Android phones are going to do to the iPhone what Gojira (Godzilla) does to Tokyo, stomp them flat. All because it's open, which we all know is so much better than the evil closed Apple way.
It is great to see the iPhone successful in Japan. A great product and a well deserved success.
The Japanese are proud people , it takes a really exceptional product to make them consider foreign over domestic. Which is the main reason the XBox 360 is a failure there
Machine translation actually translated Apple (アップル) into リンゴ (ringo)
.... and I wrote on the iTranslate App in Japan text...
Apple will do great in any market!!! They do no wrong
Android phones are going to do to the iPhone what Gojira (Godzilla) does to Tokyo, stomp them flat. All because it's open, which we all know is so much better than the evil closed Apple way.
"Open" has not proven itself against Apple's model. If anything, Apple has shown why and how its model can succeed, and is. "Open" is useless if there is no singular vision that effectively brings elements together into a seamless, simple, attractive package, consistent across all respective devices under the umbrella.
It is great to see the iPhone successful in Japan. A great product and a well deserved success.
The Japanese are proud people , it takes a really exceptional product to make them consider foreign over domestic. Which is the main reason the XBox 360 is a failure there
Machine translation actually translated Apple (アップル) into リンゴ (ringo)
Who said it was successful? It doesnt take much to command half of smartphone user base when dumbphones are capable of doing more than the iphone and any other smartphone Japan has...
and the 360 is a failure over there because they cant get good japanese content out (Blue Dragon aint Final Fantasy, no matter if Hironobu Sakaguchi made it or not unfortunately)
I'm sure you know that ringo means apple as well (but the fruit, not the company)
Is it any surprise that, when data finally becomes available, it shows the iPhone doing just fine in Japan? Not at all. If there's one thing that all of the "iPhone is flopping in Japan!" claims had in common, it's that NONE of them offered any evidence whatsoever. Remember that in the most infamous case of all, the "Japan hates the iPhone" article, WIRED actually had to amend the article and offer an awkward half-apology...
That said, Success makes a good point: The impressiveness of the feat depends in part on how "smart phone" is defined. A brief scan of some articles on the Impress RD site shows that "smart phones" are 4% of Japan's mobile phone market, so it's not the case that the iPhone has found its way into every hand (but rather, about 1 on 50 hands). Still, as smart phone usage is very likely to grow, the iPhone is in a good place. I know I have no trouble spotting them on the streets and trains of Tokyo (and I'm certainly happy with mine; sorry to buck the majority opinion out there, but I'm not terribly impressed with the regular Japanese mobile phones I've seen and owned).
Are you telling us there are societies/races/nations of non-proud people? Who would those be?
"It takes a really exceptional product to make them consider foreign over domestic"
No, it doesn't. Contrary to ill-considered beliefs, there are many categories in which foreign products dominate in Japan. A classic example is software. Japan has had decades now in which it could have built a best-in-nation (or even best-in-world) OS. It even has a ready, open base (Linux) that'd take it 90% of the way there. What does the country do instead? Rely almost entirely on Windows. "Exceptional product" my arse!
and the 360 is a failure over there because they cant get good japanese content out (Blue Dragon aint Final Fantasy, no matter if Hironobu Sakaguchi made it or not unfortunately)
The Xbox 360 sells around 400,000 units a year in Japan. It isn't a massive failure. The console has a small but very, very strong fanbase. The queues for the latest Xbox 360 releases often dwarf those for Nintendo and Sony titles. Air Combat 6 attracted ridiculous lines of gamers when it went on sale.
If you think the networks are hurting now, what do you think is gonna happen when you get videoconferencing via iPhone?
Video chat, as implemented by the European and Asian carriers, hardly uses any bandwidth at all. Even a dial-up modem would be capable of providing adequate speeds.
Of course, it's a very impractical technology that no-one uses. Holding your phone at arm's length and shouting really doesn't have many everyday uses.
The Xbox 360 sells around 400,000 units a year in Japan. It isn't a massive failure. The console has a small but very, very strong fanbase. The queues for the latest Xbox 360 releases often dwarf those for Nintendo and Sony titles. Air Combat 6 attracted ridiculous lines of gamers when it went on sale.
Oh no doubt, the 360 isnt a total flop, there is a dedicated market of about 1.5-2 million users but i think most of them have American tastes (shoot em up instead of hardcore RPGs) i rarely see many Japanese developed titles made exclusively for xbox for that region, not to say the system doesnt have Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid coming but those are mainstream titles now so they sell well regardless of region.
the japanese market is truly selective about its purchases. only (probably) the korean market is more difficult to crack.
having said that, an ace in the hole is apple's new move to providing games on the iphone. japanese love their games and while commuting on those crowded trains you can imagine everybody playing away,
plus, as sony found out, the ui is critical and apple's ui is simply the best by a lot.
dumbphones are capable of doing more than the iphone and any other smartphone Japan has...
Since myself, and probably others here, are not knowledgeable about the Japanese cell phone market, could you please provide examples of the ways Japanese "dumbphones" are more capable than their smartphones? What sort of features and capabilities do they have, and if they are so advanced, why aren't they included in the smartphone category?
Its not easy to be a foreign company in Japan, last year Nokia pulled completely out of the Japanese mobile market because of poor sales.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ifail
Also, it doesnt take much to top the sales charts in Japan unlike here in America where you need millions to be on top, you can easily be on the top 10 sales chart selling just a few thousand phones
Since myself, and probably others here, are not knowledgeable about the Japanese cell phone market, could you please provide examples of the ways Japanese "dumbphones" are more capable than their smartphones? What sort of features and capabilities do they have, and if they are so advanced, why aren't they included in the smartphone category?
It's a load of crap. They aren't that advanced. I remember hearing this when the iPhone lauched and I asked all comers to show me one these Japanese iPhone-crushing uber-phones. There were a couple of hardware features, and and of course a faster data network, but front facing cameras with choppy video and battery-draining tiny TV screens was about all they could present to me. On the software and OS side of things, the user experience is regarded has horrible on these things - they make Symbian look friendly. I have no doubt that iPhones and Android will take over the Japanese market.
Since myself, and probably others here, are not knowledgeable about the Japanese cell phone market, could you please provide examples of the ways Japanese "dumbphones" are more capable than their smartphones? What sort of features and capabilities do they have, and if they are so advanced, why aren't they included in the smartphone category?
Its really a lot of smaller brands to be honest, and i think their not included because they arent on much of a global scale and dont have a real ecosystem behind them. When you think smart phone makers, the first 4 things that pop into my mind are RIM, Apple, Google, Microsoft...not Sharp, Panasonic, NEC or Fujitsu (those are the popular brands i can think of in Japan)
Many of the phones that come out in Japan are old news after just a mere few months, while a phone has a year plus shelf life here in the states, after a few months in japan a revamped version of the phone is sitting on the shelves already. The iPhone is being heavily discounted by Softbank, not sure if this is true for the 3GS, whom is the 3rd largest carrier in the country iirc. The fact its still selling is a good sign.
As for phone features, most a few have web browsing, email, decent cameras (2MP-3.2 MP range) read QRcode (those square serial block things), MP3 playback. Some let you watch NTV, which is one of the major TV networks in Japan. This mind you is on a BASE PHONE. Kids in elementary school and middle school are walking around with these kinds of phones lol...
When you get into more advanced feature mobile devices, they have features like extended TV use, 5+MP cams, video cams, RFID (blowing up real big, hell even vending machines take it) reading Novels on your phone (yes books), saved videos and GPS and cell mobile gaming which is really big in japan.
So the only thing these phones dont have is a good OS foundation, they just have raw power and capabilities, the smart phone market (RIM,Apple,Google,MS) in japan only shipped according to one report 1.33 million devices.
If I read the report correctly, the survey size was 2800 smart phone users who answered an email survey in September. The survey was only sent to subscribers who had previously signed up. How valid is this?
Apparently that's not as critical a feature as they made it sound.
Yeah.
Trouble is, people confuse 'critical' with 'what matters to me, even though I have absolutely no clue about what 99.999999999% of users that don't post on Forums like these do with the device'.
Comments
Android phones are going to do to the iPhone what Gojira (Godzilla) does to Tokyo, stomp them flat. All because it's open, which we all know is so much better than the evil closed Apple way.
You are joking, right?
It is great to see the iPhone successful in Japan. A great product and a well deserved success.
The Japanese are proud people
Machine translation actually translated Apple (アップル) into リンゴ (ringo)
Apple will do great in any market!!! They do no wrong
You are joking, right?
he/she made a mistake, he/she thought they were posting in the Android forums
Android phones are going to do to the iPhone what Gojira (Godzilla) does to Tokyo, stomp them flat. All because it's open, which we all know is so much better than the evil closed Apple way.
"Open" has not proven itself against Apple's model. If anything, Apple has shown why and how its model can succeed, and is. "Open" is useless if there is no singular vision that effectively brings elements together into a seamless, simple, attractive package, consistent across all respective devices under the umbrella.
It is great to see the iPhone successful in Japan. A great product and a well deserved success.
The Japanese are proud people
Machine translation actually translated Apple (アップル) into リンゴ (ringo)
Who said it was successful? It doesnt take much to command half of smartphone user base when dumbphones are capable of doing more than the iphone and any other smartphone Japan has...
and the 360 is a failure over there because they cant get good japanese content out (Blue Dragon aint Final Fantasy, no matter if Hironobu Sakaguchi made it or not unfortunately)
I'm sure you know that ringo means apple as well (but the fruit, not the company)
http://www.impressrd.jp/news/091210/smartphone2010
That said, Success makes a good point: The impressiveness of the feat depends in part on how "smart phone" is defined. A brief scan of some articles on the Impress RD site shows that "smart phones" are 4% of Japan's mobile phone market, so it's not the case that the iPhone has found its way into every hand (but rather, about 1 on 50 hands). Still, as smart phone usage is very likely to grow, the iPhone is in a good place. I know I have no trouble spotting them on the streets and trains of Tokyo (and I'm certainly happy with mine; sorry to buck the majority opinion out there, but I'm not terribly impressed with the regular Japanese mobile phones I've seen and owned).
@Aizmov: "The Japanese are proud people"...
Are you telling us there are societies/races/nations of non-proud people? Who would those be?
"It takes a really exceptional product to make them consider foreign over domestic"
No, it doesn't. Contrary to ill-considered beliefs, there are many categories in which foreign products dominate in Japan. A classic example is software. Japan has had decades now in which it could have built a best-in-nation (or even best-in-world) OS. It even has a ready, open base (Linux) that'd take it 90% of the way there. What does the country do instead? Rely almost entirely on Windows. "Exceptional product" my arse!
iPhone phenomenon = iPod phenomenon.
It'll just take a bit longer.
Actually, the iPod phenomenon took longer.
Thompson
IWhat does the country do instead? Rely almost entirely on Windows. "Exceptional product" my arse!
and the 360 is a failure over there because they cant get good japanese content out (Blue Dragon aint Final Fantasy, no matter if Hironobu Sakaguchi made it or not unfortunately)
The Xbox 360 sells around 400,000 units a year in Japan. It isn't a massive failure. The console has a small but very, very strong fanbase. The queues for the latest Xbox 360 releases often dwarf those for Nintendo and Sony titles. Air Combat 6 attracted ridiculous lines of gamers when it went on sale.
Congratulations Apple!
5: Yes a inward facing video camera too, so I can tele-conference using iChat.
So the iPhone is not ready for my needs. Perhaps the iTablet will be.
If you think the networks are hurting now, what do you think is gonna happen when you get videoconferencing via iPhone?
Be careful what you ask for. This is still a few years from reality. Not because it can't be done... but rather because it can't be handled.
THompson
If you think the networks are hurting now, what do you think is gonna happen when you get videoconferencing via iPhone?
Video chat, as implemented by the European and Asian carriers, hardly uses any bandwidth at all. Even a dial-up modem would be capable of providing adequate speeds.
Of course, it's a very impractical technology that no-one uses. Holding your phone at arm's length and shouting really doesn't have many everyday uses.
The Xbox 360 sells around 400,000 units a year in Japan. It isn't a massive failure. The console has a small but very, very strong fanbase. The queues for the latest Xbox 360 releases often dwarf those for Nintendo and Sony titles. Air Combat 6 attracted ridiculous lines of gamers when it went on sale.
Oh no doubt, the 360 isnt a total flop, there is a dedicated market of about 1.5-2 million users but i think most of them have American tastes (shoot em up instead of hardcore RPGs) i rarely see many Japanese developed titles made exclusively for xbox for that region, not to say the system doesnt have Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid coming but those are mainstream titles now so they sell well regardless of region.
having said that, an ace in the hole is apple's new move to providing games on the iphone. japanese love their games and while commuting on those crowded trains you can imagine everybody playing away,
plus, as sony found out, the ui is critical and apple's ui is simply the best by a lot.
dumbphones are capable of doing more than the iphone and any other smartphone Japan has...
Since myself, and probably others here, are not knowledgeable about the Japanese cell phone market, could you please provide examples of the ways Japanese "dumbphones" are more capable than their smartphones? What sort of features and capabilities do they have, and if they are so advanced, why aren't they included in the smartphone category?
Also, it doesnt take much to top the sales charts in Japan unlike here in America where you need millions to be on top, you can easily be on the top 10 sales chart selling just a few thousand phones
Since myself, and probably others here, are not knowledgeable about the Japanese cell phone market, could you please provide examples of the ways Japanese "dumbphones" are more capable than their smartphones? What sort of features and capabilities do they have, and if they are so advanced, why aren't they included in the smartphone category?
It's a load of crap. They aren't that advanced. I remember hearing this when the iPhone lauched and I asked all comers to show me one these Japanese iPhone-crushing uber-phones. There were a couple of hardware features, and and of course a faster data network, but front facing cameras with choppy video and battery-draining tiny TV screens was about all they could present to me. On the software and OS side of things, the user experience is regarded has horrible on these things - they make Symbian look friendly. I have no doubt that iPhones and Android will take over the Japanese market.
Since myself, and probably others here, are not knowledgeable about the Japanese cell phone market, could you please provide examples of the ways Japanese "dumbphones" are more capable than their smartphones? What sort of features and capabilities do they have, and if they are so advanced, why aren't they included in the smartphone category?
Its really a lot of smaller brands to be honest, and i think their not included because they arent on much of a global scale and dont have a real ecosystem behind them. When you think smart phone makers, the first 4 things that pop into my mind are RIM, Apple, Google, Microsoft...not Sharp, Panasonic, NEC or Fujitsu (those are the popular brands i can think of in Japan)
Many of the phones that come out in Japan are old news after just a mere few months, while a phone has a year plus shelf life here in the states, after a few months in japan a revamped version of the phone is sitting on the shelves already. The iPhone is being heavily discounted by Softbank, not sure if this is true for the 3GS, whom is the 3rd largest carrier in the country iirc. The fact its still selling is a good sign.
As for phone features, most a few have web browsing, email, decent cameras (2MP-3.2 MP range) read QRcode (those square serial block things), MP3 playback. Some let you watch NTV, which is one of the major TV networks in Japan. This mind you is on a BASE PHONE. Kids in elementary school and middle school are walking around with these kinds of phones lol...
When you get into more advanced feature mobile devices, they have features like extended TV use, 5+MP cams, video cams, RFID (blowing up real big, hell even vending machines take it) reading Novels on your phone (yes books), saved videos and GPS and cell mobile gaming which is really big in japan.
So the only thing these phones dont have is a good OS foundation, they just have raw power and capabilities, the smart phone market (RIM,Apple,Google,MS) in japan only shipped according to one report 1.33 million devices.
Apparently that's not as critical a feature as they made it sound.
Yeah.
Trouble is, people confuse 'critical' with 'what matters to me, even though I have absolutely no clue about what 99.999999999% of users that don't post on Forums like these do with the device'.