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I'm not sure why he was unable to get cell service in Japan. Maybe because he didn't turn on International roaming before he left. I had no problem getting on the Edge network while in Italy. You can see my full review of the iPhone in Europe at this link:

http://tipirneni.typepad.com/the_tipirneni_blog/the-iphone-in-europe.html

So the AT&T;lockin, EDGE, no 3G are severly limiting iPhone sales.

Perhaps this first iphone is just a test, with a more open device, 3G and other goodies coming later?

You really can't use the cellular part for phone calls? I thought it was a quad band phone - I know that I could se my RAZR in europe - can I not use it in Japan?

Japan does not use GSM. That's why the phone didn't work there.

Great writeup, David, thanks! I will be heading over there as well with my iPhone...during my last visit, I too noticed the dearth of public wi-fi.

to the other commenters: Japan does not have GSM ..having QuadBand doesn't help if the basic protocol isn't supported anywhere :p The iPhone IS international, its just that Japan is one of those places where GSM is basically non-existent.

Japan uses "WCDMA"

aka the "Future of wirless communication" to some people.

not including me however.

Very useful article. I myself found the Iphone extremely useful on my trip to North Carolina and subsequent drive to Myrtle Beach.

Monty, listen up. The iPhone isn't just a "test". It's Apple's best solution for the user (and Apple, in the case of AT&T;) at this point in time, just like all Apple products. And just like all Apple products, it is AMAZING. I own one, and couldn't be happier with it (which, I highly suspect, is the case with just about all iPhone users).

Nice hearing about that--I live in Japan right now and was curious as to how well an iPhone would work there if I bought one. This review is pushing me in the direction of buying it, seeing that everything would work except the phone, essentially making it the illusive 6G iPod.

Many thanks to the author for such a thoughtful and well written review. I'm hoping to find other writings of his somewhere on the web.

What didn't say was how much AT&T;will sock it to ya on the roaming user charges when using the iphone internationally - or he hasn't gotten the bill yet. I used the iphone in Poland recently and it worked great - but AT&T;took me to the cleaners on the roaming charges, in calls, sms and data usage - but that's not Apple's fault.

I was in Compton last night.

My iPhone worked just fine there.

In the 3rd world pockets of Los Angeles, ironically we typically find the best cell service. No one bitches about towers going up.

MDN since most of the info on this site is iPhone related, when are you going to change the name of the site iPhone news? Since cell phones are not at the top of some peoples interests ENOUGH ALREADY.

True story:

I was sitting at my local coffee shop last weekend, watching Amelie on my iPhone. I've gotten used to gawkers looking at the phone a lot and occasionally asking questions, so I'm always half-alert for someone to tap me on the shoulder.
As I watched the movie, a kid came up next to me and said, loudly over my earbuds, "Nice iPhone!!!".
He was very young (9, I later found out), bespectacled, and I could tell right off the bat he was a creepy-smart-genuis kid.
As he walked away with his mom, I said "Do you want to see it?" He BOLTED back over to where I was sitting and I handed him the phone. What followed was an iPhone feature presentation, given to his mother, that was worthy of any Phil Schiller appearance. He went through every menu and function, stopping along the way to walk his mother through it all, with the occasional "whoa...!" upon discovering something new (like the magnifying glass). She told me that she home-schools him (I told her that she was doing an excellent job) and that he reads MacWorld cover to cover, watches the Stevenote, and is a pro at OS X. He hadn't seen an iPhone in person yet, so he was just going nuts.
9 years old.
And the whole time, mom is not just patiently saying "wow, honey, that's great" in that disinterested, placating kind of way parents sometimes do. She was genuinely impressed and interested in the phone. She said that dad wants one, too.
I see an expensive holiday season coming up for that family.

Anyway, the story about the kids on the plane made me think of this. There is a bigger market out there than most people realize. Ballmer likes to go on about business users, but I think 9 year olds (even those that aren't geniuses) are going to be a much more important (and long term) market.
It also makes me wonder - how many 9 year old kids go ape-sh|t when they see a BlackBerry?

-c

MW: 'start'

What a great story. I hope Apple execs read it to understand where some improvements need to be made. Make an outstanding product an even better one.

@ Lowell, better than a 6G Ipod since a 6G I pod would have no need for Google Maps with built in traffic monitor function, or a note pad or even email and web surfing.

@ChrissyOne, "It also makes me wonder - how many 9 year old kids go ape-sh|t when they see a BlackBerry?"

So true.

@Iphone User, did you purchase AT&T;'s international roaming package before you used your Iphone in Poland?

it kinda sucks that Japan uses its own DoCoMo network - which works with absolutely nothing else.

The other bad part is that there isn't even a real "Pay-as-you-go" system there... not as robust as the bankruptcy-happy American system demands there be. When i go back, i'll keep my eye out to see.

but the DoCoMo 3G network there is freaking astonishing.

C1

Hearts and minds of the next generation....nicely done.

... it's iPod redux!

So everyone else, short the stock all you want, but realize you're just short sighted.

"the iPhone said “No Service” where you normally see the strength bars and the AT&T;name at the top of the screen."

Huh... that's what my iPhone usually does in downtown Boston.

MacFhearghaile, while I'm underwhelmed by the iPhone, I have no reason to contest its placement here - it IS a MAC, after all. Maybe not as useful for word processing as our 12" iBook (soon to be a 13" MacBook) but the article should have convinced you that it certainly is a light-duty Mac. My criticism of it, BTW, is not that it is bad or overpriced or under-featured ... but that I don't NEED it. A great toy for those who feel they do need it and can afford it.

It's too hot for my .SIG right now. Sorry.

Lovely heart warming tales!

I think I will write a book 'Mac Tales'

The reason iPhone owners are ecstatic, including this writer, is that Steve Jobs has finally found a way to get the reality distortion field onto a cellphone chip. Not only that, but also it has approximately a 40 foot line-of-sight range.

3G, where are you now that we need you.

David Sternlight
Los Angeles

Was I censored?

I wrote the Balmy ones tale was going to fall under the category of 'Nightmares & Werewolves of the Mac Night'

MDN magic word : "choice"

Grazie for your iPhone Italian story! Looking forward to reading more iPhone world travel adventures.

The reason Japan doesn't have many Wi-Fi networks is because most people just use their mobiles and hook up their laptops to them. It's been that way for so long (at high speeds too) that Wi-Fi was never really popular as a commercial product.

Why rely on a Starbucks internet account when you can just hook into your phone to get high-speed anywhere.

I was in Singapore last week visiting with my son who was on a training
session there. He uses a Razr with an AT&T;provider and I had my new 4 Gig
iPhone. We both contacted AT&T;and got upgraded to International service
before our trip to Singapore. While there we found he could call my phone
but I couldn't call his. So, we called AT&T;'s overseas help line. The AT&T;helper checked both our accounts and called both our phones and that all
worked. So, he said I am going to call the iPhone AppleCare line to see if
there could be a solution to the iPhone's lack of calling ability.
I was surprised when a young lady came right up from Applecare and
started her checking process. The AT&T;had signed off and said good luck!
We tried several different calling prefixes like a 1 or a + sign preceding
the number I was calling but nothing worked! So she said she was going to
try a reset of my iPhone. I wondered if my data would be lost. So, I held
down the the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button for 10 seconds and did
the reset. Then I called my son's phone and it worked! And all my data was
still intact. We thanked the Applecare lady (she was in Canada) and used
the phones normally the rest of my stay in Singapore. We never had to use
any prefixes - Just used the numbers in our phonebooks! The session of
troubleshooting with AT&T;and Applecare took a little over an hour.
Whenever I used the iPhone during the trip it attracted attention. I let
at least a couple dozen people mess with it. I'm sure most of them will be
future customers. When I changed planes in Hong Kong I had left my iPhone
in my pocket and it set off the warning at Security. When I took the iPhone
out of my pocket, the young security person saw it and got very excited. It
was the first he had seen. A couple of the other security people came over
to see it and hand it around. The people in line spoke up and they handed
it back and got back to work. I'm sure there are future customers there.
People in the Far East are very cognizant of new technology.

Mike Kaufmann
Santa Cruz, CA

MDN is not a news site about Macintosh computers. It is a cheerleading section for Apple Inc.

It is about anything that puts down Apple's competition and boasts about Apple's successes.

That is what MDN is.

"People in the Far East are very cognizant of new technology."

And they know quality when they see it. When the iPhone is released in China and Japan...

It boggles the mind.

MW: 'action'

I have friends with massive, hugely complicated "smart" phones that surf this shitty, FAKE version of the web at 3G speeds.

Hilariously shitty.

I'm stickin' with a winner. My iPhone is wonderful, wonderful, slim and far more useful. Their phones are SLOWER in every respect except 3G. Who's their DADDY? It's Jobs, baby, Jobs.

Powerful stuff.

It's becoming hard to criticise Apple -or it's products- these days without reeking of sour grapes...

Can you print from an iphone?

Iteresting views on what the iPhone needs in Japan - I wrote up about what I thought it needed last week here:

http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/07/18/apples-iphone-japan-will-love-it-japan-will-buy-it/

Wouldn't buy it myself, however, and I think they'll have to cut the handset price to attract more customers in Japan

The Google Maps For Japan are only in Japanese - they have used Japanese Political Map sources. However searching for towns in english, even smaller towns ("Shibukawa, Japan") will map correctly.

if you zoom into the full level on the political map, it shows every single building, road, many trails, and has many many more labels that I have yet to see in the US maps. I was able to see the sheds outlined on my friends farm near Shibukawa. However the satellite maps, unless you are in Tokyo, suck.

Glad you had a good time in Japan!

I notice wireless spots and places quite often in Osaka, Nagoya/Toyota and Tokyo. They are not everywhere but they do have them. The Osaka Int airport used to have free wireless spots. Many hotels do and don't mind you dropping by their lobby for checking.

You are right that many have cable connections only. I began taking my airport around with me 3 to 4 years ago.

(Toyota City, Japan)

Americans are...

"After we checked into our hotel, we went to Tokyo Disneyland until the park closed."

?? OMG !!

... fat and the only food that they got was from the McDonald´s

Thanks for posting this guys review, MDN. I enjoyed reading it and seeing some of the little differences. I'm confident that Apple will research what is needed on the iPhone for Japanese consumers, and people there will go nuts for the iPhone, as much as they have here.

Thanks again.

@ChrissyOne
Well, even though I don't think by son is a genius, at 3 he knew how to turn on the MacBook, go to the dock, start PhotoBooth, change the settings, move the MacBook to find better lighting and composition, and he takes very artistic beautiful pictures.

Now he just turned four, he knows how to use a mouse, navigate the dock, get Safari started, go to the links we have setup for him, and enjoy Spiderman YouTube clips or what ever else we put in their.

I think the genius behind it all is not so much my son, but more so Apple's well thought-out interface and easy of use software. Even thou the kid you speak of dose seem to be uncommonly interested in technology for his age.

I've found the iPhone to be an adequate laptop replacement on trips for the most part. I just took a trip to Disney World. Sometimes on the bus ride back to the hotels, other dads would check their e-mail on their Blackberry, etc. I noticed a few were more than curious as I did the same on my iPhone. After checking and responding to an e-mail or two, I decided to start watching a movie I previously had started. The "curious" looks turned into "jealous
" gaping stares. Kind of funny...

I do have a gripe though. Probably 1 out of every 10 - 15 e-mails, the iPhone refuses to download from the server. My regular e-mail works fine. They are usually just text e-mails, nothing fancy. Apple needs to address this.

But, overall, e-mail and web browsing work quite well. With the text resizing features, Apple has really figured out what other phone vendors have not been able to. The iPhone is not perfect, but I couldn't imagine using anything else anymore.