[steven]

To be honest, if the interface is easy for you to use, then I think you've found what you are looking for and more (and at a good price I might add). Also, it's extremely portable so you can take that thing anywhere. The ability to take "notes" seems like a really nice feature. You could almost work out a schedule to review your notes once a week to practice the stuff that you've learned.

Can the iphone use Skype? I'd love to be able to skype internationally with a portable phone like that-- especially if it had a camera to allow for the video phone thing.

And to answer your question (albiet a vague answer), yes I live in the Hokuriku region of Japan. I've been here for a few years now.