Japan cautious in iPhone's bid for world dominance

By YURI KAGEYAMA , AP Business Writer, Electronic Devices / Consumer & Gadgets

In this July 11, 2008 file photo, customers waiting in line to buy the iPhone 3G celebrate as sales begin in Tokyo. Japan has a cloistered mobile system, with its own icons for e-mail and other unique tools. That means many people, even iPhone fans, are likely to stick to their old-style phones lest they be left out of the familiar communication circles. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

(AP) -- Kentaro Tohyama is proud of his new iPhone. He stood overnight in line to get it when the device became available in Japan for the first time. But the 29-year-old computer engineer isn't about to part with his made-in-Japan cell phone either.

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Posted by Glis 07/16/08 22:13

Rank: 4/5 after 1 vote

...or it's because the iPhone is completely inferor to what the Japanese are already using. It's popular here in the States because it has the illusion of being hi-tech and trendy, but in reality it's just cleverly packaged 1-2 year old technology packaged in a flashy design.

This article is full of lies. The Japanese are beyong the US 3g standard and have had streaming video and nice displays for years. My 2 year old HTC had 3G, streaming video and a good touch screen, which the Japanese had well before it was even released here...

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Posted by lowbatteries 07/20/08 01:01

Rank: 3/5 after 1 vote

I don't know much about the Japanese cell phone market ... but infared instead of bluetooth? That seems pretty old hat.

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Posted by Lord_jag 07/22/08 14:53

Rank: 3/5 after 2 votes

Infrared is old hat. But it works EXTREMELY well. It's also very easy to set up a transfer and send. Bluetooth seems to be a little more difficult.

The Japaneese phones are lightyears ahead of anything we have here including the they-Phone(it won't be an i-phone to me until they are sold unlocked). Streaming video, home network conectivity and touchscreens are just the start of what they have over there.

North America only has 2nd world countries when you look at electronics.