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Exotic IPhone Finds Some Fans In Japan

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The Associated Press

Published: July 17, 2008

TOKYO - 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.

That kind of cautious response to the July 11 arrival of Apple Inc.'s phone appears common in Japan.

The iPhone was welcomed here with long lines of gadget fans. But it's also being seen as shockingly alien to this nation's quirky and closed mobile world, somewhat like the 19th century "black ships" of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry that forced an isolationist Japan to open to the West.

Japan's cloistered mobile system has its own icons for e-mail and other unique tools. That means many people, even iPhone fans like Tohyama, are likely to stick to their old-style phones lest they be left out of familiar communication circles.

"I don't want my friends to think I'm this uncool, cold-hearted person," Tohyama said.

For example, young people in Japan take for granted the ability to share phone numbers, e-mail addresses and other contact information by beaming it from one phone to another over infrared connections. Being without those instantaneous exchanges would be the death knell on the Japanese dating circuit.

While the iPhone has Bluetooth wireless links, it has no infrared connection.

The iPhone lacks other technology long available on Japanese cell phones, such as digital TV broadcasts, a built-in camcorder, voice recognition and an "electronic wallet" function.

Japanese cell phone customers also might struggle with the fact that using the iPhone requires both hands. The Japanese style of text messaging relies mainly on a thumb - so much so that experienced users are dubbed "oyayubi zoku" or "thumb tribe."

Also missing from Steve Jobs' much-praised design: a hole in the handset for hanging trinkets. Westerners may scoff at them as childish, but having them is a common social practice in Japan.

For all these reasons, analysts say it's unclear whether the iPhone will catch on with the masses in Japan or end up a fad with the computer-savvy niche.

Sales so far in Japan are hard to discern. Apple said it sold 1 million iPhones in the first three days its newest model was on the market, but the company offered no regional breakdown. Softbank Corp., the Japanese carrier of the iPhone, said it sold out of the devices on the first day. But it did not reveal how many had been available.

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