Japanese mobile phone culture

In Japan, mobile phones became ubiquitous years before the phenomenon spread worldwide. In Japanese, mobile phones are called keitai denwa, literally "portable telephones," and are often known simply as keitai (携帯). A majority of the Japanese population own cellular phones, most of which are equipped with enhancements such as video and camera capabilities. As of 2018, 65% of the population owned such devices. This pervasiveness and the particularities of their usage has led to the development of a mobile phone culture, or "keitai culture," which especially in the early stages of mobile phone adoption was distinct from the rest of the world. Japan was a leader in mobile phone technology. The first commercial camera phone was the Kyocera Visual Phone VP-210, released in Japan in May 1999. The first mass-market camera phone was the J-SH04, a Sharp J-Phone model sold in Japan in November 2000. It could instantly transmit pictures via cell phone telecommunication. The J-Phone (Stylized as 写メール, which stands for Photo-Mail) model not only included a camera, but also the function to send photographs via messaging or e-mail, which made the phone extremely popular at the time. Technologies like 3G mobile broadband were common in Japan before any other country. Some of the main features of a mobile in Japan are: E-mail Configurable databases Phone and address books Alarm clocks and stopwatches Live video feed via Piconet Mobile games (e.g. RPGs like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy series) Timers Camera phone features (e.g. selfie, front-facing camera) with mandatory shutter sound. This is because taking upskirt shots of schoolgirls on subway is a problem in Japan. capabilities, such as the option to add borders, create animations, and more. Instant messengers Emoji Calculator, calendar, schedule notes and memo pad Audio recording Portable music player (MP3 player, etc.) Portable video player (MP4 player, etc.) Online video viewing (Flash, YouTube, Nico Nico Douga etc.