Japan gripped by iPad frenzy

It's not easy to get gadget-friendly Japanese customers especially enthused about a new gizmo. Yet, as the Wall Street Journal points out, anticipation for the iPad's release in the land of the rising sun is high. As customers line up outside a Ginza Apple Store days in advance, more than a half-dozen Japanese business and technology magazines feature the iPad on their cover. What accounts for the frenzy? Daisuke Wakabayashi, writing for the Journal, names several factors.

First is the Japanese electronics industry itself. Facing infiltration by new and less expensive gadgets from the likes of Apple and Amazon, as well as the large bank roll of South Korean competitor Samsung Electronics Co., many Japanese companies have focused on improving existing devices, and less so on creating something new, so innovation like the iPad makes a big splash.

Another factor, Wakabayashi notes, is the sheer pleasure of owning a name-brand device. In Japan (and so many other parts of the world), Apple products are fun to own and show off. College student Kazuto Ishimura told the Journal, "Japanese products are very capable and powerful, but they don't have the same charm as ones made by Apple." Note that Ishimura conducted his interview while waiting in line outside that Ginza Apple Store.

There's more to Wakabayashi's article, and we suggest reading the whole thing. In the meantime, we anticipate sales reports from Japan and elsewhere as the iPad goes on sale internationally throughout the day today.

[Via MacDailyNews]
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