Unlike much of the rest of the world, Japan is unlikely to embrace the iPhone, Apple Inc.'s Internet-enabled multimedia mobile phone, said Nahoko Mitsuyama, a telecom analyst at Gartner Japan who attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in February.
While she noted that foreign cellular phone makers are taking the iPhone threat seriously and rushing to release their own versions, most Japanese consumers are more likely to remain content with what they already have.
The iPhone, which combines the features of a mobile phone and the popular iPod digital music player, also boasts a full-scale Web browser, a touch screen with colorful icons and a virtual keyboard as well as a camera.