For example, ATI has made some graphics cards that a physically more "advanced" then their nvidia counterparts, but when these cards are tested in the real world the nvidia cards almost always win.
Uh, nah!
Only for games. For pro apps, ATI wipes the floor with Nvidia. Same thing for video.
Correct. Japanese consumers are light years ahead of us in how they use their cells phones. Every day they use their phones in ways that might seem like science fiction to Americans. Advice to Steve Jobs: Take a trip to Japan and figure out that market. It'll benefit us all.
It's also been argued that those very same uses, such as paying a vending machine etc. are very risky, security-wise, and that's one reason why they haven't appeared elsewhere.
has anyone seen new cell phones released in Japan this year? iPhone is like a grandma technology compare to them. 2 megapixle camera is such a turn off because 5 megapixle is already a new standstard over there, not to mention they have so many phones equipped with little antenna that you can watch live TV. plus iPhone is not a clamshell cell phone, which is very unlikely to be appealing to female users in Japan
...and, let me guess... their batteries last for about 15 minutes.
"has anyone seen new cell phones released in Japan this year?"
I've seen them. Same crappy interfaces and TOO many features that are of average quality. Every year the same thing.
I love how the "grandma technology" has scared Sharp enough this year to intro new phones with full screen, touch (single, not multi) ability, touting web browsing (but still the same carp browser) and more teeny-tiny buttons.
If this foreign company with only it's upgraded 1st handset (just one model!) takes 9% of the Japanese market as suggested in the survey, that's got to be seen as a major blow to the domestic manufacturers. I think the manufactures (certainly Sharp) have seen this - hence the semi-look alike phones they released.
Face it, 99% of everything (including phones) is crap. Long live Apple, the other 1%!
Here's another post from someone living in Japan. It seems as though most of the posts I see from those living there, no matter where I read the posts, all say about the same thing?Japanese phones are terrible. This one's from ARs:
Quote:
Hakime SEDDIK
"The 3G iphone look even worse than the original iphone. It an't offering anything better than other japan made phones.
"
You are kidding right?
I am living in Japan, and let me say you one thing. Japanese phones sucks in comparison to the iPhone. Yes they suck, you read it right. and why?
Well, their design suck, but more important the software running on those things is terrible flawed. I mean, did you ever use a japanese phone. Ok they look super modern compared to a cheap european or american phone but when you try to use them, it is a terrible experience compared to the iPhone.
Its was fine (the japanese phones were believed to be always on the technological leading) until Apple reinvent the phone industry, but now no way that you can say that japanese phones offer the same technology. Every phone maker in Japan was taken by storm when Apple revealed the iPhone, because they realized that their software sucks.
Surfing the net is a no go on japanese phones (they are stuck to some crippled browsers that are not able to surf 99% of internet), managing your mails is a pain, managing your media is a pain, everything is slow and simply difficult to use because their technology is outdated. And don't even try to run a third party applications, this is a mess of poor design. Developing apps for those phones? Don't think about it.... Enterprise support on those phones? Nil....
The only advantage of japanese phones over the original iPhone was that they are 3G. That's it, nothing else. But it is not even an advantage anymore.
The japanese phone market has been living a long time on his technological lead over other countries and somehow very few innovations came out besides the incredible amount of services provided by carriers and the improvements made in data transfer speeds. And also the market became a mess, with all the phones similar to each other offering very few technological differences between them. In other words the japanese phone market became boring. The iPhone changes all of that.
And by the way, recently several japanese makers have tried to propose new "generation" phones with touch screens in order to compete with the iPhones. So far the result is a disaster, they came up with bad rip off of the iPhone that are almost embarrassing. But well they are trying, they can't innovate so they copy......
A "spare" battery has the advantage of "change and go", not "wait for a charge and go", and is small enough to keep in your pocket where ever you are. Not true about a USB port/charger.
(...)
edit: someone above asked if anyone has ever seen someone carry a spare battery and change them in real life. YES. ME! With both my old Razr and my Treo 700P. It just depends on how much you use the device during the day, doesn't it?
How do you charge your multiple batteries? Back in the old days there used to be dedicated charging stations for replacement batteries, but these days are long gone...
Are you constantly changing them, having your device plugged-in all the time? How do you recharge them "on the road"?
It is interesting to fathom whether the iPhone is a truly universal device. Every country and culture has its own aesthetics and taste, even in a global economy. I suppose the Gap and MickeyD have proven it's possible to sell the same thing to everyone. Maybe the iPhone with it's different apps can crack the world wide market as well.
Actually, McDonald's adapts to each culture. You can get a shrimp cutlet burger here, a teriyaki burger, a McPork sandwich (pork is MUCH cheaper than beef in japan) etc. Of course fries are the same! But they are always making innovative sandwiches in the asian markets.
I think the iphone will be a sleeper hit in Japan.
Once the software and content starts to become localized and of decent quality, people will get onboard. A little later, things like plug-in battery packs and glittery case protectors will attract those on the fence.
The other carriers don't have the product delivery network of apple (apple tv, itunes, app store, software updater etc).
But where they will do well is with kanji input (its a bit clunky on ipod touch, the magnifer goes off the top of the screen sometimes.
Also the advertising machines will attack the iphones weaknesses, small res camera, no video, no tv, no wallet function, no front facing camera, tricky input, only 2 colors, not a clamshell or slider (candy bar isn't so popular), no dangling objects etc.
But it'll catch on...
(btw.. its hard to see some pop-up letters when typing european languages, umlauts etc-don't you think?..)
The city is the capital of Osaka Prefecture. Often dubbed the second city of Japan, Osaka was historically the commercial capital of Japan, and to date the heart of Japan's second largest (and the world's ninth largest) metropolitan area of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, whose population is 17,220,000. Osaka is traditionally considered the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所 tenka no daidokoro?) or the gourmet food capital of Japan.
Just thought I'd throw that in there since I love Osaka
The phones here are very functional and not expensive. If you are an early adopter they can be expensive just like anything else in the world. Wait a few weeks and the phones are commonly about $200 CAD. Even cheaper if you are a new subscriber. On the whole they are also not that sexy or slick but very functional.
List of features:
* Newer phones have 5.1MP cameras.
* 1SEG TV which works flawlessly and can be recorded onto SD card.
* Users here do carry second batteries and/or keep a spare charger at work.
* Full blown email with video and audio.
* Can pay for purchases with your phone.
* Misc other features such as games etc
* Water proof models. Useful in Asia.
* GPS
Incoming calls in Japan, including international calls, are free. This offsets many of the higher costs of having a phone in Japan.
Biggest factor in Japanese not purchasing an iPhone? The functionality of typing Japanese. This will not be convenient with a touch screen iPhone. I'd imagine this would be the same for most Asian text countries but because of China's population even a sliver of a market share there would be big. Many people who can type super fast in Japanese or Chinese use two thumbs and are very comfortable with the way input is implemented.
Some westerners are waiting for the iPhone but not me as I live by quick and easy communication in Japanese and the iPhone will not have this functionality. Plus the iPhone is pretty big. Not very 'jeans pocketable'.
Hey guys, I see I'm not the only one from the states living in Japan. One difference is I may have been here longer. Anyway, I can tell you that the single most important reason that Japanese are not apenuts about this new phone is that 3G technology was released in Japan 8 years ago! I moved here in 99' and it was release in 2001. From my personal perspective, Apple will have to make bigger leaps in technology in order to capture the Japanese audience. Kenwood released perhaps the first touch screen keitai (cell-phone) here in 2000. It was so cool looking and gained popularity, but soon many became frustrated trying to convert hiragana (1/3 used alphabets in Japanese) into kanji using a screen that often mis-read it's users inputs. I know Apple has done a lot to try and fix this problem, but I have to say that the current OS system will not work and I think it will bomb here as the large majority of the iPhones features have been prevalent in phones here for the past 6-8 years. Current phones here almost always include the following features.
-Digital television reception (wide-screen VGA)
-Video Conference Calling
-Instant skype-like text messaging
-Digital radio
-3MegaPixel~6.5MegaPixel cameras
-Cell Mail / Regular E-mail with no length limits & attachments
-Fully functioning web browsers (generally Opera) not all deal with Flash well...
-Music players (some only able to use their proprietary format which is probably Apples biggest plus at this point)
-3D games, PDF viewing, etc
I still may get an iPhone myself as I'm a MP3 maniac and don't want to charge my player and phone separately everyday, but as for the masses, I don't think the iPhone will have much appeal. Especially since they are going with a cheap looking plastic back cover. WTH is up with that?? I thought Apple announced that it will look to discontinue using plastics as they are bad for the environment? Huh. All in all I'd have to say the new iPhone is a big thumbs down. I will say that it seems like a pretty big improvement over that big, ugly brick Americans call a blackberry. Jesus what a joke that thing is. Looks like something designed in the 50's as being futuristic. At the very least, Apple has some idea of what can be manufactured using modern day materials and technology and may just pick up a few users here in Japan, albeit mostly American living in Japan! ;D
Hey guys, I see I'm not the only one from the states living in Japan. One difference is I may have been here longer. Anyway, I can tell you that the single most important reason that Japanese are not apenuts about this new phone is that 3G technology was released in Japan 8 years ago! I moved here in 99' and it was release in 2001. From my personal perspective, Apple will have to make bigger leaps in technology in order to capture the Japanese audience. Kenwood released perhaps the first touch screen keitai (cell-phone) here in 2000. It was so cool looking and gained popularity, but soon many became frustrated trying to convert hiragana (1/3 used alphabets in Japanese) into kanji using a screen that often mis-read it's users inputs. I know Apple has done a lot to try and fix this problem, but I have to say that the current OS system will not work and I think it will bomb here as the large majority of the iPhones features have been prevalent in phones here for the past 6-8 years. Current phones here almost always include the following features.
-Digital television reception (wide-screen VGA)
-Video Conference Calling
-Instant skype-like text messaging
-Digital radio
-3MegaPixel~6.5MegaPixel cameras
-Cell Mail / Regular E-mail with no length limits & attachments
-Fully functioning web browsers (generally Opera) not all deal with Flash well...
-Music players (some only able to use their proprietary format which is probably Apples biggest plus at this point)
-3D games, PDF viewing, etc
I still may get an iPhone myself as I'm a MP3 maniac and don't want to charge my player and phone separately everyday, but as for the masses, I don't think the iPhone will have much appeal. Especially since they are going with a cheap looking plastic back cover. WTH is up with that?? I thought Apple announced that it will look to discontinue using plastics as they are bad for the environment? Huh. All in all I'd have to say the new iPhone is a big thumbs down. I will say that it seems like a pretty big improvement over that big, ugly brick Americans call a blackberry. Jesus what a joke that thing is. Looks like something designed in the 50's as being futuristic. At the very least, Apple has some idea of what can be manufactured using modern day materials and technology and may just pick up a few users here in Japan, albeit mostly American living in Japan! ;D
I'm sorry but SOME phones (the high end EXPENSIVE ones) have 3+ MP cameras - most do not. Have a look at 800 series phones and below - all 2.0 MP. And as I said earlier, the pics from the high-end cam phones still suck.
The iPhone is built solid and making a user replaceable battery that doesn't fall out is not rocket science.
Yup. On the other hand, my entry-level Nokia's battery is so hard to take out, it's not worth having a spare battery (or for that matter, getting a temp SIM card when traveling overseas). So it technically has a user-replaceable battery but for practical purposes, it's not.
My only point is that originally everyone just wanted a cellphone that was also an ipod. Now we have one that is 500 times more than that and all people seem to be able to do is complain that it doesn't do enough. I for one would love a cellphone/ipod, and i think half the world that actually is oblivious to all this techie stuff would love this also. Sometimes more is less...
Thank you "Lurking" Bierce for a those words of sanity. (Kurt Vonnegut (RIP) was a big fan of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and that's good enough for me.
--
Marriage: a community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two slaves, making in all, two.
Comments
For example, ATI has made some graphics cards that a physically more "advanced" then their nvidia counterparts, but when these cards are tested in the real world the nvidia cards almost always win.
Uh, nah!
Only for games. For pro apps, ATI wipes the floor with Nvidia. Same thing for video.
I just sold my iPhone for $485. I forwarded the number to my Skype In number and will be cellphone-free for the next 3.35 weeks.
You really are too much.
Correct. Japanese consumers are light years ahead of us in how they use their cells phones. Every day they use their phones in ways that might seem like science fiction to Americans. Advice to Steve Jobs: Take a trip to Japan and figure out that market. It'll benefit us all.
It's also been argued that those very same uses, such as paying a vending machine etc. are very risky, security-wise, and that's one reason why they haven't appeared elsewhere.
Considering there are 127 million Japanese, Apple could sell up to 10 million there- great!
Not really.
It's a percentage of the cell owning public, not every infant, and oldster in a nursing home.
Also, most people simply won't change carriers.
The number could be closer to two to three million. Still not bad.
has anyone seen new cell phones released in Japan this year? iPhone is like a grandma technology compare to them. 2 megapixle camera is such a turn off because 5 megapixle is already a new standstard over there, not to mention they have so many phones equipped with little antenna that you can watch live TV. plus iPhone is not a clamshell cell phone, which is very unlikely to be appealing to female users in Japan
...and, let me guess... their batteries last for about 15 minutes.
"has anyone seen new cell phones released in Japan this year?"
I've seen them. Same crappy interfaces and TOO many features that are of average quality. Every year the same thing.
I love how the "grandma technology" has scared Sharp enough this year to intro new phones with full screen, touch (single, not multi) ability, touting web browsing (but still the same carp browser) and more teeny-tiny buttons.
If this foreign company with only it's upgraded 1st handset (just one model!) takes 9% of the Japanese market as suggested in the survey, that's got to be seen as a major blow to the domestic manufacturers. I think the manufactures (certainly Sharp) have seen this - hence the semi-look alike phones they released.
Face it, 99% of everything (including phones) is crap. Long live Apple, the other 1%!
I can't speak for the Gap, but McDonalds alters it's menu vastly for different cultures.
But, Disneyland in Japan is still Disneyland, and Mcdonalds still offers the MacDonalds experience. The same with Apple and the iPhone.
And there will be different programs in different languages, with different isp's offering different services.
But, Disneyland in Japan is still Disneyland, and Mcdonalds still offers the MacDonalds experience. The same with Apple and the iPhone.
And there will be different programs in different languages, with different isp's offering different services.
Actually, it's more like "Makudonaludo"...
Actually, it's more like "Makudonaludo"...
Well, despite going out with a Japanese woman during college for several years, I still can't pronounce most Japanese words.
Hakime SEDDIK
"The 3G iphone look even worse than the original iphone. It an't offering anything better than other japan made phones.
"
You are kidding right?
I am living in Japan, and let me say you one thing. Japanese phones sucks in comparison to the iPhone. Yes they suck, you read it right. and why?
Well, their design suck, but more important the software running on those things is terrible flawed. I mean, did you ever use a japanese phone. Ok they look super modern compared to a cheap european or american phone but when you try to use them, it is a terrible experience compared to the iPhone.
Its was fine (the japanese phones were believed to be always on the technological leading) until Apple reinvent the phone industry, but now no way that you can say that japanese phones offer the same technology. Every phone maker in Japan was taken by storm when Apple revealed the iPhone, because they realized that their software sucks.
Surfing the net is a no go on japanese phones (they are stuck to some crippled browsers that are not able to surf 99% of internet), managing your mails is a pain, managing your media is a pain, everything is slow and simply difficult to use because their technology is outdated. And don't even try to run a third party applications, this is a mess of poor design. Developing apps for those phones? Don't think about it.... Enterprise support on those phones? Nil....
The only advantage of japanese phones over the original iPhone was that they are 3G. That's it, nothing else. But it is not even an advantage anymore.
The japanese phone market has been living a long time on his technological lead over other countries and somehow very few innovations came out besides the incredible amount of services provided by carriers and the improvements made in data transfer speeds. And also the market became a mess, with all the phones similar to each other offering very few technological differences between them. In other words the japanese phone market became boring. The iPhone changes all of that.
And by the way, recently several japanese makers have tried to propose new "generation" phones with touch screens in order to compete with the iPhones. So far the result is a disaster, they came up with bad rip off of the iPhone that are almost embarrassing. But well they are trying, they can't innovate so they copy......
June 18, 2008 @ 09:06PM
A "spare" battery has the advantage of "change and go", not "wait for a charge and go", and is small enough to keep in your pocket where ever you are. Not true about a USB port/charger.
(...)
edit: someone above asked if anyone has ever seen someone carry a spare battery and change them in real life. YES. ME! With both my old Razr and my Treo 700P. It just depends on how much you use the device during the day, doesn't it?
How do you charge your multiple batteries? Back in the old days there used to be dedicated charging stations for replacement batteries, but these days are long gone...
Are you constantly changing them, having your device plugged-in all the time? How do you recharge them "on the road"?
It is interesting to fathom whether the iPhone is a truly universal device. Every country and culture has its own aesthetics and taste, even in a global economy. I suppose the Gap and MickeyD have proven it's possible to sell the same thing to everyone. Maybe the iPhone with it's different apps can crack the world wide market as well.
Actually, McDonald's adapts to each culture. You can get a shrimp cutlet burger here, a teriyaki burger, a McPork sandwich (pork is MUCH cheaper than beef in japan) etc. Of course fries are the same! But they are always making innovative sandwiches in the asian markets.
I think the iphone will be a sleeper hit in Japan.
Once the software and content starts to become localized and of decent quality, people will get onboard. A little later, things like plug-in battery packs and glittery case protectors will attract those on the fence.
The other carriers don't have the product delivery network of apple (apple tv, itunes, app store, software updater etc).
But where they will do well is with kanji input (its a bit clunky on ipod touch, the magnifer goes off the top of the screen sometimes.
Also the advertising machines will attack the iphones weaknesses, small res camera, no video, no tv, no wallet function, no front facing camera, tricky input, only 2 colors, not a clamshell or slider (candy bar isn't so popular), no dangling objects etc.
But it'll catch on...
(btw.. its hard to see some pop-up letters when typing european languages, umlauts etc-don't you think?..)
The city is the capital of Osaka Prefecture. Often dubbed the second city of Japan, Osaka was historically the commercial capital of Japan, and to date the heart of Japan's second largest (and the world's ninth largest) metropolitan area of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto, whose population is 17,220,000. Osaka is traditionally considered the "nation's kitchen" (天下の台所 tenka no daidokoro?) or the gourmet food capital of Japan.
Just thought I'd throw that in there since I love Osaka
The phones here are very functional and not expensive. If you are an early adopter they can be expensive just like anything else in the world. Wait a few weeks and the phones are commonly about $200 CAD. Even cheaper if you are a new subscriber. On the whole they are also not that sexy or slick but very functional.
List of features:
* Newer phones have 5.1MP cameras.
* 1SEG TV which works flawlessly and can be recorded onto SD card.
* Users here do carry second batteries and/or keep a spare charger at work.
* Full blown email with video and audio.
* Can pay for purchases with your phone.
* Misc other features such as games etc
* Water proof models. Useful in Asia.
* GPS
Incoming calls in Japan, including international calls, are free. This offsets many of the higher costs of having a phone in Japan.
Biggest factor in Japanese not purchasing an iPhone? The functionality of typing Japanese. This will not be convenient with a touch screen iPhone. I'd imagine this would be the same for most Asian text countries but because of China's population even a sliver of a market share there would be big. Many people who can type super fast in Japanese or Chinese use two thumbs and are very comfortable with the way input is implemented.
Some westerners are waiting for the iPhone but not me as I live by quick and easy communication in Japanese and the iPhone will not have this functionality. Plus the iPhone is pretty big. Not very 'jeans pocketable'.
-Digital television reception (wide-screen VGA)
-Video Conference Calling
-Instant skype-like text messaging
-Digital radio
-3MegaPixel~6.5MegaPixel cameras
-Cell Mail / Regular E-mail with no length limits & attachments
-Fully functioning web browsers (generally Opera) not all deal with Flash well...
-Music players (some only able to use their proprietary format which is probably Apples biggest plus at this point)
-3D games, PDF viewing, etc
I still may get an iPhone myself as I'm a MP3 maniac and don't want to charge my player and phone separately everyday, but as for the masses, I don't think the iPhone will have much appeal. Especially since they are going with a cheap looking plastic back cover. WTH is up with that?? I thought Apple announced that it will look to discontinue using plastics as they are bad for the environment? Huh. All in all I'd have to say the new iPhone is a big thumbs down. I will say that it seems like a pretty big improvement over that big, ugly brick Americans call a blackberry. Jesus what a joke that thing is. Looks like something designed in the 50's as being futuristic. At the very least, Apple has some idea of what can be manufactured using modern day materials and technology and may just pick up a few users here in Japan, albeit mostly American living in Japan! ;D
Hey guys, I see I'm not the only one from the states living in Japan. One difference is I may have been here longer.
I believe there are westerners from many countries living in Japan. You also may have been here shorter.
Hey guys, I see I'm not the only one from the states living in Japan. One difference is I may have been here longer. Anyway, I can tell you that the single most important reason that Japanese are not apenuts about this new phone is that 3G technology was released in Japan 8 years ago! I moved here in 99' and it was release in 2001. From my personal perspective, Apple will have to make bigger leaps in technology in order to capture the Japanese audience. Kenwood released perhaps the first touch screen keitai (cell-phone) here in 2000. It was so cool looking and gained popularity, but soon many became frustrated trying to convert hiragana (1/3 used alphabets in Japanese) into kanji using a screen that often mis-read it's users inputs. I know Apple has done a lot to try and fix this problem, but I have to say that the current OS system will not work and I think it will bomb here as the large majority of the iPhones features have been prevalent in phones here for the past 6-8 years. Current phones here almost always include the following features.
-Digital television reception (wide-screen VGA)
-Video Conference Calling
-Instant skype-like text messaging
-Digital radio
-3MegaPixel~6.5MegaPixel cameras
-Cell Mail / Regular E-mail with no length limits & attachments
-Fully functioning web browsers (generally Opera) not all deal with Flash well...
-Music players (some only able to use their proprietary format which is probably Apples biggest plus at this point)
-3D games, PDF viewing, etc
I still may get an iPhone myself as I'm a MP3 maniac and don't want to charge my player and phone separately everyday, but as for the masses, I don't think the iPhone will have much appeal. Especially since they are going with a cheap looking plastic back cover. WTH is up with that?? I thought Apple announced that it will look to discontinue using plastics as they are bad for the environment? Huh. All in all I'd have to say the new iPhone is a big thumbs down. I will say that it seems like a pretty big improvement over that big, ugly brick Americans call a blackberry. Jesus what a joke that thing is. Looks like something designed in the 50's as being futuristic. At the very least, Apple has some idea of what can be manufactured using modern day materials and technology and may just pick up a few users here in Japan, albeit mostly American living in Japan! ;D
I'm sorry but SOME phones (the high end EXPENSIVE ones) have 3+ MP cameras - most do not. Have a look at 800 series phones and below - all 2.0 MP. And as I said earlier, the pics from the high-end cam phones still suck.
I believe there are westerners from many countries living in Japan. You also may have been here shorter.
I'm pushing 20 years in Japan...
The iPhone is built solid and making a user replaceable battery that doesn't fall out is not rocket science.
Yup. On the other hand, my entry-level Nokia's battery is so hard to take out, it's not worth having a spare battery (or for that matter, getting a temp SIM card when traveling overseas). So it technically has a user-replaceable battery but for practical purposes, it's not.
I see Nokia is still in business ...
..
My only point is that originally everyone just wanted a cellphone that was also an ipod. Now we have one that is 500 times more than that and all people seem to be able to do is complain that it doesn't do enough. I for one would love a cellphone/ipod, and i think half the world that actually is oblivious to all this techie stuff would love this also. Sometimes more is less...
Thank you "Lurking" Bierce for a those words of sanity. (Kurt Vonnegut (RIP) was a big fan of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and that's good enough for me.
--
Marriage: a community consisting of a master, a mistress, and two slaves, making in all, two.