Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is likely NTT DoCoMo's best selling smartphone -- ever
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 13th 2010 8:19PM
posted May 13th 2010 8:19PM
There's no greater evidence of this than the word this week that Sony Ericsson's Xperia X10 -- a phone that's been met with lukewarm reviews, including from Engadget Japanese's own Ittousai -- has allegedly become NTT DoCoMo's best-selling smartphone in history, a fact that would seem completely inexplicable in any other market globally. What makes it possible in Japan, of course, is DoCoMo's historically lame selection of true smartphones, a lineup that currently includes localized versions of the HTC Magic, and the original HTC Touch Diamond and BlackBerry Bold. What's more, many of these devices integrate poorly with popular carrier services on account of their super-tight control of the operating systems running across the featurephone lineup, something they've got less control over with a device running Android or Windows Mobile.
In other words, when it's reported that DoCoMo had sold 100,000 X10s in its first 20 days -- and a third-party retailer claims that the Magic-esque HT-03A is the next best seller at 80,000 units in 10 months -- it seems plausible, if not likely (and Ittousai agrees). Yeah, even though the localized device has been plagued with performance problems and bugs, incompatibilities with DoCoMo's i-mode push email, and so on. It's hard to say what it's going to take for these guys to make an honest-to-goodness transition to the brave new world of open platforms and freewheeling third-party development, but they're clearly not there yet.
@mnotme Gawd...I need a new keyboard. "announced late november 2010"
This might mean a turn for japan, who have always had better cell phones, and higher res cams, nice flip phones, but haven't really got into smartphones
Thank God, we will soon have access to cool Android phones in Japan. AU by KDDI is still yet to sell an Android phone, Softbank started Desire last month, still I could not find it in stores yet.
Some impressions:
- Back in 2007 I went to Japan, noticed people were watching live stream video on very slim devices while riding the train. I thought, holy shit.
- Last month (April 2010) I went to Japan again, visited 5 cities, and saw a grand total of 2 (two, dos) iPhones. That's how much they care. On the other hand, as the article suggests, saw a lot more of the SE device.
Just wondering, how do sales of the Xperia compare to the iPhone sold by Softbank?
@doboy
The iPhone is doing ok from what I have seen, but truthfully they give it away for free at most 3rd party phone shops, where as the X10 is still a a few man (10,000) en split over 1 or 2 years. Docomo just had a price drop on it too.
One of my biggest gripes here has been the lack of decent smart phones. With this I hope that things do open up a bit more. I mean, I have seen guys with the Milestone and what not, but its very very niche and a real PITA to set up on a network here.
@hated one
Japan has a third the population of the United States. So to expect parity by comparing sales totals alone isn't enough.
@hated one For a SONY fanboy you seem to spend an inordinate amount of time wacking off to your 3GS in your comment history. Just sayin'
Agree?
@hated one Is this a story about the iPhone? No? Then STFU.
Agree?
LMAO they are still selling the original HTC diamond?
That's hilarious.
Wait, isn't technology supposed to be crazy advanced in Japan?
Funny how they are being sold 2 year old phones as the "latest" and that they have so many restrictions.
@DoctarPeppar
Its not that they are being sold as the "latest" we got the touch diamond more than two years ago (I think it was 07 or so). Its just that sales were so shit that there was no demand for bringing out an updated model.
That said, Emobile and Wilcom have been the carriers for those wanting a (windows) smart phone.
I used this phone over a month ago here in Tokyo. It's a nice piece of hardware, but I found Android to be cumbersome and counter-intuitive compared to iPhone OS.
Let's not forget that the X10 also lacks One Seg (ie. TV) and saifu keitai (mobile banking) which are on all phones over here. The smart phone choices over here are abysmal so it's no wonder this handset is selling so well.
@sighclops it makes you wonder why nobody has made a japan-specific smartphone implementing mobile banking yet, which seems to be the trump feature of keitais. and cheapass chinese KIRFs have tv tuners, so it obviously doesn't cost much to throw one of those on either. add in an android app or two and you have the best of both worlds
i have this phone for a month or so and even though it is running donut. this is the bee's knees of a phone.
Koreans and Japanese are generally quite nationalistic, and tend to buy local products. Japanese manufacturers also have unusually high amounts of control over retailers in Japan, and cell phones in particular have to have a special Japan-only chip. Pretty anti competitive imo.
@bigcow05 From what I've heard Sony Ericsson has had trouble selling their phones in Japan. So Xperia X10 going so well looks to me like a break in trends. (I don't have the numbers to back that up but tough.)
@HighestRanked2 They have TV tuners, but this is mostly lacking in America because the standard doesn't exist here period. I'm sure if DVB gets implemented in America, which is the cornerstone of the smartphone market for manufacturers like HTC, we'll see them pop up all over the place in Android phones.
They also generally have higher quality cameras, although newer smartphones (e.g. the EVO) have pretty much caught up in that area. And of course companies like Nokia have been making smartphone with beefy cameras for ages
enjoy the highcalorie donuts !
Looks pretty clean. I like it.
@HighestRanked2
http://translate.google.co.jp/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=ja&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http://www.n-keitai.com/n-02b/sp.html&sl=ja&tl=en
Here's one of the latest.
@HighestRanked2 they also generally have higher resolution screen, although with the droid n x10 caught up to what is standard in most of their phone screen (854x480) the only one that have a higher resolution than this i think is the sharp 941SH from softbank with Half XGA which is 1024x480 or something like that
Interesting. I always like the X10 on paper but heard in practice is wasn't up to spec. Of course, I feel that way about most smartphones. Only a few have lived up to my standards really.
Any theories why the Japanese like this phone so much? I've read up a lot on Japanese cellphone culture and they do have a different point of view on phones. Not better or worse than in the West but just different. Some of their phones are pretty slick though. Not really what I need but definitely way cool.
Maybe they are looking more for "computer" phones and less featurephones. My understanding is that most people don't use the features anyway but really buy the phones just because of the features. Like 17 cup holders in your SUV. You don't use them but somehow they are a selling point. HAHA
@ajendus
To be honest, there's been little advancement in phones in Japan over the past few years. Phones are constantly updated and this mostly consists of higher quality screens, seasonal colours or a super-high quality camera.
In other words, the software is the area that's lacking. Most carriers dictate what the manufacturer must put on their handsets, so phones are full of mostly-useless applications. You use any Japanese phone (on any network) and you'll find most to be the same. The reason the iPhone and Xperia have been doing well is because they break away from the seemingly archaic control carriers have over UI layouts & features.
I really think Docomo has paid the price for showing such naivety and shunning the iPhone in the first place.
@ajendus
There's virtually no SIM-free choices so they have to choose from carrier-branded Keitais. Having a cellphone usually means buying a locked-down keitai.
Someone may have said it before but it has to be taken into consideration that smart phones overall are still quite rare in Japan. Thus, to become the best-selling smartphone is not that much of an accomplishment, as it would be to become the best-selling feature phone.
In the meantime, it's the worst selling phone in the US ever, because it's not even out here. Get a grip SE. Don't join the d0uche club.
...and this is what will break SE sales record...the X10 mini.
It will be released at the end of may.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2rSQVvfvJE
If you don't live in japan, you cannot understand the Keitai culture (Mobile phone).
There is a reason why a japanese phone is different. In europe and USA we think at the phone and at the internet service. In japan they have the phone and they have "Services". A lot of them!
For instance, on my Docomo phone i have a news scroller at the bottom of the screen (price: 150 yen /month) and i can access all the news displayed with a one button click.
There is a built in Scanner for scanning square bar codes found in flyers where you then can save directly the website address or call the restaurant's webpage before paying at the cashier for instant coupons.
You have a Kanji scanner (japanese writing) that works both vertically and horizontally to find the reading. Believe it or not...even japanese cannot read kanji's sometimes.
As mentioned by others... built-in dictionary...linked with everything in the phone. If i get an email...i can call the dictionary from there just selecting a word.
GPS and TV already built in. TV free of charge, 10 channels. GPS working either with installed maps or online maps.
Infrared. Yes...you are reading right. EVERY phone from EVERY provider can exchange business cards. You need to see this. Everyone is using it! every phone has infrared.
Flip phones. Believe it or not, 80% of the mobile phones are FLIP phones and 19% are sliders with a remaining 1% with on screen keyboard.
Payments!! Each japanese mobile phone has a chip called "SEIFU" that you can recharge and pay the train or in shops just sliding your mobile phone on the payment plate. You can even buy drinks at vending machines.
Integration: Every phone has an integrated menu where people can see their statements anytime and change their settings (add options or change their mail address)
Email/sms: In japan, SMS is almost unknown. Everyone has an email. The email ends with the provider name (like @docomo.co.jp) and the user can change email anytime from his/her mobile phone and it takes just few seconds.
Emoticons: This is a big thing in japan. Emoticons are everything. Mobile phones have hundreds of them and some are automatically choosen by the phone depending on what you write. If you write "house" the phone shows you next to the word the emoticon, so you can choose if you want to use the word or the emoticon. Some of them are animated... when you get an email, before opening it, the phone shows you an emoticon depending on what is written on it. if you say something like "Zannen" which means "too bad" the subject displays a crying face automatically.... if you write "Suki" (I like") it shows a heart... and so on....
So... these are just of the few things a mobile phone can do in japan...it can do a lot more... so, now you understand why the iphone is not so succesfull here... you cannot believe in the shops how hard they try to push the iphone...but everyone is just walking by.
the point is... japanese are so dependent on those features...that having another phone coming in...is anything but easy...
@dcrudo
Yeah man, you got it right. People cannot begin to understand Japanese cell phones unless they go to Japan for an extended period of time and observe how they use & interact with their phones & each other. Totally different than western cultures. A year and a half after Softbank released the iPhone I saw one dude on the train with one. I doubt smartphones will ever become popular there.
by the way...i've tried the xperia x10 at the docomo shop...
Soooooo sluggish!!! scrolling is not at all smooth... so far, I haven't seen any phone as smooth as the iphone when scrolling up and down...
Are you an owner of the Xperia X10?...what do you think?
@dcrudo I also tried the X10 in a shop and I believe that you are full of shit
@fatjoe2
+1 I tried it just before it came out. Seem'd smooth and fast, especially compared to the HT-03 (which my gf got, since she is impatient and wanted an android phone)
@dcrudo
You probably got unlucky or something. I own one. Love it. No issues with it, can't wait for the upgrade to 2.1, it'll be like getting a new phone.
BTW: GREAT build quality.
@dcrudo I have had mine for a couple of weeks now and I do not find it sluggish in any way. The feeling is not quite as "tight" as on the IPhone or the Desire but the difference is really so small that after a day you don't notice it. It's the same hardware and basically the same software as on the Desire so when it comes to scrolling they perform the same. But of course the X10 has a much higher resolution and therefore shuffle more data so that might be why the Desire edges out the X10 (on paper they have the same resolution but in practice the Desire resolution is only 653x392, check out http://www.slashgear.com/fuzzy-nexus-one-amoled-running-at-just-392x653-2579127/)
Well, Nodame uses iPhone, so we'll see if this trend continues. :D
i can not find technical details about X10. At softpedia.com, they say 256 Mb of ram ... i am disappointed to find this ...
@arr1975 You are incorrect, the X10 has more RAM than that (256 is by the way standard for most android devices with few exceptions such as desire and N1)
Brush up your Swedish and check the Swedroid review which is by far the best review on the net:
http://www.swedroid.se/test-av-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10
Chris, you do realise that pretty much every phone on NTT DoCoMo runs either Linux or Symbian, don't you? They're all smartphones in their own way.
@xbit you do realize that this is engadget where all phones all featurephone unless they have a fruit logo?
@HighestRanked2
Totally agreed. And those two functionality are actually isn't so difficult to replace; you can stick a RFID tag on phone or display some 2D barcode on screen for mobile payment, for TVs that's just a matter of where the data come from, through, say, HSDPA or through ISDB-T channel.
@num0
SEIFO uses a secure chip, like a european credit card has, and requires universal buy-in. Think about what it takes for your bank to trust a vending machine to extract money from your cellphone. And the DVB TV was developed outside the phone industry not burning up the MO's bandwidth (nor fundamentally controlled by the MO so they can't charge you or lock you in).
That said, the interesting thing here is just how competitive the Japanese market must have been to cause all their features to have been rolled out in the past 15 years. It is evidence that the 3 way competition there really has been competition, not like the incumbent oligarchy in the USA that was totally asleep until Apple shook it up.
So, why doesn't US innovation and Japanese innovation look the same? My guess is it is the role the carriers play. In Japan they seem to have decided on feature competition as their playbook by the mid 90's. Hence by about 2005 you had imode phones to drool over and USA had - nothing really. Blackberry if you were a marketroid perhaps. But, and here is the rub, since the operators sponsored the features they are all tied in to the operators.
The lever in the USA that eventually cracked this wasn't just the iPhone, it was the internet. When iPhone came out there were no installable apps - so why wasn't it pegged as a featurephone? Even a WinMo phone had hundreds of installable apps. No, the thing which really made the iPhone sing and special was when you cranked up the browser and for the first time you saw a real, slick, usable mobile internet.
The thing about the internet is that it is a lever the MOs do not control so they don't much like it. Only AT&T was desperate enough to do a deal with Apple and that was nothing to do with (non-existent) installable apps. It was the lack of MO features and the dominance of the web experience.
So my prediction is the internet will continue to be the lever. When someone cracks autopayment it will be an internet thing like PayPal. IPhone does have TV on the handset - it is called YouTube. If someone wants emoticonized email (ugh) they'll find an app that has nothing to do with an MO. If they want translation some widget will hook them up to a web service.
The problem for Japanese MOs is their model, brilliant though it was, does not scale to the rest of the world. So manufacturers like SE have a problem of wanting the world market - the Japanese way is a distraction.
And pretty much everywhere else the MOs simple have neither the imagination nor the skills to withstand the internet approach. The clever stuff, the best stuff, is not going to come from anyone working for Verizon or Orange. So it may take some patience, but the smartphone model is the only one which scales. Something better may show up in the future, but what we see with the brilliant feature phones in Japans is a time capsule, not the future.