (watch a schoolgirl texting sometime). The other (and probably bigger of the two) problem is that the iPhone is made by an American company. The Japanese have fierce brand loyalty when it comes to consumer goods. This is what has prevented iPod from having the kind of dominance in Japan that it enjoys in the West. (iPod is still the big player in Japan, but the competitors enjoy a larger slice of the market than they do in the West).

I have to agree that your argument about the iphone not being up to scratch when compared to Japanese phones is completely true. However, your story about your Japanese friend and his magic phone is slightly embellished. Firstly, Japanese cell phone tv or 1 Seg as its called is a notorious battery gobbling monster. 45 minutes of watching tv on the cell phone would kill the battery. Next, you claim that the cell phone has his bank details linked with it. It does not. Any purchases he makes would be on his cell phone bill.

Apple have concentrated on 1 thing, combining a phone with a Ipod, with a extremely good user interface. And have succeeded doing so. FACT.

Primarily a us based company first, and is where they launch all their products first, hence concentrating on the us 2G market first.

the Iphone is the bench mark. Yes it doesn't have all the newer features, such as TV, 3G, NextG and so on. But im sure they will come.

But they have designed AND BUILT the basics well. Where other companies haven't.

Ha ha...when the iPhone came out, I scratched my head. No 3G? My 45$ Toshiba 904T does tons more than the iPhone, and huh? I'm an American living in Japan, and the iPhone is an embarrassment to our country. Advanced my ass.

how stuffed would "Claude" be if he lost his mobile
but yea i think the iPhone will sell well but not for features but the fact that its an iPhone just like the moto razr. I go to japan once or twice every two years or so to see family and every time i go its a new popular thing that has taken japan by storm whether it be billy's boot camp or the tarako song its just how the new generation in japan rolls in with the new and different and out with the old and different and the iPhone is new and its different its just depends how long people wll stay entertained by the fact is an iPhone

Err...the iphone is clearly inferior to Japanese phones so why even bother try to compare it to the advanced japanese cell phones?
And who made this myth about Japanese wishing they had their hands on an iphone when all my Japanese friends are telling me it's a well designed piece of junk?? PLEASE!!

Whether the Japanese like the iPhone or not is not to be concerned about for now. I've always suspected that their judgement in terms of products really isn't too sophisticated: http://www.cube-works.co.jp/works/pcgadget/humpingmovie.html
ばかあたりのかわいい小犬だぞ。

If the iPhone becomes a hit in Japan, it may only last for a while anyway. Those fickle Nihonjins are probably just too faddish to generate any long term product sales for Apple. Maybe Apple will have to get Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as their spokespersons. The Nihonjins just might buy into that kind of nutsy sales promotion.

Hey, who's the top yokozuna now? How about him holding an iPhone, then trying to crush it. He can't. It rings and it's Steve Jobs on the other end speaking in Japanese. "Moshi-moshi, Steve Jobs desu. o-genki desu ka?" Everyone in Japan will immediately want an iPhone. It's not what you sell in Japan, it's how you sell it that matters.

Will the Japanese even have to sign any long term contract that will force them to keep the iPhone for two years? That clause might even stop them from buying an iPhone entirely.

I think it's better to wait and see when the iPhone is introduced whether it will be a hit or not. Speculation about iPhone sales in Japan is next to useless.

I have 2 Japanese phones- Both amazing. I still want an iPhone though. Each phone is a great accessory. It depends on where I am going- what I want to do, which phone I choose.

WOW! this is the worst story ever. One guy in Japan is not going to change anybodies minds. and the the hell do you care. the problem with the world today is everyone is sooooo nosey. Everyone has to be involved in eachothers business. Why do you care so much if someone does or doesn't like the iPhone. You honestly had nothing better to do than do write this crazy long story about some guy in Japan. Thats great that they have those phones there but we have iPhone here. SO get over it. No matter what you say people are still going to buy Apple product BECAUSE THEY ARE THE BEST, MOST RELIABLE DEVICES ON THE MARKET TODAY!!!

PS I TYPED THIS ON MY IPHONE!!!!!!
CAN YOUR PHONE DO THIS, DOUBTS

I lived and worked in Japan. I also worked in the consumer electronics industries including telecommunication. Although Japan has latest technologies such as finger scanner, video chat, bill pay, TV, and etc. on their phones, they are never integrated or implemented that well. Software is not Japan's strong point. Most of these technologies would be considered beta in the U.S. and not for prime time. None of them have the usability and slickness of iPhone. At the end of the day, it's all about software and no one does software better than Apple. It's not about the specs. It's about the experience and how it make you feel!!!

I lived and worked in Japan. I also worked in the consumer electronics industries including telecommunication. Although Japan has latest technologies such as finger scanner, video chat, bill pay, TV, and etc. on their phones, they are never integrated or implemented that well. Software is not Japan's strong point. Most of these technologies would be considered beta in the U.S. and not for prime time. None of them have the usability and slickness of iPhone. At the end of the day, it's all about software and no one does software better than Apple. It's not about the specs. It's about the experience and how it make you feel!!!

Wow, Bunny seems a little crazy about his iphone.

I happen to agree with the writer. America is years behind in cellular and cable technology. Look at Sweden, the cheapest people get an 10Mb internet line at home for $25/month. A 100Mb line is $50/month, cheaper than Comcast, Time Warner and everyone else. There are rarely any outages or downtimes.

Going back to the cellular market. Yes, the iphone has proved itself to be the most popular thing since sliced bread in America. But that's the US. We don't even have advanced internet banking, so we're years behind even putting that on a phone. We don't get to watch tv on the iphone. We can't even swipe our iphone at the metro (wait, what's a metro again? ;) ) to pass through the gates.

Of course there are lags and glitches in technologies but for anyone to presume that the iphone will take off in Japan is naive about the market. Japanese people want sleek, functionality, and good coverage. Apple can offer only one of those.

Let's just hope the US gets on the 3G system soon enough...

So it boils down to felica, tv and gps. Felica's a contract negotiation away, gps is (probably) upcoming, tv's a legit weakness.

'Course I always wondered why the ipod didn't play local radio, so maybe Steve'll never go for normal tv (rather than itunes tv)...

I live in Japan and have been anticipating the release of the iPhone especially if it will get picked up by Softbank (my current provider). Unlike others, I mainly use my Sharp Aquos HDTV phone for tv-viewing, making calls, and texting. I've used the QR-scanning features on occasion and only paid for tickets and bought drinks from a vending machine once or twice in the 5 years I've lived here.

Considering Wi-fi is nearly non-existent in this country, I am concerned about iTunes and Email syncing capabilities on-the-fly, but hopefully the phones here will relegate these operations to the provider's 3G/4G network rather than keep it tied to Wi-Fi.

GPS will be a must as we use that more and more (although Google Maps in Japan will have to be improved) and the usual stuff about SMS-text-based characters must also be thought through since that is the cell phone's chief purpose here.

I'll probably buy one though since most of my uses revolve around my home-based applications (Mail, Safari, iTunes) and it will be nice to have them in a portable format.

Japanese mobile phones are technologically advanced, that's right.. but the user interface completely sucks, and browsing internet with them is terrible..
I'm waiting next month to buy the iPhone..

We will buy two the day it comes out. I got the one in the US and was smitten, but have been gnashing over it taking so long to come to Japan where my wife and I live.

It doesn't matter how many features a phone has if the interface is abysmal, which has been the case of all the phones I have owned here.

When I acquired my 3rd phone here it came with all the fancy features, many of which you mention, but also had three separate thick manuals.

But with the iPhone it is so simple that you don't need even an overview manual. I learned my US iPhone in less than 30 minutes and I have a DoCoMo in Tokyo that really has brought home the word "dai kirai" (really hate). After 3 years of constant use I still struggle with certain aspects, and have loathed every minute of it.

Welcome to Japan, iPhone. What took you so long?!

I have a cell phone that have touch since 1998. It still work good today. MAC suck.

Japanese phones are great - the iphone would be great but it just doesn't give enough - not to mention the cost that vodafone are making you pay - honestly I don't think that they will be a hit in Japan - too many people have family discounts etc. I'm in Japan on a monthly play paying about $25 a month - unlimited calls from 3am-9pm, unlimited internet usage (not as wonderful as an iphone but does the job) 200 free minutes after 9 (this is only for same network company) and I can do al ot with my phone. No I don't read Japanese and I can hardly speak the language - but my phone is a life saver it is all in English...

Hey, if the Japanese handsets are so advanced, why don't they sell them over here in the U.S. just as they do Toyotas and Yamahas and Sony TVs. If they were that good, wouldn't Americans be using them in droves? So what's the reason for the Japanese handset companies not taking away market share from Nokia and RIM and all the rest?

That Bravia looks similar to the phone Saki Aibu was using in Zettai Kareshi. I gotta check that out again. The Bravia seems so thin. Does it have good battery life for watching TV?

So with about 1300 Japanese Apple fanboys camping on line, there must be a few otakus that want iPhones. I'm anxious to find out sales numbers in a few months to see how the iPhone fared and if the users like them.

its not just in japan...in my opinion, US is pretty much way far behind when it comes to cellular technology. i grew up in the philippines and just resided in the states for 3 years now and compared to the phones back there, the ones here are very very limited.

A couple of quick points:

The iPhone has already proven massively popular in its first few weeks in Japan. So much for those who confidently predicted it would fail.

I agree with the Japanese gaijin residents who are sick of the way breathless tech mags etc hype the c--p out of Japanese handsets. The two I've had, both of which were the best on the market at the time, were fiddly to use, incredibly ugly (like 99% of Japanese phones) and counter-intuitive all the way. The "amazing features" people are always raving about are very rarely used by Japanese. For example, I've never seen a Japanese person watch TV on one of those mingey little screens.

Rapid access to web browsers and very quick and smooth access to gmail/yahoo mail/etc are just two functions that iPhone has to its credit - and both, on their own, outweigh all the "amazing functions" that Japanese phones have put together.

And as for camera phones ... geez I'm sick of hearing about camera phones. My Japanese camera had a 5megapixel camera in it, and it was RUBBISH. The truth is, it simply doesn't matter how far camera phones have come because the shutter speed is still utterly s--tarse. The difference between a 5MP camera phone and a 2MP camera phone is, therefore, negligible.

Nice article dumbfuck. And wrong. Why would you write an ignorant article like that you stupid fuck. The iphone is a hit here asswipe. Stupid fucker...

I have lived/worked in Japan for 3 years and used several different Sharp cell phones from Softbank (formerly Vodafone). I agree with those who comment that while the Japanese phones seem to have every possible gizmo/service jammed into them, they are not user friendly.

So, I have used mine mostly for making calls, looking up train schedules and checking the weather. Typing is of slow and painful, so I've only sent a few short emails.

I got the iPhone last week (16GB white). This thing is wonderful. The maps, browser, games and other apps are great! Typing is tolerable and fairly quick. The Japanese people I've shown it to are mostly quite impressed and some seriously want one.

It’s not without bugs (software glitches I think), and I’m hoping those will get fixed. I actually kept my existing Sharp cell phone in use, so if I ever decide I need a phone to swipe at the convenience store to pay for my snacks or do video chatting, I'll use it.

This article is spot-on. Let's 'get back down to earth' and realize that the iPhone's just a slick PDA, like we've had for years and which never caught on in a big way.

There are practicalities of a 'proper' (read smaller) phone that PDAs can never achieve. The question is, do the benefits outweigh the bulk? More often than not, the answer is no.

Big items like iPods are fine for a backpack or a big coat pocket, but a phone I want to have on my person at all times. iPhone misses that primary need for most people.