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Do you wish Japanese smartphones were more popular in the West?

By Chris P.

Updated: Nov 02, 2015, 5:05 AM

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Sharp Aquos Compact &mdash; one of many great Japanese devices we've highlighted in the past - Do you wish Japanese smartphones were more popular in the West?

Sharp Aquos Compact — one of many great Japanese devices we've highlighted in the past

Within our biweekly column on amazing tech from the far reaches of the globe, Monsters from Asia, one can most often find reps from China. Occasionally, however, we step on a new announcement from Japan, with often great devices being promised to locals, and so we feel compelled to highlight them.

Unlike Chinese devices, who are starting to propagate in the West, Japanese phones remain quite exotic, with the obvious exception of Sony. For the most part, local phones will be made available to the islanders of Japan, but that's about it. And since they're pretty expensive, online stores dedicated to them are pretty rare, and often under-stocked.

The only exception so far is Sharp, which pushed the unique Aquos Crystal to Sprint's network in the US, though that's likely the byproduct of Sprint being owned by Japanese Softbank, which had exclusivity on the local flavor of the Crystal. So, again, Japanese devices are rare outside of... well, Japan, and we can't remember the last time we've spotted someone pocketing a Fujitsu.

Even a cursory glance through the list of devices we've previously highlighted, however, may convince you that Japan has got quite a few things down cold. For example, almost without exception, Japanese devices are dust-tight and water resistant, while packing some pretty large batteries. That right there are two quite practical features that we're seeing more and more demand for. For those and any other reasons, do you wish that Japanese smartphones were made more popular in the West? Why, precisely?