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TOKYO - Over 1,000 people, many queuing through the night, besieged a store in downtown Tokyo on Friday as the iPhone went on sale in Japan for the first time.
The iPhone 3G went on sale at 7:00 a.m. at the flagship store of Softbank Mobile in downtown Tokyo.
"I've been saying this year marks the first year when cellphones will become Internet machines," Masayoshi Son, who heads the Softbank group, told the eagerly waiting crowd just before the launch.
"Today is a historic day," Son said, arguing it would become more convenient to access the Internet with an iPhone than with a personal computer.
The first-generation iPhone was never sold in Japan. As the countdown hit zero, white smoke shot up in front of the store and curtains were pulled to reveal huge iPhone 3G images on the store walls.
Japan's Apple fans traded sleep and comfort for the thrill of being the first to buy the iPhone, with many camping out days before the launch.
The person who got the first iPhone was delighted."This is great, there is nothing more to say, this is great. I have made a call to my girlfriend," he said.
Apple has described the new model as twice as fast and half as expensive as the original. The eight-gigabyte phone is priced at 23,040 yen (215 dollars).
Softbank Mobile is presently the only one to offer iPhone in Japan,
although its contract is not exclusive and other companies are working to clinch deals with Apple.
Experts have said the iPhone could face an uphill battle in Japan, where handsets allow users to watch television and pay for goods like they do with a credit card - neither of which the Apple phone can do. - AFP/vm
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