There are no official statistics available as how well the iPhone sells after Apple started offering it in the Japanese market in July last year. Now Softbank Mobile, one of Asia’s biggest tech companies and the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in Japan, thinks sales need a boost and decided to give away the hardware basically for free [JP].
Following a price cut in August last year, SoftBank will launch a special iPhone campaign on Friday that runs through the end of May. New subscribers signing up for a two-year contract will be able to get a 8GB iPhone for free (the old price in Japan was $235). The The 16GB model will be discounted to $118 from $350.
In addition, SoftBank Mobile’s data plan is being discounted from $62 to $45.60 per month for existing and new subscribers.
That data plan isn’t cheap at all, it’s twice what we pay in the states with AT&T
Your data plan with AT&T is < $23 a month?
Err, nevermind, forgot it’s $30 now (used to be on their original pricing for the first iPhone). In any case, that’s still pretty pricy to be $45.
Forget data plan…..I think the Japanese are used to better cell phones than we we do here in US. Just a good looking UI does not fool a Japanese….they only look for technology and for them iPhone is just another phone….
http://www.livbit.com
Not so. I get a lot of “oohs” and “ahhs” from Japanese people here (Tokyo) about my iPhone.
But it not having “emoji” (emoticons) was a HUGE deal. they’ve since added an emoji language pack.
A big factor is MMS. The Japanese send a lot of MMS messages, which the iphone is not good for.
“not good at” is, IMHO, a gross understatement! I love my iphone, and I love all Apple products, I’m a happy Apple shareholder, but lets be honest, MMS + iPhone + AT&T is horrible!
Horrible? It doesn’t even exist.
The most advanced phone in the world and I have to check a URL for a picture someone sends me. That’s crazy!
“Most advanced phone in the world”? My assumption is that the Japanese don’t care about a phone that doesn’t even keep pace with what they were using several years ago.
Japan is way ahead of us in the mobile space and I predict will be for quite some time.
“Japan is way ahead of us in the mobile space and I predict will be for quite some time.”
This comment was bang on … 3 years ago.
Since when is the Iphone the most advanced phone in the world? lulz
Actually no. The Japanese tend not to use either SMS or MMS, they only use e-mail from their phone.
The big reason is that the iPhone really needs a computer to update/sync/whatever. It’s not as normal in Japan to have a computer at home. Their phones are basically all they use :)
Actually that is not true. More or less 80% of household has at least one PC at home. Given Japan is one of fastest aging society, it can be said that almost everyone now has access to PC at home.
False, quote your source.
All the homes I’ve been in have laptops since a PC takes up too much room. Don’t remember seeing a full-size PC in any BIC Camera nor Yodabashi either.
Keiteis are almost primary devices for email/internet and primary for texting.
Probably the biggest factor is that in Japan Flash runs on very mobile site and apps so having a phone that cannot display flash is simply a non sense…
Japanese mobile sites are horrible and display limited content. Most do not use flash as you stated. Data transmission charges are the reason. To use a flash site cost a fortune in packets.
Downloaded games are equally if not more compelling on an iphone.
This is changing has people start getting pake-hodai – unlimited data. But this is still not universally adapted so mobile content creators do not build very sophisticated sites.
The iPhone is changing the way people view content. Japanese iPhone developers are creating some of the coolest apps on the planet.
Just be patient.
The 3G is MMS capable; it’s AT&T that doesn’t allow this. Our sales for Japan have been nearly non-existent. I wondered why as I thought they would be such a huge market. Friend from Hawaii said that tourism is dead which is mostly Japanese supported ($300 per day per person vs. $100/US tourist).
It just shows that there’s at least one country that doesn’t love the iphone.
TechFilipino
why would every country love the iphone?
japan in particular, doesnt suit the iphone well, it could have all the stuff you need like wifi, mail, vid player, web browser. but it doesnt have the necessary features every japanese mobile users needs on a jphone. no decomail, chaku uta, j-emoticon, 1seg, etc.
although it has a mail which is imap, most jmobile users block mails coming from a pc to prevent spam on their jphones. that includes iphone mail.
btw, i own an iphone myself for dev purposes and still keeps my good ol jphone.
could have predicted that. their phones, such as DoCoMo, are light years ahead of US technology, with real-time video conferencing, banking debit devices, and already engaged in transitioning into 4G. please.
Agreed. I was in Tokyo a few months back and I was amazed at the phones they had. Widescreen OTA video with simulated 5.1 surround sound in your headphones…craziness.
The iPhone somehow felt a little backwards by comparison.
“please”, what? this has nothing to do with “US technology” and everything to do with the adoption of specific services among the general population as well as limitations imposed by service providers. banking debit services? real-time video conferencing? All possible with technology commonly used on modern “state-of-the-art” phones sold here in the US. There is nothing inherent in the iphone (or any other modern mobile phone) or the network it runs on that prevents these services. You’re confusing services with technology.
Please, and you’re confusing technology with services.
Unless an iPhone has dual-cameras (one at least 5MP), supports 3G video-call, 1seg broadcast tv, has an embedded NFC chip to support swipe debit services for trains and point-of-service stations, one-handed operation when the other is grabbing a strap while on a train, emojicons … The iPhone is VERY technology limited.
This is likely an indication of a new model coming out soon as well.
Apple has been buying up quite a bit of flash memory of late…
The headline states that it’s not selling well, but then turns around and claims there are no stats, so the reasons for the discount are cast in a negative light. This story reeks of linkbait.
Here’s a launch story showing demand as pretty much the same as in America :
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20080712a1.html
It is not surprising that iphone is not popular in the countries such as Japan or Korea. Their phones are much more advanced and it is all about multimedia, not limited like iphone. They can record high res video or even video conference which iphone cant. Another thing is those countries have Wi-Max which when combines with the netbook, 3G phones basically become useless..
A perfect example of what happens when a market isn’t brainwashed by Apple’s “Ohh, Shiney!” mentality and marketing.
I can’t believe how many people got into an argument with me about wanting an iPhoneat launch because it could…. get this…. BROWSE THE WEB!
Its like in the US Apple brainwashed people into believing that no phone that could go online or play music exsisted before the iPhone was created…. and that any phone with a touchscreen is an imitator.
This is proof hwo how well their products would sell had they not been able to brainwash the consumers into thinking their products invented even fire and the wheel and that it can do “everything” when in reality is can so far less than what their competetors can.
Ill stick with my WinoMo based phones that have a HARDWARE keyboard thanks, WinMo is even more accessable than Android, and that surprised me, it dosen’t lock away or try to hide files from me if I tell it not to.
True. But you lost me at WinMo.
I’ll admit WinMo is clunky, but it’s quite powerful. I was SSH’ing into servers on WinMo phones and there’s apps for pretty much anything.
Sorry, I don’t buy the argument that everyone in the U.S. is brainwashed by the Apple marketing machine. That is giving Apple Marketing way too much credit.
In the U.S., the success of the iPhone is due to the fact that for the first time, a mobile phone was made available where all of these advanced features are easily accessible to the novice. Before the iPhone, the interfaces on cell phones were overly complex. Phones could play music, browse the web, instant message, etc., but many people had no idea how to access this functionality or even that they could do such things with their phones.
People are attracted to the iPhone’s ease of use and polish in the design. In Japan, I think people also appreciate the design, but it doesn’t do all the things that their current phones do, so it’s less appealing. If Apple were to provide all the missing features in the Japanese market, it would most likely be a hit there too.
And your response is indicative how well the marketing by Apple works. You just quoted Steve Jobs keynote from 2 years ago. Man you dont even realize it. lol
Maybe Japan doesn’t have as many stalkers as everywhere else.
They could easily be clearing stock, notice the end period of the offer. Best buy does an offer on the iPhone too, in the UK its already free for some plans (and yet over 1m sold)… oh but no… iphone flops is much more attention grabbing
No offense, but this is such linkbait. How can you claim it’s not selling well when you have no stats? Often times companies cut prices in the exactly opposite scenario, when something IS selling well.
I’m not going to claim that, as I have no stats to back it up, but the amount of applications developed by the Japanese for the iPhone would suggest that perhaps it is selling at least moderately well, even if it’s not a total hit.
iPhone ranks at 13 out of all the Japanese cellphones sold in Japan, which means there are 12 cellphones sold better than iPhone.
Wish they had this deal here…
It’s the size and form factor. Japanese like smaller and thinner phones. Iphone in Japan is referred to as the “geek” device. And Apple partnered with the wrong carrier, Softbank is small player relative to NTT. I would of gone with NTT instead.
Would *have*
yes, some people write “of” because “would have” sounds like “would of” or “wooduv” when spoken.
In such a case; the uneducated person is confusing speech with orthography. This is no excuse, and they should still be corrected. When the standard of the language changes, only then will it be acceptable from a strict orthographic rules point of view.
The biggest factor is that the camera now makes an audible click, so Japanese men can no longer take surreptitious upskirt photos.
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/07/japanese_iphone_3g_is_perverts_worst_friend-2.html
japanese phones have audible clicks that cannot be disabled.
by the way, I’m an American man and I’m tempted to take upskirt photos, but don’t because of the legal ramifications.
It really doesn’t shock me that it hasn’t done well there. They’ve already moved on to 4G soon, and so goes the iPhone.
Having lived in Japan a bit, and being married to a Japanese woman with an iPhone, there are a few things coming together to cause issues –
1) Google Maps functionality isn’t quite as good in Japan as the US, so there goes a huge feature right there. Then again, there’s a reason most Japanese people arrange to meet at a major landmark, and THEN go wherever they are going – nothing does this well;
2) After over a decade of phone email capability for the AVERAGE user, using the standard dialpad keys to type japanese, it’s a rough adjustment to go to the full keyboard;
3) Unless it’s the most amazing phone ever, it really is pretty close to free most of the time, so I bet that now that the base model is free, there will be a significant pickup in the numbers;
4) As someone mentioned – it’s not just flash, Japanese websites have ZERO usability factor, even on computers. With some notable exceptions, it’s just not possible to have a good full-web experience on a phone, period. The sites that are phone-formatted adhere to very strict standards, and as-yet the iPhone does not deal with those sites (instead it tries and dies at loading the full site).
And for those who say Japan is “lightyears ahead”, well, uh, no. The things Japan was always good at with phones were making them smaller, which they are now rebelling against with big-screen phones, and having 1-2 ‘crazy’ features like built in radio, TV, games, etc. All things that the platform phones (and especially iPhone) can do, or emulate.
I mean, yeah, in 2000 when I went, to see a phone with 200 ringtones builtin, and a computer sync feature WAS incredible, given the crap-phones we got in the US. But, they haven’t proceeded at that same pace since, and most of the western phones are catching up/surpassing them. Just the openness of the iPhone is a HUGE draw, along with the ability to use the 3G in Japan AND around the world, which most J-phones have always been bad at.
Very correct Deano! See my comments below.
btw, all maps in Japan are poor, in any case, based on language and terrain. But I find the GPS function and direction of the Apple map app very good. It will even let me enter English names for some places like stations. Fantastic for driving. Love the blue dot!
Thanks Deano for providing some actual informed commentary on this subject. I, too, am married to a Japanese women and frequently visit the country.
The numerous comments here about how Japanese phones are way ahead, technologically, is simply false. I imagine those folks are simply repeating what they read somewhere and have no first-hand experience with Japanese phones.
I agree with all your points, but I would add a couple more reasons for why the iPhone is not popular in Japan.
First, the current fashion in Japan is flip-phones. I was in Tokyo just a few weeks ago and I saw not a single “brick” style phone.
Second, the very design astetic that make Apple products popular with their fans — minimalist hardware and software designs — runs counter to Japanese tastes and preferences.
The iPhone is unpopular for the same reason Macs sell rather poorly in Japan. The Japanese love for their devices to have a gratuitous amount of buttons and functions. They seem to thrive on the complexity.
The whole idea of a brick phone with one button and a morphing touch screen interface with separate, simply-designed, single-purpose applications is the antithesis of what most Japanese people desire in an electronic device.
They slowly warmed up to the minimalist iPod and maybe they will eventually do the same with the iPhone, but I doubt it.
LOL why in gods name would you want an Iphone in japan… its obsolete
Not obsolete when making a proper comparison. While Japanese phones have features not available in the U.S., the iPhone does not try to compete with them.
The Japanese phones have horrible interfaces that are not intuitive, slow, and really don’t compete with sophisticated smart phones. The gps function of the iPhone alone is worth the price of buying one in a city like Tokyo that is almost impossible to navigate even for natives. The local phones have horrible gps that is extremely costly to use.
The screens of most local Japanese phones don’t lend themselves as well to reading ppt files, word and excel files as well as creating more formal email.
And let’s not forgot the App store. NTT Docomo walls off it’s iMode service and creates and unbelievably anti-competitive environment for creating entrepreneurial mobile apps. Softbank, though a weaker carrier, has delivered free talk between Softbank customers and consistant pressure on Docomo to lower rates. As a result their stock is rising consistently even during these tough times.
The iphone is also an iPod- best music player on the planet.
So tell me what is obsolete about it?
Many of the lusted after features of the Japanese phones are not that useful went properly explored. They, like many other Japanese products, are unfinished and works in progress.
And for the record, my wife works for Docomo- so I get my hands on all the cutting edge products and am a customer of Docomo and Softbank- 14 years experience using ketai!
As for the comment above about limited sale, spot on. Apple is most likely to release an updated version of the phone in June.
Why is it that every time someone starts extolling the virtues of how “advanced” the iPhone is, they pointedly ignore everything in the universe except the products that prove their point? Whenever I go to Tokyo, I am stunned by the fantastic Windows Mobile devices they have available and the amazing profusion of really powerful subnotebooks that you see people everywhere carrying all over the place. You don’t need to run out and buy an iPhone, if you already have a device with you that lets you do everything an iPhone does, but better.
The reason the iPhone isn’t as big in Japan (or Europe for that matter) as it is in the US, is quite simply because consumers in those markets aren’t as ignorant of mobile technology in general as consumers in the US. Apple’s shtick that the iPhone is the first real smartphone may work over here, where most people have spent a decade carrying the crap free phone they got with their contract, but in Asia and Europe, the general consumer has been aware of full-featured smartphones for a long time, so the iPhone is just another product, not something people think is some amazing, groundbreaking product.
It isn’t a matter of how advanced, or not, the iPhone is. It is a matter of how educated, or not, the customer base is about the advanced devices that have been available in most major markets for many years before the iPhone even came out.
I tell ya read their disertation then look at what Steve Jobs spouted at his keynote. Bears quite a resemblance. Begs to question ” Is it live? Or is it Memorex?”
after all your typing iphone is still obsolete- fyi verizon had an app store 10 years ago
I live in Nagoya and travel around a fair bit and rarely see a Windows Mobile device. I certainly don’t see people carrying around “really powerful subnotebooks”. The subnotebooks that are selling here now are the same $500 netbooks made by Acer, Asus and other Taiwanese companies that you can by anywhere. Also, they certainly aren’t carrying these around everywhere.
As Steve correctly stated, the typical Japanese cell phones have lots of bells & whistles, but are terrible to use. However, many people will stick with what they are used to. As he mentioned, the iPhone gps is worth it. Even though the iPhone camera’s not greate, I use mine to take and email photos much more than I ever did on my Japanese cell phone. It’s that magic ease of use. I also use it to listen to internet radio anywhere, read e-books, instant message, play games,…
I can’t wait for OS 3.0. I think the iPhone will continue to gain some market share in Japan, particularly if they come out with new models periodically.
People say Asia is 3 yrs ahead USA in mobile phone market!!
P.S.: If anyone is going to Japan, please bring me one ’cause where I live one is at least $700!!
The ipod is a good lesson in how Japanese respond to products from outside the country. When it was released, it was dismissed as a fad. Walk the streets of Tokyo and see how many iPods you see now. They started slow and then later than the rest of the world just exploded in popularity.
Same will happen with touch panel phones. Apple will continue to be the trend setter and will gain more and more market share when Docomo and AU finally decide to allow them to sell the phone.
Trend setter, they”ve had touch phones , and ease of use for years of there. Tell us something else that is compelling to the Japanese that might salvage some sales out of the Iphone?
anybody in here ever used nokia n96 etc ? they are 5 times better then any iphone
seriously? wow!
Hi all maybe someone can help me,I have an iphone but I can’t forward on a text message am I doing something or does it not work on it.
I am with O2 Ireland all info on this would be very greatful.
Thomas.
Still not nearly as cheap as the it is in the Netherlands
Why do all these comments have such a hardon for Japanese mobiles? (99% of which probably don’t live here.)
Sure, when I moved here in 2003 I was blown away by the phones they had. And they were light years ahead of the crap I’d had in Canada.
But now… it’s not like the rest of the world hasn’t caught up.
PS: Screw SoftBank. I had to pay 80,000 yen UP FRONT for my (disappointing) iPhone just 6 months ago!
*burned
nokia is better than anything.. its no. 1 in the world.. i-phone?.. well thay have to do something with their phone or they will losethe market.. real fast… just like what happened n sony ericksson.
For me.. nokia ROCKS.. They are cooking again 2 phones.. coming up verysoon.. :p
I care not a rap what negative comments people make about i-Phone, whether Wini Mo or Nokia N95 is one-million over better, I still love i-Phone; any opportunity to have one is splendid. Whao! What a lovely phone!
The mobile world is ruled y Nokia and Samsung (and Samsung controls much more because of the components they supply to other manufacturers – even to Apple).
The rock hero status of Steven Jobs doesn’t reach Asia or Europe as much as it does in US.
whats the big deal, iPhone is free in the UK as well.
#1 — no IR technology. Can’t exchange why_do_they_havesuch-9876_long_email_1234_addresses@docomo.ne.jp addresses with your friends. Eventually, BlueTooth will catch up but not for another 2~3 years.
#2 — SoftBank. Only popular outside of the major cities. Tokyo and Osaka are either Docomo or AU.
#3 — not really thumb friendly. heavy phone uses don’t normally bother with regular email. It’s 60wpm thumb way of life.
#4 — kaomoji (emoticons) … finally but the bad word already got out. Need another year for the facts to be reversed.
#5 — NO one seg TV
#6 — the cash thingy is not so major but is a slight inconvenience.
#7 — yes, there are computers in most households but they’re M$ and most folks can barely use word let alone deal with the blue window of death and viruses. High School students can use Word and barely excel and powerpoint. Technology is light years over here but the ability to use that technology is still in the dark ages.
#8 — Possibly, the connect to a PC could be a factor.
#9 — initial buy in price was too expensive.
#10 — currently (100 yen to $1):
$9.80 for special Softbank users 1am-9pm free calling.
$3.15 for SMS
$10.30 for lowest packet usage rate.
Monthly base fee of $23 … not bad now … but 40 cents per minute phone calls to non-softbank users bites.
#11 — other companies have started competitive pricing plans
#12 — camera bites … we’re heading for 7mega pixel cameras.
#13 — looks easy to scratch.
#14 — hard to bumb a charge off of a friend.
#15 — it’s different than your friend’s
I asked the Softbank shop clerk yesterday and they admitted to bad iPhone sales.
As for standard Keitai. The tech is awesome and functionality isn’t all that bad. However, the OS and gui form factor is lacking. Very hard to find similar gui across the different products from the same company. OS features too seem to be based on manufacturer rather than Telecom operator.
Another thing to consider is that the days of free (almost free) KETAI are gone. You now have to buy into 2 year contracts where if you were to change to another phone (not company) you end paying the difference (the remaining amount of the phone) at full price. So a $400 phone can turn into a $800 phone by breaking your contract.
I think that this has caused a lot of Japanese to really think about what they’re are going to be stuck with for the next 2 years. So, the iPhone becomes a variable hard to calculate compared to a NEC product which they know already.
Most Japanese I have run across are “Techonologically Ignorant”. I see kids pounding emails on their phones at warp speeds and can IR their data between friends like thieves. However, they choose a phone on the technological prowess that it offers. They choose based on the “cute” or “cool” factor.
Don’t get me started on their PC buying skills nor digi-camera selling skills.
You buy something because the person next to you already owns it.
I gave up on asking why such and such item is popular because the run of the mill response is “it’s more popular than item B”.
…. waiting for June!
I would expect similar reception in south korea…. japan and south korea are leagues ahead of US cell phone usages
I might walk down the street and get one. Or is the touch a better deal? i already have a phone I barely use, except for mailing messages.
where do i go to get one of these iphones, just a straight up answer, I don’t want a run around, does anyone know the answer to this question?
you are all being duped by softbank – iPhones are selling like hotcakes (or in this case, rice cakes?) in japan! softbank is giving it away for free because they want to completely annihilate au and docomo. (stepping on their necks while they’re down) just go into any subway or jr train and look around – shiny black things dominate!
I’ve worked in Japan for three and a half years. I’m also an avid Apple fan owning three generations of ipods and an two imacs. To be perfectly honest when I’m on the subway or trains I’ve rarely come across anyone with an iphone (in case you’ve never been to Japan the top three things people do on the trains here is 1) Text/Read on their cell phones, 2) read books/managa 3) doze off (yes even whilst standing). Mainly though everyone here is absorbed in their phones since talking is taboo on the trains. And I emphasize the trains because life her centers around traveling on the trains.
I must say I personally use texting/emailing a lot and find it incredibly difficult on touch screen phones (not just the iphone). Esp. here in Japan where there are not character limits you may find typing out a long message to be rather painful…
Also if you ever visit a NTT, KDDI or Softbank store (or any other cell phone retailer) you’ll be swamped by the variety of phones available (color, design, functionality – something for everybody). Unlike the Western GSM world where phone varieties are rather limited and anticipated months in advance (e.g. the Nokia 95), cell phones in Japan are churned out in the masses at a quarterly basis. They look stylish (very important here) and are exciting the use.
I personally feel that the Japanese cell phones are more advance but only because Japan has the critical mass to support the network functionality that allows such technology to be implemented.
MY NTT DoCoMo cell phone allows me to take 5MP photos, has a dual camera for video talk, unlimited data downloads, doubles as a suica card, steams FM radio and television shows. And yes it also allows me to view macromedia flash content! The Japanese are more interested in the text and reading whilst on the move so there’s no need to have full functionality web pages which increases waiting time. A quick page displaying the text with the latest news or wearther is suffice.
Very interesting read.
Now that the 3gs is out, things seem to have picked up a bit. I see more and more iPhones on the trains daily.
Many people have written about how advanced j-phones are. True. They are. But they are esentially made for people using Japanese as main language. Set your phone to English and your in the not-so-fun-world…
The really appealing thing about the iPhone is ease of use. That is something lacking in their japanese counterparts. The j-phones are full of things, some of them more or less useless. 1-seg (TV)? Sure, works fine if you’re not moving.
Recently, I see touch phones on billboards everywhere. The only place I do NOT se them are in hands of users.
Hi there!
Just moved to Japan. Thnx for the wealth of useful and contradictory information (?) ! Could somebody
tell me (reliably) if I will be able to use in Europe an iphone which I’d like to be here from Softbank with a two-years contract. Under which conditions?
Thanks!
the iphone is not easier to use than any other phone.
Any recommendation on what to do and what not to do? ,
Must be nice over there. Wish they ran a promotion like that over here. I am sure they make enough money off the US market, but I am sure they would gain an even larger market share with a price cut like that.