Cell phones have always been one of those things that people remain convinced are just omg-so-much-better in Japan. They never know exactly what is better about them, of course – just that they’re in Japan, and as such do a bunch of ridiculous stuff US cell phones won’t be doing for years. While this held true throughout the 90s (and perhaps even the early 2000s), it’s more of a lingering notion at this point. Sure, Japan still has some neat stuff (especially with their uses of RFID) that hasn’t taken off stateside, but the differences are quickly dwindling.
In fact, the popularity of the iPhone might be turning the tables a bit, with a rumor that Korean and Japanese carriers are looking to adopt the US made handset: According to AppleInsider, Korea Telecom Freetel and Japan’s NTT DoCoMo are working out the details to bring the iPhone to their respective countries.
If any crazy folk out there are still denying the impending release of a 3G iPhone, note that these countries use Wideband CDMA, a 3G technology.