It’s not going to happen. What will happen is you’ll have an initial group of Apple nerds and foreigners who will rush out and buy it and the rest of the populace will shrug and move on.
Japanese people just value different things then westerners in their phones. If you think about it, Japan has some of the most advances consumer electronics companies in the world but they don’t offer their best smart phones here in Japan, why is that? Because the Japanese don’t want them!! Just look at sales of other “hot” phones that have come over here, razr, shine, some of the best Samsung has to offer, how did they all do? They all flopped. The only people you really see using them are foreigners and a few westernized Japanese people.
As a precursor why don’t we look how many people own Ipod touches? I almost never see them and when I do its 90% of the time a foreigner.
Are Japanese phones complicated? YES but not to Japanese people. When I got my new 922SH I just handed it to my 25yo Japanese wife and she had everything setup for me in 15 minutes without reading the manual.
About the seg1 tuner, it is important. I don’t know how many of you guys commute into Tokyo every morning like I do but I see at least 10+ people a day watching those things. Don’t forget the #1 selling phone in Japan is the Sharp Aquos TV phone, I see 100+ of those a day. They have DVR function that will record shows for you and then you watch them later, like when you in the subway.
Biggest downsides for the Iphone, Too big, too simple, lacking J-market items, bad camera, touch only input which will suck at Japanese, foreign, most people already own a ipod.
My prediction; it wont get over 1~2% market share.
the iphone is a success in japan. not sure what people are thinking when they say that japanese cell phones are more advanced. i think the networks maybe more advanced and the fact you can watch tv programs on a majority of models is really neat. you tube would compensate that a lot i believe
but the ipod completely sold out. it is the krispy kreme of cell phones now. people want it, difficult to obtain. stoking the japanese interest in them.
i feel japanese cell phones suck. willcom is the only brand that i would consider against the ipod, but who wants vista on their web/cell phone device? not me.
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It’s not going to happen. What will happen is you’ll have an initial group of Apple nerds and foreigners who will rush out and buy it and the rest of the populace will shrug and move on.
Japanese people just value different things then westerners in their phones. If you think about it, Japan has some of the most advances consumer electronics companies in the world but they don’t offer their best smart phones here in Japan, why is that? Because the Japanese don’t want them!! Just look at sales of other “hot” phones that have come over here, razr, shine, some of the best Samsung has to offer, how did they all do? They all flopped. The only people you really see using them are foreigners and a few westernized Japanese people.
As a precursor why don’t we look how many people own Ipod touches? I almost never see them and when I do its 90% of the time a foreigner.
Are Japanese phones complicated? YES but not to Japanese people. When I got my new 922SH I just handed it to my 25yo Japanese wife and she had everything setup for me in 15 minutes without reading the manual.
About the seg1 tuner, it is important. I don’t know how many of you guys commute into Tokyo every morning like I do but I see at least 10+ people a day watching those things.
Don’t forget the #1 selling phone in Japan is the Sharp Aquos TV phone, I see 100+ of those a day. They have DVR function that will record shows for you and then you watch them later, like when you in the subway.
Biggest downsides for the Iphone, Too big, too simple, lacking J-market items, bad camera, touch only input which will suck at Japanese, foreign, most people already own a ipod.
My prediction; it wont get over 1~2% market share.
the iphone is a success in japan. not sure what people are thinking when they say that japanese cell phones are more advanced. i think the networks maybe more advanced and the fact you can watch tv programs on a majority of models is really neat. you tube would compensate that a lot i believe
but the ipod completely sold out. it is the krispy kreme of cell phones now. people want it, difficult to obtain. stoking the japanese interest in them.
i feel japanese cell phones suck. willcom is the only brand that i would consider against the ipod, but who wants vista on their web/cell phone device? not me.