A number of people in Japan ordered the new “I-pad” computer product by Apple Corp. from a retailer in the U.S. only to receive empty boxes.
The I-Pad from Apple
The Japan Postal Service said that the products were removed from the boxes before they reached Japan and that the U.S. Postal Service should investigate the cases.
The I-Pad won’t be on store shelves in Japan until later this month so I guess some people couldn’t wait and decided to order them from America.
But I’m sure they’re regretting that decision now after spending about ¥56,000 (US$600) for nothing.
Anyways, I don’t know much about the I-Pad but I wonder why anyone in Japan would buy electronics outside of Japan.
For one thing, Japan has the world’s leading electronics products and also I doubt the products outside Japan have Japanese language support.
For example, my computer keyboard and my cell-phone keyboard both have English letter and Japanese characters on the keys.
So, I wonder, why would these Japanese people order an electronics product from overseas rather than wait a few days to get it domestically with Japanese-language features?
Tokyo Five 
Oh…and for a moment of self promotion, we have yet another new song; WESTWARD. It’s kind of a Pink Floyd kind of thing with a little alternative twist. I do NOT sing on this one…
You can hear it here:
http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2653957
I also couldn’t find if you said anything about what you thought of the song I sang, I HATE EVERYBODY!
http://www.reverbnation.com/tunepak/2633919
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Both songs sound very good.
Thanks.
On the song “I Hate Everybody”…that’s not how I imagined your voice.
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Thanks!
Unfortunately, I do have a nasally voice and when I sing it is more pronounced. It works (I think) for this style of pop song, but I don’t think my voice would be right for metal or hard rock.
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The “use” of the iPad is a question a lot of people are asking.
It’s a portable personal digital device. I’d say its’ use is more entertainment based than computing based; games, books, internet. It doesn’t replace a computer, laptop or phone…it’s just something different.
My take is that it is the first step towards what computers will be like in the future.
Now…I don’t think I’ve sold it very well based on what it does. Having said that, I know 2 people that have one (one who is a fervent Windows advocate) and they both say it’s amazing to use.
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Sir Pent, I think that is a very good way to describe the iPad and other soon be released tablet computers, especially those that will be running Google Android or Chrome OS.
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If people are honest, they really do not need a home “computer” these days. Most of what people do are surf the internet or play video games.
Those who use computers to work from home are going to do it on a box/tower based machine at a desk. That kind of equipment will have the computing power needed for business purposes. Anything else is recreational…perfect for a device like the iPad.
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I don’t play video games.
When I use my computer, I need a keyboard to type…and that thing doesn’t seem to have one.
I don’t think I’d have much use for it.
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I don’t really play many video games either.
The iPad (and the iPhone) both have a virtual QWERTY keyboard. The iPad one is pretty good sized. You can also purchase an iPad dock that has a full-sized physical keyboard for occasions when a lot of typing is required.
While I don’t think it is truly there yet and is just a first step…I think the iPad is the next step in how computers will be made.
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>The iPad (and the iPhone) both have a virtual QWERTY keyboard.
It seems to me that having a “QWERTY” keypad on a cell-phone would make typing out emails a real chore!
Japanese phones have a keypad that makes typing emails in either English or Japanese quite easy…as I said above, only one thumb is needed!
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I’ve been one of those people who have been wondering what I would use an ipad for. It’s too big to just carry around wherever I go. I have an iphone, and I use that for email, simple web browsing, gps (with google maps), Japanese-English dictionary, and a few games. I have a rather powerful laptop computer at home that I use for internet, watching DVDs/BluRay, some games, word processing, and so on. When I type, I want to use a keyboard. And no, the virtual keyboard on the ipad wouldn’t be good enough. I like to be able to feel the keys. My screen is much bigger than an ipad’s. The ipad is not at all suitable for what I use a computer for, and it’s too big to carry around for me. I couldn’t justify getting one. It may be fun, but it would just be an expensive toy 🙂
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My kids have new, fancy cell-phones (not I-Phones, though)…but my cell-phone is about five or six years old.
It still works so I have no plan to replace it yet.
And my laptop is a few years old too.
I don’t need the newest or fanciest gadgets.
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I think what I am trying to say overall, isn’t that everyone should go out and get one. I think the term “toy” is a pretty good description. I think it’s an incredibly COOL toy, but a toy nonetheless. If you are looking to get a “netbook” or replace an older laptop, this is a great alternative to consider.
I think that computers will look more and more like the iPad in some way in the future.
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>computers will look more and more like the iPad in some way in the future.
You’re probably right…for me, though, email, internet and “Office Word” software are about all I need. 😉
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I love gadgets, but only if they’re useful for me. I actually have 2 laptop computers. The old one is 7 years old, and it still works. However, it has heat problems, is slow, and is a security hazard if I use it on the internet. Everything is out of date, including Windows. It was my DVD player, as well. However, it stopped playing them smoothly.
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Once again…not trying to sell the thing…but it does email, office and word processing.
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>The old one is 7 years old, and it still works. However, it has heat problems, is slow, and is a security hazard if I use it on the internet.
That’s one thing I don’t like about computers…they don’t have much of a life-expectancy.
Most other major appliances can last well over seven years.
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>Once again…not trying to sell the thing…but it does email, office and word processing.
Yeah, but isn’t it kinda too expensive to justify buying for only those things?
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Actually, American Apple products all have Japanese support. Apple seems to operate on the philosophy that all their products should support all languages out of the box.
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Is that right?
Well, I still don’t understand the need to have a new product as soon as it becomes available.
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People gotta have their Apple products. I will probably be getting an iPad soon.
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By the way, what exactly is it that the “I-pad is used for?
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They ordered it BECAUSE it’s the iPad. Yes, Japan is a leader in electronics but the products coming from Apple and now Google (Android) are extremely cutting edge and popular, even in Japan.
But yes, it is taking a risk shipping electronics that far though. But Japan has nothing like the iPad, or even the iPhone or the new Google Android phones so some Japanese will take that risk to buy them early rather than wait until they are available in Japan.
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I’ve seen the I-phone and some other overseas-made cell-phones in stores here.
To me, they look inferior to even the most basic DoCoMo (Japanese) cell-phone.
Plus some of them couldn’t even type in Japanese (emails)…which makes them about useless here.
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I think you need to look at the iPhone and the Android based on the tens of thousands of apps available, many of them very good and useful.
I’ve heard about the problem with typing Japanese though.
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I see. Well, as I’m sure you’ve noticed before, most people in Japan use their thumb to type.
At least on a Japanese phone, it’s easier.
Anyways, I guess it’s just what you’re used to.
I’ve never owned a computer or cell-phone anywhere except Japan, so I guess I’m more used to the Japanese models of both.
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The foreign made cell-phones that I saw either had no keypad to type or a “QWERY” one!
It was quite a surprise!
I can type emails on my Japanese cell-phone quickly in either English or Japanese with only using the thumb on my right hand.
The I-Phone and Nokia phones looked like it would be a pain to type a simple email with.
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I have an iphone, and while it took me a while to get used to not using a keypad, I can type messages quite quickly on my phone. I even do have a keypad type keyboard set up on the phone, in case I want to use that, but I don’t use it. I use the regular qwerty keyboard for Japanese. Anyway, I also have a very, very useful Japanese-English dictionary on my phone. One thing I don’t like about iphone is the poor sound quality for making phone calls. But I rarely do that, anyway.
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>I can type messages quite quickly on my phone.
Really? Using only one hand? The buttons on the one I saw were so tiny that they looked difficult to push quickly and the buttons were arranged so it looked impossible to use with only one hand.
>very useful Japanese-English dictionary
Electronic dictionaries are convenient…but I never use one.
I prefer the “old-fashioned” book-type English-Japanese dictionary…it seems easy to memorize a new word when you searched for it in a book dictionary.
Just my opinion.
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I hold the phone in one hand, and type with the other. I was never a one-handed typist with any cell phone.
It’s hard for me to carry around a book dictionary everywhere.
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>I was never a one-handed typist with any cell phone.
Really? It’s much more convenient…especially when you’re carrying an umbrella, bags, etc in your other hand.
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> Really? It’s much more convenient…especially when you’re carrying an umbrella, bags, etc in your other hand.
Well, I could do it with one hand, but I always felt that my thumb was too big, because I kept hitting the wrong button, having to back up and correct it, etc. If I was emailing a lot, my thumb would get sore, and I’d switch to my finger. Found that my finger was faster, anyway.
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Presumably for the same reason that I bought my PS3 from Tokyo rather than wait a few more months for it to come out in the UK 😀
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Personally I never understood why some people wait in long lines to buy a product when it’s first released.
From my experience, the products usually get cheaper, easier to get, and improved upon as the later models are made.
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Oh, there was no long line. I don’t do that rubbish. It was just me, a nice salesman in SofMap, and a quick trip to the Duty Free counter 😀
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Oh, you bought it while you were in Tokyo?
I thought you meant that you ordered it from here and had it delivered to the U.K.
How often do you visit Japan?
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Alas only about once a year, as it’s quite a hike from the UK. I might have to forego it this year, too, as I’m looking to head to visit friends in Mexico over Christmas.
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Once a year? It’s quite often for international travel, I think.
I’ve only been to America three times since I came here (Japan) in 1990.
I’d like to take overseas holidays more often, but it’s difficult to find the time or money!
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Yeah, until recently I was earning enough to pull it off. Then I walked out of my job, so have to be a bit careful living off my savings 😀
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You travel using your savings? I’m too nervous to do something like that…I keep my savings in case of an emergency.
But, I wish I could travel as often as you do!
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Previously I’ve travelled using my wages, but this year’s going to have to be off savings alone until the economy gets back into full swing.
I’m sure it’ll be fiiiiine *crosses fingers* 😀
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