Japan’s own iPhone: the Nani

The iPhone Nano won’t be around for a while – if it’s going to be around at all – but if you’re willing to get something that’s off just by a letter, then you’re in luck. The happy folks living in the land of the rising sun just unveiled their very own Nani.

Yes, it’s off by just a single letter, and Sophia Mobile’s multimedia phone is jam-packed with features that might satisfy even iPhone fans: a nice 4.3-inch touchscreen, 800×400-pixel video playback, a useful MicroSD slot, Wi-Fi capability, camera…and even a TV tuner.

This may very well be the iPhone killer in Japan, where people rarely prefer Western-made phones over their own gadgets. Nokia, among many other Western mobile phone manufacturers, found themselves losing big time in the face of Japanese cell phone giants.

However, it seems that the much-hyped iPhone is off to a nice start in Japan, with stores in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Fukuoka. But will Apple’s cool device prevail over Japanese nationalistic tendencies when it comes to tech gadgets? We’ll find out soon enough.

The iPhone Nano won’t be around for a while – if it’s going to be around at all – but if you’re willing to get something that’s off just by a letter, then you’re in luck. The happy folks living in the land of the rising sun just unveiled their very own Nani.

Yes, it’s off by just a single letter, and Sophia Mobile’s multimedia phone is jam-packed with features that might satisfy even iPhone fans: a nice 4.3-inch touchscreen, 800×400-pixel video playback, a useful MicroSD slot, Wi-Fi capability, camera…and even a TV tuner.

This may very well be the iPhone killer in Japan, where people rarely prefer Western-made phones over their own gadgets. Nokia, among many other Western mobile phone manufacturers, found themselves losing big time in the face of Japanese cell phone giants.

However, it seems that the much-hyped iPhone is off to a nice start in Japan, with stores in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Fukuoka. But will Apple’s cool device prevail over Japanese nationalistic tendencies when it comes to tech gadgets? We’ll find out soon enough.