When people think of Japan one of the first things they think about is their advanced cellphones. The difference between the capabilities of Japanese cellphones and American phones is really astounding.

With Japanese phones I can of course do the regular email, surf the internet, take photos, videos, play music, buy music, scan barcodes and a lot more. Often times I see TV antennas built in so you can watch TV the train as well (the screen rotates horizontal so it’s also widescreen).　You can also do more fun things like hooking up your bank account and your commuter pass. If you want to ride the train just put your cellphone over a pad. If you want to buy things, you do the same at the register (along with your thumbprint to verify who it’s really you).

The one advantage that American phones have over Japanese phones is not in technology, but pricing of services if you like to talk. Basic service is cheap in Japan, about the same as America, but the focuses on the two is completely different.

Americans tend to talk on the phone more so you get buckets of minutes and lots of free time to talk but sending text messages (or emails) is traditionally pretty expensive. Japan is the opposite – sending emails is dirt cheap so everybody sends emails while talking on your phone is still a bit expensive (mine is ¥20/minute with ¥1,000/month credit (that’s about 50 minutes…more than enough for me)).

Why are the markets so fundamentally different. Were the options, cheap voice vs cheap data, driven by market’s individual culture? Or was it driven by technological limits?

Both seem like they could be true. However I doubt that it is is purely one or the other. Individual culture played a large role, but technological limits also played a role. If we examine the cultures and lifestyles of our two countries in question we see the answer.

The average American lifestyle, love it or hate it, does involve a lot of time alone or near alone, such as on the hourlong commutes to and from work. For most people this means driving. Texting while driving is quite dangerous and I highly advise against it. Talking while driving, while still quite dangerous and I advise against it seems a lot safer as, in theory, you are looking at the road. In your car you can call up your friends and rant and rave and what not. Nobody is going to hear you unless you have your windows down and are stuck in traffic for one reason or another.

The average Japanese lifestyle does not involve a lot of time in a car. Rather it involves a lot of time in a train. A train where you can stand or sit try to find ways to entertain yourself until you reach your destination. Cellphones with the above mentioned capabilities are perfect for this. People generally do not talk on their phone in the train unless it is urgent, but even then they do try to keep it brief.

Based upon this rather quick comparison via the country’s average commute it seems that the cellphone networks and capabilities were slowly shaped by the needs and demands of their respective markets.

I am curious though as what cellphone usage is like in other countries. Do Europeans mainly text? Mainly call? half-and-half? Does the ease of language input effect a culture’s tendency towards texting or calling? What is your theory on all of this?