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At least that’s what we can infer from the new Japanese magazines dedicated to the barely month-old iPhone 3G. There are undoubtedly a good number of Japanese feature-phone fans that just can’t justify leaving behind their NFC- and mobile TV-enabled devices for the iPhone 3G. But, with no less than four different iPhone 3G magazines [...]

Filed under: Handsets , Others Braille phones in and of themselves aren't all that unique , but a former professor (who just so happens to be completely blind) from Tsukuba University of Technology has crafted a variant that jumps and jives. Dubbed the world's first vibrating Braille cellphone, the device is programmed to emit pulses depending on which key is pressed; more specifically, a pair of terminals attached to the handset "vibrate at a specific rate to create a message." Those currently involved with the project are now toiling to make the keypad-to-vibration converters smaller, but there's no word just yet on whether the technology will be picked up commercially. [Via FarEastGizmos ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

We previously reported that the largest wireless operator in Japan has been in talks with Apple to bring the coveted iPhone to the island-nation’s NTT DoCoMo network. Well, today we get confirmation straight from NTT DoCoMo that Apple is indeed working with the Japanese network to bring those edgy-Japs a bit of minimalist-style. “It is true that Mr. Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. and our president (Masao) Nakamura held a meeting,” an NTT DoCoMo spokesman said in a statement to the Agence France-Presse ,. Unfortunately, NTT DoCoMo wasn’t all that forthcoming with information regarding the timing of the iPhone’s Japanese debut or even what Apple and NTT DoCoMo were talking about. Now, we are also hearing that Apple is in talks with another Japanese network operator, presumably to hedge their bets and make sure the iPhone makes it to Japan one way or another. Softbank Corp., Japans No. 3 carrier, has been rumored to have made business trips to Cupertino to discuss the iPhone exclusivity deals. Apple could be working both sides of the Japanese market to make sure they can land the revenue-sharing deal that’s turned the whole manufacturer-carrier model on its head. We’re not going to expect a Japanese iPhone launch before the middle of next year, perhaps in line with the Asian launch that we’re looking for in China. Ears to the ground, folks. Ears to the ground. [Via: Yahoo ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:NTT DoCoMo to carry iPhone in Japan?NTT DoCoMo to enter the fashion phone marketDoCoMo predicts the future; Preps to push video telephony, hologramsBlackberry 8707h now understands JapaneseChina Mobile negotiating with Apple to carry iPhone

What do you do if you’re in Japan and you just have to have the new hotness that is the iPhone? Well, if you’re this Japanese guy, you make your very own iPhone dummy shell from scratch. And we thought we were iPhone fans. Apparently, this guy designed and fabricated his very own iPhone, complete with dummy display, in his own workshop. The execution on his project is incredible, to say the least. Every little detail has been replicated, right down to the recessed headphone jack (although, the homescreen icons are missing the YouTube application). The project was actually started on June 5, 2007 and finished before the US iPhone launch. Hit up aoshima’s website for pics on the entire fabrication process, it’s actually pretty interesting. This guy documented everything from his sketched-out designs to actual manufacturing to finished product. [Via: Engadget Mobile ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Apple iPhone display panels likely to be source from Japan27.6% of Japanese mobile phone users want an iPhoneApple to introduce iPhone in Japan by the end of 2008?Apple iPhone spotted in the Wild!Apple Patent Hints At Secret iPhone Feature

With China getting their very own CrackBerry , it was just a matter of time before Research In Motion brought the finger-cramping BlackBerry line to China’s island neighbor, Japan. The Japanese-language version of the BlackBerry was announced yesterday - for a July 23 launch from Japan’s largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo. An English-language BlackBerry has been available in the Japanese market since last September, and the new Japanese version will only be available to corporate types. Ryuji Yamada, an NTT senior executive in corporate marketing believes the BlackBerry will “revitalise Japanese businesses” - despite the BlackBerry’s low brand recognition in Japan’s mainstream (where emails have been widely available on mass-market mobile phones). “The reason why the BlackBerry is so popular in countries like the United States is that it receives emails while their cellphones don’t,” said Kenji Nishimura, telecoms analyst at the Daiwa Institute of Research. So we’ll just have to see how RIM fares with the mainstream Japanese market. We’re not holding our breath for any sort of spectacular success. [Via: Yahoo News ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:Blackberry 8707h now understands JapaneseT-Mobile to launch BlackBerry 8800/8820 on April 23rd?Apple to introduce iPhone in Japan by the end of 2008?Japanese Mobile Phones to warn of incoming Earthquakes!Apple iPhone display panels likely to be source from Japan