Even though I’m covering much of the same ground as I did in my original iPhone verdict, I feel compelled to weigh in on this week’s hysteria about the iPhone’s potential release in Japan. I’m not sure if this is an example of Apple’s reality distortion field, yet another case of Americans mistakenly thinking that they’re the centre of the universe (notice the Canadian spelling of centre, bitches!) or perhaps a bit of both, but make no mistake — in Japan the iPhone will ride at the back of the bus.

Consider the services that DoCoMo, Japan’s largest carrier, bundles with their typical handset. Again I’m repeating myself here, but I turn to the cheeky folks at Symbian, who have produced a nice video primer on the subject:

In addition to the technologies detailed in the video:

• Biometric authentication via fingerprint and/or face
• Mobile wallet
• Wireless key entry

Current Japanese keitai also feature:

• 2D barcode readers
• Point-of-purchase brochure downloads with RFID
• Live streaming television

So to all you Apple zealots out there I say this: The only reason to wet yourself over a Japanese iPhone is because it has the potential to bring revolutionary technologies to the Western World… And not the other way around!