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In Japan, like elsewhere, gadget fans lined up to be some of the first to buy the new iPhone last week. However, after the initial rush, it appears that consumers there aren't completely sold on the device, AP reports . The biggest reason is because the Japanese market is very unique. Phones have their own icons for email and other services; they have infrared capabilities to beam contact info to each other, and they have digital TV broadcast receivers; and other common functionalities, like recording video. Even the highly praised form factor of the iPhone doesn't fit the culture there—there's no loop for hanging trinkets and most Japanese are accustomed to using only one thumb, not two. As one person in the story says: "I don't want my friends to think I'm this uncool." Still, the iPhone presents a much more open world than what the Japanese are used to—most don't access true Internet sites, especially for things like YouTube. It's unclear how many devices have sold there, but Softbank, which is selling the iPhone in Japan, said it sold out on the first day. Our mobile application for Blackberry and other Smartphones brings you the latest headlines when you're on the go. Go here to download .

And you thought it was mostly Americans addicted to the SMS/IM/web presence thingamy… ? Web measurer Hitwise says it's the reverse - at least, proportionally . "Last week the site's share of UK internet visits was 70 percent higher its share of visits in America," said analyst Robin Goad. " Twitter cannot yet be considered mainstream in the USA, but in the UK it's getting there ." Its growth here - 485 percent so far this year and 631 percent year-on-year - is slower than the eightfold annual international increase , though. Twitter may seem too esoteric and the crowd too geeky to be adopted by the Facebook masses, but Goad says the "demographics are also pointing towards more wide-spread adoption". Last month, the audience was evenly split on gender and over-45s made up 37 percent of users. And, while the most prevalent users are high-rolling "city adventures", students and young professionals, young families, ethnic-minority singles and "white van culture " (for our American readers, "a white van man" is sort of equivalent to a pick-up driving worker) are also heavily represented, suggesting "more mainstream appeal" , Goad said. Fancy metrics aside, the barometer I always use is the girlfriend test - if she's adopted a new technology (hey, it happened with Facebook and Last.fm), you know it's reached a tipping point; she started tweeting several weeks ago. Now if only Ev and Biz would tell us their business model.. Related Twitter Buys Micro-Blogging Search Site Summize; Reportedly $15M Cash+Stock

UK mobile games maker Player X is buying Madrid-based mobile games publisher Gaelco Móviles for an undisclosed cash amount - its first acquisition and part of a European expansion plan. At the same time, it's separating out its production and publishing operations in to two new divisions - Studio X and Player X Distribution . Joining the latter unit on game aggregation and portals, Gaelco Móviles is mostly strong in the Mediterranean, has carrier tie-ups with Telefonica ( NYSE: TEF ), Vodafone ( NYSE: VOD ), TNM, Bouygues and Wind, and is responsible for titles like Mini Morris Fun Car (after the jump). Player X CEO Tony Pearce said it's the first of a "raft of significant strategic moves" that are coming. Our mobile application for Blackberry and other Smartphones brings you the latest headlines when you're on the go. Go here to download .

Here it is: After months of threats and warnings, the European Commission announced today that it will end "roaming rip-offs" for text messages abroad after calls to the industry to cut rates themselves have "not been answered." Telecoms commissioner Viviane Reding said she would recommend an October timeline for proposing a rule to slash SMS rates. The commissioner said they would also seek "to put an end to bill shocks" on roaming data rates, which she noted continues to be "heavily overpriced." No specific price cut guide has been announced yet, and Reding said the Commission would have to discuss how to deal with data roaming. The industry itself has argued that mobile data is still a nascent service that needs more time to establish itself before price cuts are imposed on it. According to the EC's own research, sending a text from abroad costs 10 times more than a domestic message. The average cost of a roaming text message in the EU between October 2007 and March 2008 was 29 euro cents ($0.46) according to the European Regulators' Group (ERG), but can be as high as 80 euro cents ($1.28) for Belgian travelers. The ERG said that a more "appropriate price" would be between 11 to 15 euro cents ($0.18-$0.24) per text . Meanwhile, the Commission has created a handy web site to show European travelers how much they are currently being fleeced by their operator. ( Release ). Related European Commission May Propose Legislation Tomorrow For SMS Roaming Fees European Operators Braced For EU-Dictated Price Cuts On SMS Our mobile application for Blackberry and other Smartphones brings you the latest headlines when you're on the go. Go here to download .

A bizarre twist on SMS marketing, SnapNow today brought to Europe an MMS picture recognition variant that's been floating 'round Japan for years. Just like SMS, SnapNow lets marketers send responses to folk who send a message to their particular shortcode. What's different - unlike SMS, SnapNow requires people photograph a billboard, magazine page or other ad, then send it via MMS (the server recognizes the image). In other words, not only is the process more convoluted than merely texting a keyword string to a number , it also costs more than a regular message. SnapNow is being trialed from today with Haymarket Publishing's Inside United official Man Utd magazine and youth style mag SuperSuper. The service comes to the US in three months, I'm told. Related Industry Moves: Seatwave CFO, Jamster EVP, Endemol CEO, Joost Hires Ticket Exchange Seatwave Raises £12.8 Million Third Round Ticket Exchange Sites Criticised By MPs, But Escape Regulation Check out the best business jobs in digital media. Go here for paidContent.org Job Board.

Sony ( NYSE: SNE ) Ericsson ( NSDQ: ERIC ) is in merger talks with Spice Mobile, an India handset-maker and division of BK Modi, according to the Economic Times , which cited sources close to the deal. Spice Mobile's Web site says their phones focus on the intersection of "information, communication and entertainment" with devices that range from entry-level to high-end. The BK Modi Group, which owns 64 percent in the handset maker, had asked for 80-100 rupees per share, which would value the company at up to $174 million, Reuters reports . Shares in Spice Mobile jumped nearly 10 percent to 24.95 rupees today after a top source in Spice group confirmed the development and said "while talks were on, the deal had not been finalized." Sony Ericsson, which is a joint venture between Ericsson and Sony and has historically performed well based on its Walkman-branded phones, recently became the fifth largest handset manufacturer after falling behind LG (SEO: 066570) in the first quarter. The company has warned recently that there's been slower demand for its mid-to-high end mobile phones and its delay in shipping some new products will hit its second quarter sales and earnings. The company has been further plagued by analysts, who started comparing them to Motorola ( NYSE: MOT ), the troubled handset maker. Related Sony Ericsson Warns Slowing Handset Sales And Delays To Hit Q2 Earnings Sony Ericsson: Doomed To Be The Next Motorola?