[Macworld]

Post your comments for iPhone queues forming in Japan here

[alansky]

But I read on a reputable site just last week that the Japanese weren't interested in the iPhone!
This article highlights the pitiful state of the internet concerning truthfulness and accuracy in reporting. Anyone can write anything they please these days whether or not they know what they're talking about.

[Yumeji]

The Japanese have long had very 'high-tech' phones, and this has led many doom-sayers to predict a lack of interest in the iPhone in Japan. However this has overlooked the rampant consumerism in Japan, the popularity of Apple (through the iPod), and the fact that the iPhone is 'cute', easy to use, and 'cool', and perhaps equally importantly foreign. Therefore, I believe that the iphone will be a huge success in Japan, at least initially.
In my opinion, the features offered by MobileMe in conjunction with iPhone, iPod Touch, and PCs, will also be enticing to Japanese consumers.

[NaOH]

One thing that is interesting to note about the japenese mobile phone market, is that they hardly use SMS at all.
In japan, email and IM are what people use. Particularly on mobile phones.

[cphoffman42]

Wait - the Japanese iPhone is CDMA, not GSM?

[enzraho]

No, the iPhone is WCDMA, which is the same technology as DoCoMo, Softbank and EMOBILE here in Japan. CDMA is KDDI who will probably never get the iPhone.

[enzraho]

Well, I wouldn't say the Japanese hardly use SMS at all.

According to this:

http://www.textually...8/05/020174.htm

There are more SMSes sent in Japan per year than are sent in America. Considering Japan has around half the population from the US, that makes each user in Japan send twice as many SMSes as the average American. Possibly the statistics aren't so correct, but it doesn't seem so off to me.

SMS gets a bit of a bad rap here in Japan because it is under-utilised compared to mobile-based emails, IM, IMS and other services such as Mixi. Those are really high usage compared to other markets.

'twill be interesting to see the impact of the iPhone on the Japanese market...

[Yumeji]

Well, I'm also of the opinion that SMS is unpopular as email etc. on mobile in Japan has long made SMS redundant, save for older people, and those looking to get free texts to other people on the same provider.

I'm thinking / hoping that the best development will be the opportunity to have ONE email address: on your Mac, PC, iPhone etc., that can make use of MobileMe's push system. This would make one's emailing life in Japan very simple and 'tidy', something that could be a big selling point if properly marketed.