Major mobile communication companies in Japan will gradually stop 3G communication services from 2022. Since most 3G services in Japan are flip phones with physical keyboards, many customers want to continue using flip phones in order to meet this demand, various mobile communication companies have launched flip phones corresponding to 4G services.
Moreover, KDDI, which operates the mobile communication service brand “au”, plans to stop 3G services at the end of March 2022. The company this month launched a new flip phone corresponding to 4G services. This mobile phone was designed by Casio Computer Corporation and manufactured by Kyocera Corporation.
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It is mainly used in the field, such as working on a farm or on a construction site, because it is easy to operate the phone by manipulating the physical buttons while wearing work gloves.
Furthermore, Japanese mobile communication service providers Softbank and NTT DOCOMO will stop 3G services in January 2024 and March 2026, respectively. In order to meet user needs, the two companies have also launched flip phones with physical keyboards corresponding to 4G services.
According to KDDI, flip phones are very popular among people who like to participate in outdoor activities such as mountain climbing. These phones are favored because they are easier to make calls and are less likely to be accidentally touched because sometimes the smartphone touch screen is accidentally touched.
Flip phones are also very popular among the elderly, so major mobile phone companies have been continuing to sell this limited-featured model to make it easy to use.
