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The iPhone is the number one mobile phone in Japan
- Thread starter Tiktaalik
- Start date
That sucks, but at least now the Sony Ericsson are quite better. My phone has quite a big screen and I have never suffered that (though I admit the RE:RE:RE:RE shit is annoying, that's why I always send emails without title - all my friends have their phones set up so they get the first line of the email showing up too -).WhiteAce said:
Again, Japanese phones aren't THAT bad, definitely better than what we had until 3 years ago or so. And they are still better than the average, it's just iPhone is way too good
And for the guy that said that Japanese see Apple as something expensive bla bla bla.. where the hell do you live?
At least here in Osaka I see EVERYBODY with iPods (and as I said, I keep seeing more and more people with iPod Touch) and I have seen quite a lot of people with iPhones as well (about 10 people around me use it, but then again I'm on a design college and the teacher I'm friends with loves Apple).
And last but not least, while Japanese would rather buy some Japanese brand (I think that could be said about anybody from any country), every time I go to the Apple Store near my house, it's packed with Japanese people buying stuff so I don't know.. :/
I agree. But I also wanna ask you something..OuterWorldVoice said:
Do you think this phone is ugly? (the pic I posted in the first page):
http://www.gsmdome.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sony-ericsson-s001-3.jpg
The green and golden one.
Mik2121: I think it is a misunderstanding that Japanese would rather buy products made by Japanese, this as far as I can tell is not the case. Japanese like well designed products that are stylish and work well, typically those things are Japanese (or at least that is how they see it), but things like Adidas, Luis Vuitton, Apple and Burberry which are not Japanese still sell well.
D
Deleted member 17706
Unconfirmed Member
Segata Sanshiro said:
Where in Japan do you live? I am in Tokyo now, but even when I lived in Osaka I see hordes of people with iPods everywhere I go. Any big electronics store will have a sizable iPod section if not a full-on Apple area. I seriously doubt that Sony is taking much of Apple's market share.
While I don't see a lot of Apple laptops on the trains or in public especially in the light of the recent "mini-laptop boom", iPods are still huge here and if anything it seems like they are growing in popularity.
edit: well I stand corrected...
I just did a quick search and found this article from the other day (Japanese) http://www.asahi.com/digital/bcnnews/BCN200909020002.html that says that the Walkman beat the iPod for the first time in 4 years and 8 months with a market share of 43% compared to Apple's 42.1%
Then again the article does go to mention that one of the reasons for this turn around in the mobile music device market is that a lot of previous iPod users went and bought iPhones instead of the newest iPod iteration. I am pretty sure that Apple is still on top if you added in iPhone sales (but then again you would have to add in Sony's Walkman branded phones as well).
Technosteve
Banned
korean phones are better =P
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Damn sleek, and that's like one of the dozens that are offered only for Japan.Mik2121 said:
I remember drooling over some of those Samsung phones they had there. Simple and sleek in design.
Shining Sunshine
Banned
Do you enjoy your big fat phones?TheOneGuy said:
Well. As far as you think that the only good looking phone on the US and European market is the iPhone, then I'll guess your opinion of 'ugly' is consistent.OuterWorldVoice said:
Otherwise, I'd say no.
(IMO my phone isn't ugly at all. Definitely not something that might cater to the western market, but not ugly).
polyh3dron
Banned
loli rape sims incoming
Shining Sunshine
Banned
polyh3dron
Banned
Protip: The look and the touchscreen are NOT the main attraction, it's the software and the OS.Shining Sunshine said:
CharminUltra
Member
Oh yeah, Japan hates Apple. They looooooooaaaaaaaaaaathe them.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Banned
--Japanese have superior taste
--iphone is big, fat, and ignorant just like the U.S. lol
--ugly as green and gold phones with horrible software are now "sleek" because people use them on the subway
--"I only saw one guy with an iphone on my 2 week trip there"
--This will only last a month until Japanese phones are back on top
it's like people are trying to be caricatures
--iphone is big, fat, and ignorant just like the U.S. lol
--ugly as green and gold phones with horrible software are now "sleek" because people use them on the subway
--"I only saw one guy with an iphone on my 2 week trip there"
--This will only last a month until Japanese phones are back on top
it's like people are trying to be caricatures
Fyodor Dostoevsky said:
Well... at least for me, regarding your comments:
1- Definitely no. They have bad taste in many things (most cities in Japan are ugly as fuck, for one, and the pretty parts are usually the few old buildings left or huge ass sky scrappers, and even then, not all).
2- iPhone is much more elegant and sleek than most phones, both from the Japanese and 'Western' markets.
3- You don't even know how good is the software. I've been using it daily for half a year already and I have yet to have any problem with it. Maybe older versions of the Sony Ericsson mobiles sucked, but this one definitely doesn't.
4- Yeah. Only seeing one person with an iPhone in two weeks seems a bit too... weird. Even if it didn't sell that well. Unless he's been around the Japanese rural area for those two weeks. Then I guess it's possible.
5- Yep. I think that's funny as well.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Banned
Mik2121 said:
I'm not attacking you personally, you seem reasonable. but this thread is setting back the otaku rights movement :lol
I think people have already said, but this could be because of your location too. iPhone is pretty massive in Tokyo. It wouldn't surprise me if it's not as big outside Tokyo, though, largely because of it being Softbank only right now. Softbank has pretty shitty coverage on a national scale, but in the cities it's more than adequate.Segata Sanshiro said:
It actually surprises me just how popular the iPhone is in Tokyo sometimes, or at least in my part of Tokyo, which is quite full of students and the like.
MidnightScott
Banned
This goes to show you that even the smartest people will buy a product based on brand name alone, despite the problems said brand has.
MidnightScott
Banned
Well, it's really based on hype alone. Japanese people tend to buy the latest and greatest technology, but so much new stuff comes out they are already out buying the next thing that is released. I myself feel that iPod is overrated and you can find better cheaper alternatives that do the same things and maybe more. We waste so much money on name brand stuff it's ridiculous.
I kinda want an iPhone too but I would never be able to afford all the little stuff you can do on it like apps, internet, text messaging. Considering I hardly use my phone I think it would be kind of a waste to spend that kind of money in the first place. Though I wouldn't mind at least having text messaging, for those times I can't use my phone at work.
By the way, for people trying to start a flame war with me, don't even waste your precious time. It's just my opinion kiddos.
I kinda want an iPhone too but I would never be able to afford all the little stuff you can do on it like apps, internet, text messaging. Considering I hardly use my phone I think it would be kind of a waste to spend that kind of money in the first place. Though I wouldn't mind at least having text messaging, for those times I can't use my phone at work.
By the way, for people trying to start a flame war with me, don't even waste your precious time. It's just my opinion kiddos.
CharminUltra
Member
I am guessing you are about 10 years old, correct? If you really think that is all Apple has ever done of importance then there is simply no other explanation.markot said:
Uhm, did you even read? It's prepaid, obviously an older model. Though, looking at the phones, you can obviously tell that they're of similar makes...Mik2121 said:
And the iPhone is what I'd consider a big cellphone. Most of my handsets have not been as big (although, I guess they've been thicker?)
MidnightScott
Banned
TheOneGuy said:
This really deters me from buying an iPhone now (besides the price). What will I do if I can't listen to music on my cell phone properly?
I will also never understand the Japanese market in any industry. Yay lets buy the same old JRPG instead of the next original game from Marvelous
Sorry, I meant from the same series, not same model.zoku88 said:
And even then, the size of this phone or the iPhone are quite good for me. They fit in your pocket, and you get a pretty big screen. I'd rather have a phone the size of the iPhone with it's screen than a very small phone with a shitty small screen.
Here in Fukuoka I see a few iPhones every once in awhile, but they're definitely a huge minority compared to other phones. The problem is that new phones get released on such a regular basis that it's harder to sell someone on a phone that came out several months ago. Look at the sales numbers for the iPhone in a few months and then we can talk.
I use Softbank but refuse to buy iPhone because it doesn't have a J-standard cell phone web browser, which is a very, very large pain for me. I use several services which only can be accessed with a cell phone browser, and some companies only have sites for these browsers. If Apple adds that support, then I'd be more interested in buying iPhone, otherwise I'm happy with my Sharp phone.
Anyway, I don't understand why anyone would buy a phone brand new here, they're very expensive! If you wait a month or so, you can just go to a used phone shop and buy the same phone for several hundred dollars less! Whenever I upgrade my phone, I just buy a used one. I'm not sure if this works for iPhone though, since you need a special SIM card that Softbank provides, and I've heard that they'll give you a hard time if you want the card but don't want to buy iPhone.
iPhone still misses many features which are standard on J-phones, such as Suika transactions, Oneseg, IR port, proper emoticons (laugh all you want but lots of people are turned off of iPhone because of this), the list goes on and on. For whatever reason, Apple refuses to properly localize iPhone for the Japanese market. Unless they add those features, it's going to be an eternal uphill battle.
I use Softbank but refuse to buy iPhone because it doesn't have a J-standard cell phone web browser, which is a very, very large pain for me. I use several services which only can be accessed with a cell phone browser, and some companies only have sites for these browsers. If Apple adds that support, then I'd be more interested in buying iPhone, otherwise I'm happy with my Sharp phone.
Anyway, I don't understand why anyone would buy a phone brand new here, they're very expensive! If you wait a month or so, you can just go to a used phone shop and buy the same phone for several hundred dollars less! Whenever I upgrade my phone, I just buy a used one. I'm not sure if this works for iPhone though, since you need a special SIM card that Softbank provides, and I've heard that they'll give you a hard time if you want the card but don't want to buy iPhone.
iPhone still misses many features which are standard on J-phones, such as Suika transactions, Oneseg, IR port, proper emoticons (laugh all you want but lots of people are turned off of iPhone because of this), the list goes on and on. For whatever reason, Apple refuses to properly localize iPhone for the Japanese market. Unless they add those features, it's going to be an eternal uphill battle.
RevenantKioku
PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS PEINS oh god i am drowning in them
Well see, a lot of people in Japan use their cellphones in lieu of an actual computer. So the closer it actually gets to being one the better.MidnightScott said:
That little stuff is the main stuff these days, especially in Japan. I don't even think I rack up more than 10 minutes of call time a month on my cellphone.
My main question though is if we iPhone users will ever have access to the webpages limited to the cellphones. It's generally a non-issue but it does make things annoying once in a while.
Emoticons is pretty much a non-issue by now. I haven't had a problem and I even get the fancy excessive ones my fiancée sends me.
It's only probably that way because there's no super popular model of any Japanese phone, but the vast majority of people still use Japanese phones. So when you count individual phones up, the iPhone beats any specific model. And there doesn't seem to be any concrete numbers for marketshare. I'm sure it'd be a pretty low absolute number.
It'd be like saying the MacBook is the most popular laptop in the US (I picked a random Apple laptop, I have no idea if it's the most popular or not) just because it's one specific model that lots of people buy. But the vast majority of people use Windows laptops. It's just that there are a bunch of different models of them, so they get beaten as the most popular even though most people use them.
When I went over there, it was definitely rare seeing someone using an iPhone. I saw fewer iPhones in a week than in a day in the US.
It'd be like saying the MacBook is the most popular laptop in the US (I picked a random Apple laptop, I have no idea if it's the most popular or not) just because it's one specific model that lots of people buy. But the vast majority of people use Windows laptops. It's just that there are a bunch of different models of them, so they get beaten as the most popular even though most people use them.
When I went over there, it was definitely rare seeing someone using an iPhone. I saw fewer iPhones in a week than in a day in the US.
MidnightScott
Banned
RevenantKioku said:
You know I never asked people on here why they are in Japan in the first place. Is there a thread for that somewhere.
I just turned 20 and the only thing I use my cell phone to do is make calls. However, I try to bring my DSi with me and use the internet on it, despite the limitations it has. Let's morph the thread, what is a good US cell phone to buy through AT&T...I know the service sucks but since I don't pay for it...welll :x