@Verythrax Kind of. They're feature phones. Most of them just have a couple advanced features tacked on top of a dumb phone platform. I think the Japanese market will move to multi-purpose SmartPhones quickly once these platforms are able to cover the functionality they have today with their feature phones. Right now they have to give up something to get a good SmartPhone. As soon as someone releases a SmartPhone with the features they want it will be huge. I'm guessing Android will end up being the platform of choice in Japan because Apple's one-model-for-the-entire-world strategy just isn't going to meet the nichey needs of the Japanese consumers.
@Hydraulics I'm not sure exactly how smartphone is defined here, at least 90% of the phones there look like slightly longer, boxy razrs, but from what I have seen there are very powerful and have a lot of installable applications. You also have to consider that any smart phone with an English keyboard is going to be almost useless to the Japanese. I still have yet to figure how they text so fast with so few keys.
@(Unverified) I really don't think that Japan will go to a smartphone orientation anytime soon. They are a HEAVY consumption society. Almost everyone can afford to have the best digital camera, top-line notebook, etc. No need to get a phone with jack-of-all-trades half-assed implementations.
And keep in mind that people carrying notebooks/netbooks is a much more common sight. And most of people prefer the keyboards for their unique messaging system.
@Verythrax Japan has been utilizing their keitais for texting/messaging far more heavily with far more features and for far many more years than the US. To that extent, 2-way video phone implementations are and old story there as many other features we consider advanced here because we're only seeing them for the 1st time.
The problem is that the keitai units sold by NTT, KDDI, SoftBank etc is that they follow the Verizon model where the carrier itself heavily dictates what goes on the phone. Consequently phones are heavily menu-driven, over-engineered, over-complicated things. The features are static, models come with X number of features and none can be added.
Thankfully Apple engineered the iPhone as a feature-rich, highly customizable with apps and user-friendly device. The consumer market in Japan always prefers high quality products and the high rate adoption of the iPhone demonstrates its superiority over the local smart phone varieties.
@Celeras Absolutely serious and absolutely no trolling.
While many 'tards walk around believing customizing a phone is about changing skins, the iPhone is highly customizable to the specific needs of the user via the 100K apps available at the App Store. This provides a very high added value to owning an iPhone.
As apps mature and devs gain more experience utilizing the iPhone OS SDK's advanced API frameworks, the quality is only going to get better and better from here on and continue providing better value for customers.
In fact, as Engadget posted in a previous article, that the market preference for the iPhone has shot it way past all WinMo phones combined State-side, 250% to 300% growth in France and Australia and 150% over all world wide, is a testament to how much customers find value in owning an iPhone.
I'm actually finding myself agreeing with your post in this one...but the main thing you need to realize...
Yes they are owning the smartphone market...but the smartphone market is basically nothing in Japan. So as someone said...it makes them basically a successful failure (which isn't relegated to just iPhone but all smartphones, so it's not a bash).
But where I agree with you at is where this could cause it to tip. By having the abilities within the iPhone thru apps...this could cause the Japanese to lean towards the smartphone market and push it up. But it won't be happening anytime soon.
It's nice that Apple has finally taken over a smartphone market somewhere in the world...just too bad it's in Japan, lol.
@iDavey I agree with what you say about the small smart phone market in Japan.
Smart phones in Japan suffer from an acute case of the Verizon syndrome where carriers dictate features and manufacturers obey. The formula worked to an extend, however the smart phone scene in Japan, while advanced for nearly the last 2 decades is now showing its age. They're now too overly complex and not user-friendly, static feature phones.
If the iPhone adoption in Japan is a sign, then the phone market there appears due for a major shift as consumers begin to pay attention to foreign smart handsets driven by American operating systems (iPhone OS, Web OS, Android) as they introduce advanced and customizable features primarily driven by software in the form of apps.
If that were to happen then local models could suffer rapid abandonment rates and be forced to adapt to a similar format to what 3rd party makers are doing with Android in other parts of the world.
But of course, there are still niche needs particular of the Japanese market. The iPhone already has an advantage there as there is a third party market for iPhone hardware accessories that supplement its software feature-rich environment. For example, the demand for TV tuners is supplied by Softbank itself:
"I'm moving to a small studio and for some reason the cable connection is in an awkward place and I need a way to transmit HD quality video and audio no more than 20 feet away. What is the best wireless HDMI transmitter / receiver for this situation? Thanks!"
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I'm quite surprised to hear that Japan (out of all places) has a "tiny" smartphone market.
@Hydraulics Japanese average phones are already much smarter than some western "smartphones" - since the late 90's.
@Verythrax
Kind of. They're feature phones. Most of them just have a couple advanced features tacked on top of a dumb phone platform. I think the Japanese market will move to multi-purpose SmartPhones quickly once these platforms are able to cover the functionality they have today with their feature phones. Right now they have to give up something to get a good SmartPhone. As soon as someone releases a SmartPhone with the features they want it will be huge. I'm guessing Android will end up being the platform of choice in Japan because Apple's one-model-for-the-entire-world strategy just isn't going to meet the nichey needs of the Japanese consumers.
@Hydraulics
I'm not sure exactly how smartphone is defined here, at least 90% of the phones there look like slightly longer, boxy razrs, but from what I have seen there are very powerful and have a lot of installable applications. You also have to consider that any smart phone with an English keyboard is going to be almost useless to the Japanese. I still have yet to figure how they text so fast with so few keys.
@(Unverified) I really don't think that Japan will go to a smartphone orientation anytime soon. They are a HEAVY consumption society. Almost everyone can afford to have the best digital camera, top-line notebook, etc. No need to get a phone with jack-of-all-trades half-assed implementations.
And keep in mind that people carrying notebooks/netbooks is a much more common sight. And most of people prefer the keyboards for their unique messaging system.
@Verythrax Japan has been utilizing their keitais for texting/messaging far more heavily with far more features and for far many more years than the US. To that extent, 2-way video phone implementations are and old story there as many other features we consider advanced here because we're only seeing them for the 1st time.
The problem is that the keitai units sold by NTT, KDDI, SoftBank etc is that they follow the Verizon model where the carrier itself heavily dictates what goes on the phone. Consequently phones are heavily menu-driven, over-engineered, over-complicated things. The features are static, models come with X number of features and none can be added.
Thankfully Apple engineered the iPhone as a feature-rich, highly customizable with apps and user-friendly device. The consumer market in Japan always prefers high quality products and the high rate adoption of the iPhone demonstrates its superiority over the local smart phone varieties.
@HighestRanked
LOL
Are you serious?
@HighestRanked
"Thankfully Apple engineered the iPhone as a feature-rich, highly customizable with apps and user-friendly device."
I can't tell if you're trolling or not. Lol iPhone customizable and feature-rich?
@Celeras
What do you think?
I'd mod him/her up for being hilarious if Engadget had such a function.
@Celeras Absolutely serious and absolutely no trolling.
While many 'tards walk around believing customizing a phone is about changing skins, the iPhone is highly customizable to the specific needs of the user via the 100K apps available at the App Store. This provides a very high added value to owning an iPhone.
As apps mature and devs gain more experience utilizing the iPhone OS SDK's advanced API frameworks, the quality is only going to get better and better from here on and continue providing better value for customers.
In fact, as Engadget posted in a previous article, that the market preference for the iPhone has shot it way past all WinMo phones combined State-side, 250% to 300% growth in France and Australia and 150% over all world wide, is a testament to how much customers find value in owning an iPhone.
@HighestRanked
I'm actually finding myself agreeing with your post in this one...but the main thing you need to realize...
Yes they are owning the smartphone market...but the smartphone market is basically nothing in Japan. So as someone said...it makes them basically a successful failure (which isn't relegated to just iPhone but all smartphones, so it's not a bash).
But where I agree with you at is where this could cause it to tip. By having the abilities within the iPhone thru apps...this could cause the Japanese to lean towards the smartphone market and push it up. But it won't be happening anytime soon.
It's nice that Apple has finally taken over a smartphone market somewhere in the world...just too bad it's in Japan, lol.
@iDavey I agree with what you say about the small smart phone market in Japan.
Smart phones in Japan suffer from an acute case of the Verizon syndrome where carriers dictate features and manufacturers obey. The formula worked to an extend, however the smart phone scene in Japan, while advanced for nearly the last 2 decades is now showing its age. They're now too overly complex and not user-friendly, static feature phones.
If the iPhone adoption in Japan is a sign, then the phone market there appears due for a major shift as consumers begin to pay attention to foreign smart handsets driven by American operating systems (iPhone OS, Web OS, Android) as they introduce advanced and customizable features primarily driven by software in the form of apps.
If that were to happen then local models could suffer rapid abandonment rates and be forced to adapt to a similar format to what 3rd party makers are doing with Android in other parts of the world.
But of course, there are still niche needs particular of the Japanese market. The iPhone already has an advantage there as there is a third party market for iPhone hardware accessories that supplement its software feature-rich environment. For example, the demand for TV tuners is supplied by Softbank itself:
http://www.intomobile.com/2009/01/03/softbanks-one-seg-iphone-tv-tuner-handled.html
@HighestRanked
In the context of the Japanese mobile market, I think you are a blithering troll. You don't even know what you are talking about.