Apple iPhone is big, big, big in Japan
Apple is big - really big - in Japan, where the iPhone now accounts for 46.1 percent of the smartphone market, according to the latest data from Impress.
The company achieved sales accounting for almost half of the entire Japanese smartphone market across 2009, the analysts said. This drove the company’s iPhone 3G and 3GS to claim the top two slots in the sales charts, with the 3G model seizing 24.6 percent and the 3GS grabbing 21.5 percent.
Apple’s success has slashed marketshare of traditional incumbents in the smartphone space, with Sharp’s W-ZERO3 seeing sales halved for the Windows-powered device.
Impress cites ease of use and applications as key drivers for Apple’s success, and confirms the impact of these features on data use on the network: c.77.3 percent of 3GS owners access data services for over half an hour a day, the report says. Android (and the 3G iPhone) hit 66.8 percent.
Read this laughable Google translation of the Impress report here. (It’s near enough incoherent).
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Comments (29)
Brian Chen. Oh how we'd like a comment...
I live in Japan and also have an iPhone and I can tell you SoftBanks network is really good..... Not just that but free iPhone 3G's and the 3GS are less than $4 a month ! Data plan $40 a month unlimited and you pay as you go calls........ but 3G here is very good !
I live in Japan and also have an iPhone and I can tell you SoftBanks network is really good..... Not just that but free iPhone 3G's and the 3GS are less than $4 a month ! Data plan $40 a month unlimited and you pay as you go calls........ but 3G here is very good !
Also in Japan. Softbanks' service is pretty good. It has its issues, but they have gotten better over the last year and a half. When the iPhone 3G first came out I dropped calls every once in a while. Now I can't remember the last time I've dropped a call (now on a 3GS, wife on my old 3G). Add the speed of the 3G services out here and they trounce anything that AT&T had in the States.
Nice to see that a cell company can finally compete with Docomo (Japans' version MA Bell)
I am surprised it is not 90% of the smartphone market. Docomo only introduced a Blackberry and HTC about a year ago and the Sharp - on Wilcom - their sales were halved. So what is that, from 6 customers down to 3? I have only seen 1 of those in the wild during the 4 years I have been in Japan.
But I am also curious - what percent of the Japanese cellphone user market even has a smartphone? Most of the people I have seen using iPhones are foreigners.
That's right about the speed though - already using 7.2 3g and coverage pretty much everywhere. And no EDGE.
good point. of course the size of the smartphone market within the overall cellphone market is relevant, if this % figure is to have any meaning. i understand that in japan, many people just use the "regular " phones with smaller screens, which is more feasible because the japanese writing fits on the screen.
As much as I do love my iPhone this report is somewhat misleading as the previous commenter states. This may be a good number for the smartphone market, but in total distributin the smartphone share is only like sub-10% of the total wireless use in Japan. That is to say that upwards of 90% of mobile phones in Japan are not "Smart" phones.
As much as I do love my iPhone this report is somewhat misleading as the previous commenter states. This may be a good number for the smartphone market, but in total distributin the smartphone share is only like sub-10% of the total wireless use in Japan. That is to say that upwards of 90% of mobile phones in Japan are not "Smart" phones.
As much as I do love my iPhone this report is somewhat misleading as the previous commenter states. This may be a good number for the smartphone market, but in total distributin the smartphone share is only like sub-10% of the total wireless use in Japan. That is to say that upwards of 90% of mobile phones in Japan are not "Smart" phones.
As much as I do love my iPhone this report is somewhat misleading as the previous commenter states. This may be a good number for the smartphone market, but in total distributin the smartphone share is only like sub-10% of the total wireless use in Japan. That is to say that upwards of 90% of mobile phones in Japan are not "Smart" phones.
As much as I do love my iPhone this report is somewhat misleading as the previous commenter states. This may be a good number for the smartphone market, but in total distributin the smartphone share is only like sub-10% of the total wireless use in Japan. That is to say that upwards of 90% of mobile phones in Japan are not "Smart" phones.
HOW MANY TIMES YOU GOTTA POST THE SAME MESSAGE?? HOW MANY TIMES YOU GOTTA POST THE SAME MESSAGE??
HOW MANY TIMES YOU GOTTA POST THE SAME MESSAGE?
OBNOXIOUS? Isn't it???
I too live in Japan.
I'm not surprised by the statistic, but I would have to agree that the percentage of people who use smartphones here is really really small. I only know a few people who have iPhones (and I'm a grad student, so I keep around the "young people")
Thats impressive...a year ago you couldn't give an iPhone away in Japan. What led to the change of impression?
It's no surprise as the plans are reasonable, unlike in the US. Also, network in a small country is a cakewalk compared to setting up similiat service in a huge geographical area such as the US.
Actually, our experience with the iPhone in the Sacramento area has improved considerably and it is only when we are in the Bay area that we run into more troubles. It is still useable in some areas and impossible in others.
So, what I'm gathering from the discussion is that the 46% of the Japanese smartphone market means absolutely nothing because only 2% of all the cellphones in Japan are smartphones. So a 46% iPhone share is like 46% of next to nothing. I knew that this figure was overblown and doesn't mean anything. Basically, nearly nobody in Japan is carrying an iPhone or any other smartphone. Let's mark Japan as a big "Rising Sun" in unit sales for Apple's iPhone. All the Japanese are interested in is Hello Kitty stickers and glittery snap-on accessories for their no-feature, texting cellphones. Better just ignore this market for iPhone revenue.
On your statistics, I'd have to agree. But as for the Japanese phones being no-feature, you are way off. My Docomo phone from 4 years ago could do regular email, I could take a photo of a bar code with a rear 4mpx camera/flash or a VGA front facing camera and it would automatically go to a mobile web formatted page with a coupon for a store, or a map of where I am (this was before GPS). New Japanese phones can RECORD tv for watching later - AppleTV can't even do that (not saying I want it to, but some people do). Some new phones have over 8mpx cameras. And the best part - there is no EDGE here - all 7.2 3g goodness.
This is what I have been wondering durring the entire article. I knew Japan has had feature rich phones for years (phones that for some reason no one will bring here) that put the iPhone to shame, but i didn't realize they weren't technically "smart" phones. 46% of less than 10% of an industry is really nothing to brag about.
The japanese smartphone market is really, really small. Percentage-wise, it looks impressive, but actuall number count is average at best.
iPhone in Japan is media/games player.
Nothing more.
Your know, cause from the technical point the iPhone is not good. iPhone is friendly usefull and cool for some men)
iPhone in Japan is media/games player. Nothing more. Your know, cause from the technical point the iPhone is not good. iPhone is friendly usefull and cool for some men)
iPhone in Japan is media/games player. Nothing more. Your know, cause from the technical point the iPhone is not good. iPhone is friendly usefull and cool for some men)
cause from the technical point the iPhone is not good.thanks so much.youtube
http://www.youtubeline.com
Yeah, tiny tiny market. Couldn't find 2009 figures, but:
"Total shipment quantity for Japanese domestic market in 2008 is 1.58 millions.
The shipment volume of the smartphone for Japanese domestic market in 2008 was 1.58 million units, 68% increase compared to the previous year. As well as the series of new product introductions by oversea manufacturers, the major growth factor was the aggressive introduction of smartphones by communication carriers who intended to develop new business opportunities, which was motivated by the saturated market demand for the third-generation (3G) mobile phones"
I was in tokyo 2 weeks ago and I noticed about 30 or 40 people with iphones. Not a huge number, sure, but really really visible, and far far more than I would have expected. It is popular.
Where did you get that quote? There were no "smartphones" here until the iPhone. Then docomo picked up a blackberry and htc. Before the iPhone, people used to think my HP pocketpc was cool. Strange isn't it.
30-40 people out of how many 1000s of people you saw. popular indeed.
Hi,
Japan is one of the world’s most advanced mobile markets.Japanese only look for technology and for them iPhone is just another phone...
As many have mentioned the "smartphone" market is nearly non existent in Japan.
But, what is the definition of a "smartphone"? Phones in Japan can send/recevied regular email, can sync with corporate email, take photos, use 2D codes, take video, etc....
I had a phone in Japan back in 2003 that did email, corporate sync and took photos..
Not sure what they are calling the "smarphone" market.
I have to agree with you. The idea of what is a "smartphone" to a technologically-advanced country like Japan or even South Korea is misleading. Both of these markets have had cellphones that are so feature-rich as to not have had a strong need for the so-called smartphones.
I mean, if you go by specs alone, the iphone would be trumped by the stuff Japan and S.Korea have. However, the iphone has got the allure of Apple branding and nice/useful applications.