Despite their spunk and style, Japanese handset-makers have long been losers internationally. Matsushita, with 30 percent of the domestic market but just one-twentieth of the global pie, is among Japanese manufacturers who hope an edge in 3G technology will help them close ranks with the likes of Nokia, Motorola, Ericsson and Siemens. Most of the world's leading phone makers are working on 3G handsets of their own, of course. Even Fujitsu, a relatively minor player in Japan and virtually a non-player abroad, has its eyes on the foreign market. It was a pioneer with Matsushita in producing cellphones that can store Java language-based programs for games, stock listings and alarm clocks.
Skeptics consider the wireless Web boom a fad unique to Japan.
But boosters argue that the rich content and instant information that made the Internet such a hit on computers in the United States will eventually do the same there on cellphones. But you may want to download the latest melody or see what's happening in the movie theater.