Although it was only sold in Japan for the PHS network, Kyocera's VP-210 VisualPhone began selling for 40,000 yen or about $325 in May 1999, more than a year before the Sharp J-SH04 arrived ...

Instead it's the Kyocera Corporation in Japan that holds the honor, with the Kyocera VisualPhone VP-210 – launched in May 1999. For historical context, that was the year Bill Clinton was ...