As far as I know, most of Japan runs on a 3G network. The biggest difference, I would say, is that there is a huge network of content specifically designed for cell phone browsing. These aren't just "optimized" versions of major sites, but sites purpose-built for cell phones. It's arguable whether the sites exist because cell phone browsing is popular or vice versa, but it's definitely the case that a different web exists that can be easily accessed and provide almost all the functions of full-browser counterpart.

The fundamental problem is that the Japanese' patterns of cell phone use differ radically from that of Americans (I don't know about Europe and elsewhere). Many, if not most, Japanese work long hours and spend almost all their "free time" commuting to and from work on the train or bus, going home only to eat a quick dinner, watch some TV and sleep. In this environment, the cell phone has become the primary computing platform, able to send and receive mail, browse the internet, download music, play games, watch and record TV, write blogs and even novels: almost anything you can imagine using a computer for in non-business applications. I know many people who don't even have a computer at home. They have an office computer, provided by the company, and at least one cell phone that they use for everything else. Thus they spend a lot of time learning all the ins and outs of their phones, while making functions that Americans feel compulsory, like syncing with Outlook, irrelevant. Americans want a smart phone, but they don't want to spend the time to learn to use them effectively; thus the race for the ultimate dumb interface for the smart phone (which the iPhone is currently winning handily).

In truth, I would say that most Americans don't need most of the features their phones already have. When you need GPS, you have it in your car in a dedicated unit. You have an iPod or other device for music. You have a laptop with a cellular network card for full internet browsing. You have a camera for when you want to take pictures. And you can carry all these around with you because you drive almost everywhere you go. You also spend a lot more time at home in front of the computer, a computer that you use for both work and leisure.

There's been a rash of confidence scams in Japan recently involving somebody calling an elderly person claiming to be 1) a loved one in need of immediate cash or 2) someone from the police or government claiming that they or someone close to them owes the government money. The Japanese generally save large sums of money in savings accounts, rather than investment portfolios, and it's not uncommon for a scammer to get the equivalent of $20,000 or more from a single person.

The cell phone jammers at the ATMs are meant to prohibit the scammer from giving their account info to the victim for a direct transfer, the way these are usually done. It's become such a problem that there are numerous PSAs and commercials warning the elderly about the scam, as well as signs at mos ATMs asking anyone who sees an elderly person on the phone at an ATM to inform a staff member immediately.

Not a matter to be taken lightly, though the jammers might be a bit of an extreme measure.

Cool Cambodian print thing

a carved wooden reproduction of one of the buddha faces from the Bayon temple at Angkor Wat I got in Cambodia

a couple floating shelves to hold lighting, my center channel speaker and display some stuff.

a booger I flicked across the room and never bothered to clean off the wall. very post-modern

a 22" Westinghouse monitor with a big dead line through it. I need the Sammy to replace it. Except it doesn't do VESA, apparently...

paint

pots and pans on a rack