Japan is the world's leading nation in the implementation of 3G (third generation) wireless mobile communications, and in my quest for learning about the latest in mobile technology I decided that living in Japan for a few months would give me a very good perspective into the future of wireless mobile communications. Little I knew that even my wife would become a convert, but not for long because the very same day that we returned back to the United States she went back to her old habits. The reason? She said to me: "no body uses cell phone email in the States, much less E MOJI mail and all my friends just call me on the cell phone to talk. I just do not need it all of those nice things here." Well, a year later she still uses her cell phone for voice calls only. Period. Clearly, the two very different cultures and attitudes towards mobile communications must be the reason behind my wife's change in behavior.

A ride in Tokyo's Metro trains is all about doing [non-voice] communications mobile

Riding Tokyo's Metro trains quickly reveals a culture of doing non-voice communications mobile. Voice calls are not allowed inside the trains as it is considered non-polite to the other passengers. So what do people do during the one-way 30- or 45-minute commuting ride from Chiba or Yokohama to Tokyo and back? You guessed it. People use their mobile phones for sending emails to their friends or family, browsing the Internet, listening to their built-in FM radios or recorded music, watching video clips, playing games, planning their walking route with their GPS enabled phones, doing real time text messaging, etc, etc. With the established 3G infrastructure, Japan being the first country to implement it, Japanese citizens can quickly and conveniently browse the Internet to obtain information about train schedules, transit times, maps, movie theaters, restaurants, and even pay for their train ride or for goods at the local convenience stores! All of these thanks to the "always-on" high speed wireless mobile data services.