no way would anyone who seeks a simple to use phone choose anyone else. japanese phones are packed with features but none accessible to a normal person who has not swarmed the manual at least 10 times.

i had a middle school student (15 year old - likely he should be able to hack nasa) look for my email on my phone and after 5 minutes gave up. the iphone will be a phone with fewer features but a much needed interface and usability upgrade that japanese have never had. japanese phones are absolutely for those who change phones every year: just to be able to brab but never use. indeed, terrible phones.

finally: iphone

I was recently in Tokyo, and (despite the fact that my iPhone didn't work there as a phone) everyone who saw it was very impressed and said they wanted one. I believe the iPhone 3G will be a big hit in Japan.

....before passing any judgment. Have them go into the stores and play with the iPhone for a while. They'll either like it or not. All this about the Japanese need this and need that in a handset is pure speculation until they actually get the iPhone into their hands. Also, will the carrier contract costs be reasonable enough for them. Last year it was no 3G, now it's unreasonably expensive data plans. Always something to c*** on the iPhone's parade.

Anyway, the current popular Japanese handsets are really fully-featured, but maybe ease of use will sway users to the iPhone. Let's wait and see before saying the Japanese absolutely will not switch to an iPhone due to a lack of hardware features.

Softbank is know to not have as good coverage as the other carriers here.

Also the iPhone doesn't have a felica chip, so I can't use it as a electronic wallet for my commuter trains/bus/convenience store/taxi/coke machine/membership card etc.

I hope there is enough customisation in the firmware so that emoji (character smileys hearts etc....) works. Will keitai (mobile) formatted website work, what about the Java applets...

Other biggy that is missing is oneseg (digital terrestrial TV).

Current phones here also work as HSDPA modem, can plug in to the TV to display photos/video/tv etc.. Open PDF/xls/doc files. GPS, 5Mpixel camera, antishake etc etc...

Also where is the hole for the straps, how else are the girls doing to tie all their straps! :)

most people don't use any of the features. as for the mobile wallet, that too is left undone by nearly everyone. features feature features. that is all the phones are without any way to use them easily. oneseg? who uses that? ive seen about 2 people using it ever.