"I really can't figure out why the marketing boys haven't realized the US market for these things."
You know, I want to believe such a market actually exists, but I'm not sure it does. At the very least, it's a chicken or egg thing. Maybe if the iPhone *is* successful, we'll see more advanced (and more stylish) phones make the trip over here.
In Japan, phones generally are not subsidized. You walk into a store and buy one. If it costs $500, then that's what it costs. So that's one thing; people aren't conditioned there to expect phones to be free. On the other hand, if they're paying big bucks, then they expect a lot of features for the money. You can't get away with charging people $200-$400 (what most popular phones cost) if all you're giving them is basic calling features and crappy screens.
They also spend a huge amount of money accessorizing. You think the iPod has a big aftermarket accessory market... you literally can't walk into *any* store in Japan without being confronted by a rack of cell phone accessories. And everybody's phone is bling'd out in some way, even if it's just a charm hanging from the lanyard. Even businessmen do it. People just don't do that here. You're lucky if they even buy a case. The revenue for any phone usually begins and ends with the phone. In Japan, it's a whole culture. The phone companies, phone manufacturers and accessory makers collectively probably make about $1,000 for any given phone over its lifetime. And that's not including the service.
Now, maybe if people here become less conditioned to getting phones for little or nothing, and start seeing phones as something they really own outright and that they've paid good money for, then they'll start treating them as something other than commodities. In that sense, the iPhone would be a good thing for the US market, if it succeeds in starting that cultural shift. But so far, people seem to be pretty much content with their Razr-dominated market of cheap, unaccessorized crap that doesn't work very well and doesn't do very much.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jeff @ Jan 19th 2007 2:57PM
"I really can't figure out why the marketing boys haven't realized the US market for these things."
You know, I want to believe such a market actually exists, but I'm not sure it does. At the very least, it's a chicken or egg thing. Maybe if the iPhone *is* successful, we'll see more advanced (and more stylish) phones make the trip over here.
In Japan, phones generally are not subsidized. You walk into a store and buy one. If it costs $500, then that's what it costs. So that's one thing; people aren't conditioned there to expect phones to be free. On the other hand, if they're paying big bucks, then they expect a lot of features for the money. You can't get away with charging people $200-$400 (what most popular phones cost) if all you're giving them is basic calling features and crappy screens.
They also spend a huge amount of money accessorizing. You think the iPod has a big aftermarket accessory market... you literally can't walk into *any* store in Japan without being confronted by a rack of cell phone accessories. And everybody's phone is bling'd out in some way, even if it's just a charm hanging from the lanyard. Even businessmen do it. People just don't do that here. You're lucky if they even buy a case. The revenue for any phone usually begins and ends with the phone. In Japan, it's a whole culture. The phone companies, phone manufacturers and accessory makers collectively probably make about $1,000 for any given phone over its lifetime. And that's not including the service.
Now, maybe if people here become less conditioned to getting phones for little or nothing, and start seeing phones as something they really own outright and that they've paid good money for, then they'll start treating them as something other than commodities. In that sense, the iPhone would be a good thing for the US market, if it succeeds in starting that cultural shift. But so far, people seem to be pretty much content with their Razr-dominated market of cheap, unaccessorized crap that doesn't work very well and doesn't do very much.