Just bought this phone here in Japan two days ago.

It is awesome!! The only downside is, they don't add bilingual functionality to this phone.
I speak and read Japanese, so that's not really a problem for me, but for many others it is.
The ease of use is better than I anticipated, with Windows providing all the tools such as Word, Excel, OneNote & even Powerpoint!
Internet browsing is a breeze, but works better through the 'Menu' function instead of directly through Internet Explorer and Opera Browser.
There are two negative points about this phone: the first being there are no parentheses ( that's 'brackets' to us Brits ) and secondly, it doesn't allow for YouTube video download. However, the latter problem can be overcome by downloading and using a DRM removal tool found on http://www.download.com to enable download to this device.
Using 'Active Sync' from Microsoft, you are able to download various software packages, such as iPhone apps to give it that iPhone look and feel (if you're really sad and think iPhone is the in thing that is).

Sending text messages is easy but a little slower than regular cell phones, but hey, we could all use a little more patience!

The 1-seg TV provides awesome picture quality with matching sound, and the body of the phone is tough as was evident from the fact that it was knocked on the floor by a member of staff in the store, without so much as a single scratch.

This phone will be hard to beat for quite some time, but as the normal requirement is a two-year contract for services, I guarantee anyone owning this phone will get more than enough use from it before deciding to upgrade within a year or two.

I live in Yamaguchi, western Japan.
I've tried twice now, to get the iPhone, but both times, get told I need to pay $800 up front!
SOD THAT! I'll stick with AU.

I tried the iPhone out in the store, but web pages don't load up well, with the wording all over the place and limited screen zooming.

Tom, the 40 cents a minute charge is exactly the same as Softpant's per minute charge on their White Plan.

Also, Softpant's tell us that we MUST subscribe to their S!Mail service, but yet, the iPhone cannot use it! So why the hell should we have to subscribe to it? And why do iPhone users have to pay a higher charge for unlimited web use and emails when ordinary SoftPant's users don't? They get the SAME service but pay LESS!

Softbank, Vodafone, DoCoMo, they're all the same - thieving robbing liars!

Oops....my bad...I just saw the Japan icon on the left side of the list. I will now go and whip myself ten times for my ignorance. (T_T)

http://www.inyouriphone.com

Umm...your map doesn't show Japan for July 11th, but as someone who lives here, I can assure you that the iPhone is being launched that day!
The only down side is that the main carriers here, Softbank (load of crap), DoCoMo (biggest ripoff communications company here) and KDDI (best of a bad bunch), are not only charging the $299 for the 16GB iPhone, but also several hundred more dollars for the service.

As for me, I'm going to wait a few months, because it'll only be that long before someone gets tired of it and puts it up for sale in the local recycle shop. Then I'll buy it and just unlock it.

Still amazes me that people are selling these on ebay and getting far more than their worth for them!

http://www.inyouriphone.com