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I seem to recall that when I first visited Japan in 2003 and attended a concert, loads of people were attempting to surreptitiously take photos with their mobil

I seem to recall that when I first visited Japan in 2003 and attended a concert, loads of people were attempting to surreptitiously take photos with their mobiles. I don't know what their comparative quality was, but they definitely had cameras on their phones in 2003. Oh, and flip-phones have been all the rage for as long as I've been going there. I look forward to going back to see if iPhone form factors are gaining popularity yet. You can't swing a dead cat in the US without hitting an iPhone or iPhone knock-off.

T-R 16y ago
They're gaining a little popularity, but most phones are still flip phones. The main reasons I've seen are that the pre-paid and free-with-plan ones are flip phones, and mobile internet is more popular, so a full built-in web browser doesn't give much advantage. Smart phones also usually don't have infra-red contact-info transfer, which frustrates a lot of people, though I don't really think it's hurt sales. They're also usually only in black and white, and lack a good place to put cell phone charms or purikura stickers, which probably kills some of their appeal. Edit: Also, lack of Live TV is a big one for businessmen who are sports fans. Lack of a FeliCa reader might be an issue for some people, but probably not a deal breaker, since most people probably also have SuiCa, PasMo, IcoCa, or Edy cards.