Japan officially kills off the 2G phone

The end is nigh for 2G – in Japan at least. According to AFP, figures from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association have revealed that during January, over four million mobiles were shipped in Japanese stores, but for the first time not a single one of those devices was a 2G model.

AFP also notes that Japan is second country to stop shipping 2G handsets after South Korea, with nearly 85 percent of Japanese users now sporting 3G mobiles. It puts North America and Western Europe in the shade at 50 and 10 percent respectively. Meanwhile, according to other reports suggest DoCoMo is stopping signing up users wanting 2G mova subscriptions.

I guess in Japan the death of 2G was always on the cards in the short term for Japan and it’s no great surprise either that South Korea has gone before it. Hands up if you think the iPhone will be 3G for its Asian launch…