4 ms·

IPhone takes 72% of Japanese smartphone market

25 points by stanleydrew 17y ago

hugh3 17y ago
I haven't been to Japan for about seven years, but I get the impression that their "dumb" phones are almost as fully-featured as our smartphones. If there were only ~2 million smartphones sold there last year this would seem to imply that they're not heavily into the whole smartphone thing. Can anyone comment?
sh1mmer 17y ago
This headline is misleading. They currently have 72% of sales not the market. There are a lot of "legacy" smart phone devices in Japan. That said, capturing 72% of new sales is huge.
- bobbyi 17y ago
  That's what the market is. The market for cellphone applications may include the entire installed base of phones, but by definition the "smartphone market" means people buying and selling smartphones.
jws 17y ago
This would be a good test for a "pundit tracker". Before the iPhone was available in Japan a popular theme was that Japan already has great stuff and the iPhone might get a boost from the halo effect, but that it wouldn't be special. 72% seems pretty special. e.g. wrong: http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/15/iphone-apple-japan-tech-wireless-cx_ew_0115appljap.html http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/15/iphone-apple-japan-tech-wir... wrong: http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/docomo-to-carry-iphone-in-japan/ http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/docomo-to-carry-iphone-in-jap... right: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2008/06/japan_phones http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2008/06/japan_pho...
- xsmasher 17y ago
  Don't give Wired too much credit: "Why the Japanese Hate the iPhone" http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/why-the-iphone/
- sunchild 17y ago
  Don't get too excited. iPhone is not very popular in Japan. You rarely see one there.
  - teejae 17y ago
    As someone who lives in Tokyo, I beg to differ at this point in time. Last year, there were not many people holding iPhones on trains. Now, it's quite widespread.
  - brianobush 17y ago
    I was there in december 09 and saw quite a few while in Sapporo. Even my father-in-law has one, which tells me that it is pretty popular from my small sample set.
- bobbyi 17y ago
  The theme I remember is people using the XBox 360 as proof that Japanese consumers will not buy hardware from an American company.
h4n 17y ago
To put things in perspective, iPhones were 4.9% of all new phones for 2009 (http://asiajin.com/blog/2010/04/23/iphone-2009-takes-4-9-share-in-japan/ http://asiajin.com/blog/2010/04/23/iphone-2009-takes-4-9-sha...)
sunchild 17y ago
This makes no sense to me at all. Almost no one uses iPhone in Japan in my experience. Just about everyone is using the standard long-rectangular clamshell form factor. This article has to be wrong. Update: Aha, probably comes down to "smartphone" semantics. Meh.
procrastinatus 17y ago
That's 72% of the approximately 4~5% that smartphones represent of the Japanese phone market. http://whatjapanthinks.com/2009/05/30/smartphones-not-impressing-many-in-japan/ http://whatjapanthinks.com/2009/05/30/smartphones-not-impres... As others have pointed out, virtually all "dumb" phones in Japan support email and network. The clamshell form's keypad is comparable, if not superior, to mobile querty keyboards for typing Japanese language text. A sizable number (perhaps even a majority) of "dumb" phones also support streaming television, a contact-less payment chip, GPS, music playback, an app store. I find the 4~5% (mostly foreign designed) smartphone percentage a lot more interesting to think about.
- minouye 17y ago
  Also interesting are the implications for Softbank (the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in Japan). They'll definitely keep taking market share away from NTT Docomo as they continue to offer innovative devices and compelling pricing.
spoiledtechie 17y ago
At least for once, we are exporting to a country like Japan other than just our food. Even tho I dislike the totalitarian regime of Apple, I am happy to see U.S. Technology in another country.
- brianobush 17y ago
  well, we are exporting technology, the actual phone itself comes from china - where all apple products are manufactured.
louislouis 17y ago
A related and interesting question which I was just discussing with my friend the other day.. It seems japan is and has for a long been years ahead with their mobile phones and other technology. Why is it then that they haven't dominated foreign markets too? Why does it take so long for their tech to reach the rest of the world? Anyone know?

25 points by stanleydrew 17y ago

hugh3 17y ago

I haven't been to Japan for about seven years, but I get the impression that their "dumb" phones are almost as fully-featured as our smartphones. If there were only ~2 million smartphones sold there last year this would seem to imply that they're not heavily into the whole smartphone thing. Can anyone comment?

sh1mmer 17y ago

This headline is misleading. They currently have 72% of sales not the market. There are a lot of "legacy" smart phone devices in Japan. That said, capturing 72% of new sales is huge.

bobbyi 17y ago
That's what the market is. The market for cellphone applications may include the entire installed base of phones, but by definition the "smartphone market" means people buying and selling smartphones.

jws 17y ago

This would be a good test for a "pundit tracker". Before the iPhone was available in Japan a popular theme was that Japan already has great stuff and the iPhone might get a boost from the halo effect, but that it wouldn't be special. 72% seems pretty special. e.g. wrong: http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/15/iphone-apple-japan-tech-wireless-cx_ew_0115appljap.html http://www.forbes.com/2008/01/15/iphone-apple-japan-tech-wir... wrong: http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/docomo-to-carry-iphone-in-japan/ http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/19/docomo-to-carry-iphone-in-jap... right: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2008/06/japan_phones http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/news/2008/06/japan_pho...

xsmasher 17y ago
Don't give Wired too much credit: "Why the Japanese Hate the iPhone" http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/why-the-iphone/ http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/02/why-the-iphone/
sunchild 17y ago
Don't get too excited. iPhone is not very popular in Japan. You rarely see one there.
- teejae 17y ago
  As someone who lives in Tokyo, I beg to differ at this point in time. Last year, there were not many people holding iPhones on trains. Now, it's quite widespread.
- brianobush 17y ago
  I was there in december 09 and saw quite a few while in Sapporo. Even my father-in-law has one, which tells me that it is pretty popular from my small sample set.
bobbyi 17y ago
The theme I remember is people using the XBox 360 as proof that Japanese consumers will not buy hardware from an American company.

h4n 17y ago

To put things in perspective, iPhones were 4.9% of all new phones for 2009 (http://asiajin.com/blog/2010/04/23/iphone-2009-takes-4-9-share-in-japan/ http://asiajin.com/blog/2010/04/23/iphone-2009-takes-4-9-sha...)

sunchild 17y ago

This makes no sense to me at all. Almost no one uses iPhone in Japan in my experience. Just about everyone is using the standard long-rectangular clamshell form factor. This article has to be wrong. Update: Aha, probably comes down to "smartphone" semantics. Meh.

procrastinatus 17y ago

That's 72% of the approximately 4~5% that smartphones represent of the Japanese phone market. http://whatjapanthinks.com/2009/05/30/smartphones-not-impressing-many-in-japan/ http://whatjapanthinks.com/2009/05/30/smartphones-not-impres... As others have pointed out, virtually all "dumb" phones in Japan support email and network. The clamshell form's keypad is comparable, if not superior, to mobile querty keyboards for typing Japanese language text. A sizable number (perhaps even a majority) of "dumb" phones also support streaming television, a contact-less payment chip, GPS, music playback, an app store. I find the 4~5% (mostly foreign designed) smartphone percentage a lot more interesting to think about.

minouye 17y ago
Also interesting are the implications for Softbank (the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in Japan). They'll definitely keep taking market share away from NTT Docomo as they continue to offer innovative devices and compelling pricing.

spoiledtechie 17y ago

At least for once, we are exporting to a country like Japan other than just our food. Even tho I dislike the totalitarian regime of Apple, I am happy to see U.S. Technology in another country.

brianobush 17y ago
well, we are exporting technology, the actual phone itself comes from china - where all apple products are manufactured.

louislouis 17y ago

A related and interesting question which I was just discussing with my friend the other day.. It seems japan is and has for a long been years ahead with their mobile phones and other technology. Why is it then that they haven't dominated foreign markets too? Why does it take so long for their tech to reach the rest of the world? Anyone know?