I-pad customers in Japan get overpriced nothing from U.S.

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?

Walkman is more popular than I-pod in Japan

In Japan, the Sony Walkman® MP3 player has begun selling more units than the I-pod®.

Consumers in Japan feel that the sound quality of the Walkman is superior to that of the I-pod.
Also, the Walkman‘s headphones are more comfortable and offer better sound.

Many people feel that the software to upload files to the Walkman is easier to use than the I-pod‘s software.

And finally, the battery in the Walkman charges faster and the charge lasts much longer than the battery in the I-pod.

I have a Sony Walkman® MP3 player and so does my oldest daughter. My younger two daughters have the I-pod® players.
And I agree with all of the points above. The Walkman is better!
(Also, I know many people think that the I-pod looks cool…but I like the design of the Walkman MP-3 player better. The I-pod looks weak, but the Walkman looks tough, in my opinion.)

Sony Walkman MP3 players

Apple I-pod MP3 players

Which do you have? Walkman or I-pod? Why did you choose that one?
Have you tried both? Which is better, in your opinion?

(By the way, on this subject, I wrote a post last July about an English boy who traded his I-pod to try out an “old-school” 1979 style Walkman. Click here to see it).

I-phone

Do you know the I-phone by Apple Inc.? Do you have one?

Well, the I-phone just went on sale in Japan today? On TV, I saw that there was a line of people waiting to buy one.

I think they just bought it for the the novelty of having a foreign cellular phone. Because Japanese 携帯電話 (cell-phones) can do everything that the I-phone can…plus much more!

For example, with a Japanese cell-phone, you can download music like a I-pod, take photos and video, surf the internet, and send and receive email like the I-phone…but unlike the I-phone, with a Japanese cell-phone you can also watch TV, make purchases like a credit card, pay for public transportation, buy a drink from a vending machine, and prevent other people from using your phone with a fingerprint scanner.

Personally though, I don’t need any of those fancy extras…I only use my cell-phone to send and receive emails and the internet to check the train schedule. Like most people in Japan, I seldom use the telephone function of my cell-phone.

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My oldest daughter had a 漢字 (Japanese Kanji character) test today.

She said it was difficult. I’m sure she did well.

And on Sunday, she will have an English oral exam. I’m sure she’ll do well on this, too!