

Apple appeal in Japan is turning the tables - evo_9
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20006368-64.html?tag=newsFeaturedBlogArea.0

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mistermann
My anecdotal experience in Japan...

I go to Japan every spring for 3 weeks or so, and I am always looking around
to see what electronic gadgets people are using, so I am always checking out
everyone, especially on the train.

Spring 2009...before arriving, I was quite interested to see how many people
were using an iPhone. I was quite surprised to see only the the odd iPhone
here and there. The iPhone had already been out for a long time, with great
success most everywhere else, so I thought maybe there was something unique
about the way they use their phones (the Japanese are constantly reading or
typing on their phones) such that the iPhone was inferior (I still don't know
the answer to this).

Spring 2010...iPhones everywhere. On any given train, of the people visibly
using a cell phone, 20% to 40% of them had an iPhone. It was a pretty
impressive conversion in the span of one year.

I did see the new Sony XPeria in the stores over there, it did look like a
fairly nice device. But the advantage the iPhone will always have is the app
store, there are some really cool Japan only apps that (for now) you can only
get on the iPhone.

Maybe Japanese cell phone companies should just standardize on Android and try
to come out with the slickest Japanese implementation first, then try to re-
tackle the international market if they can pull that off.

~~~
nandemo
One reason is that the price dropped quite a bit. I got a 8GB for "free" last
year, subject to a 2 year contract.

Your estimate of 20~40% is probably off by a factor of about 10, though. Think
about it. Softbank is one of the 3 major mobile carriers in Japan. In fact,
the other two are still bigger. Even _all_ of the dozens of Softbank models
combined probably don't add up to 25% of market share.

Also, each carrier has had their own app stores way before iPhone existed. Of
course, iPhone has the novelty factor, a great interface, etc, but existing
stores have plenty of apps and also a subscription model.

~~~
fookyong
I think that cities are vastly biased towards the iPhone. There's just lots of
pro-iPhone people in the cities; mac users (note there are only a few mac
stores in Japan and they are all in big cities), Japanese people who are more
"worldly", business people or tech people who appreciate the easy access to
the real web and not watered down iMode version etc etc.

But get outside the cities - you know, the other 90% of Japan - and I'd wager
a guess that the amount of iPhones you see in the wild drops considerably.

So you're right in a way. There's probably very high market penetration within
big cities. But outside the cities where its high school kids, X-corp
salarymen, factory workers and housewives, other models dominate.

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gjm11
> outside the cities - you know, the other 90% of Japan

So far as I can tell, more than half the population of Japan is in major
metropolitan areas.

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mullr
Obligatory anecdotal confirmation:

I recently went to a neighboorhood meetup (オフ会) near my home in Kobe. At some
point I got out my iPhone to look at the time. Someone said "oh, you have an
iPhone?" At which point fully HALF of the other attendees pulled out theirs
and began discussing.

Yes, sampling bias and all that, but it's still a bit surprising. One guy who
didn't have one expressed his loyalty to an opposing carrier that doesn't have
the iPhone.

Still haven't seen an iPad here, but it hasn't been very long.

~~~
donw
I'm in Tokyo, and the news here is _full_ of the amazing new world ushered in
by the iPad, and I know it sold out the first day; people camped out for two
days in front of the Apple Store in Ginza to get one, and the lines were
_huge_

I'll let you know if Ginza/Shibuya is an iPad-fest this weekend.

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jrockway
Japan does not _always_ pick Japanese stuff over non-Japanese stuff. Perl
seems more popular than Ruby, everyone uses Windows, OS X, or Linux, and so
on.

I think the appeal of the iPhone is that it is marketed like a luxury good
rather than a commodity, like the Japanese-made cell phones are. The Apple
Store in Tokyo is in the super-ritzy Ginza district, after all. (Although the
same is true in the US; the Apple Stores are always in the high-end retail
districts, and the iPhone is a luxury where its competitors are faceless
commodities that you "pay" ninety nine cents for every two years.)

Another thing I see going for Apple is that, it seems, people in Japan are
actually willing to pay for consumer electronics. In the US, we go for
whatever's cheapest (go to Best Buy sometime, not a high-end item in sight),
but the Japanese seem to be more discerning. At least in my experience.

(I am typing this on a Y30,000 keyboard that was imported from Japan. The most
expensive keyboard I can find on Amazon is $100, and only because it has a
shit-ton of stupid bells and whistles, like LEDs and a text display. This
keyboard is a regular 103-key keyboard without a numberpad. No lights, no
display, no wireless. Just a good keyboard. Only in Japan...)

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starkfist
His article is a little weird. The Japanese have been into Americana products
like Levis, work boots, boat shoes, surfboards and Harley Davidsons since the
70s. You can't get american made jeans or shoes in the US, but you can (for
$800) in Tokyo.

Regarding electronics from the USA (China?), there simply have not been any
worth buying until the iPhone and iPad.

~~~
captaincrowbar
I think that last bit was kind of the whole point.

