Tomorrow is the big day in Japan!
The whole world was eagerly waiting for the new iPhone 3G S and tomorrow finally the new iPhone will be released in Japan.
Introduction
One year has passed since the “iPod with internet and phone function” has arrived in the most advanced mobile market in the world. In the following I would like to examine that “year 1 after the landing of the ‘Jesus phone’ on an Asian non-Christian island”.
Has the iPhone finally arrived in Japan?
And will the 3G S bring the breakthrough for Apple in the Japanese mobile market like the iPhone 3G did worldwide?
Turning point
Till 2008, Japan was the most sophisticated phone market in the world. New high-end phones were released in wide ranges every 3-month, subsidization pushed the prizes down (e.g. high-end 1yen or 0yen phones) and the devices’ lifecycles were short. Then in 2008 came the big turning point. The determining fact was that the mobile industry in Japan was sinking. Total unit shipments declined in the past years and went down 18.7% in the last fiscal year to 42 million units (2008: Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association).
The Japanese ministry of internal affairs and communication reacted and forced the carriers to change their way of selling. Phones were no longer subsidized, real costs of phone units had to be displayed in shops, hidden costs in contracts were forbidden and 2year-contracts had been introduced. Japanese users finally realized the real cost of mobile phones, now ranging from 30.000Yen ($300) to 80.000Yen ($800). This political measure had a big impact on the mobile business and mobile lifestyle of the Japanese.
Adoption problems
Then in June 3008 the iPhone was introduced to Japan. Steve Job was about to crack the Japanese market and gain 1%market share worldwide. But as reported in earlier blogs, the wrong marketing strategy, maybe the wrong mobile carrier and unexpected problems led to un-acceptance of the iPhone as a competitive phone in Japan. Just to mention some of these problems:
If you bought an iPhone in Japan you had to fill out and sign several documents that listed standard functions for Japanese phones, like copy and paste, video recording and trimming, Felica RFID chips for mobile payment, powerful carrier menus with all desirable functions, services and shop solutions…
Exclusivity to Softbank, Japans 3rd biggest mobile provider, might also have contributed to the low spread of the iPhone in Japan. The owner of Softbank, Masayoshi Son, is a half Japanese half Korean innovator who took over the mobile section from Vodafone Japan in March 2006. Docomo is Japan’s biggest mobile carrier and many Japanese think still very traditional. Discrimination might have been a point but in fact many Japanese were waiting for an improved Japanese iPhone-like phone on the quite. (Let’s see if Toshibas new T01-A fulfills their expectations and can break the worldwide iPhone hype!)
Market share
A year passed since the introduction of the iPhone 3G, but no official announcement of sales figures were made, and rumors said that the iPhone failed in the Japanese market. But did the iPhone really fail in Japan? How much did it sale? What’s the market share and will the new iPhone 3G S win the hearts of Japanese mobile phone users? Answers to these questions on this blog soon! And while you are waiting for answers you might wanna go to the Softbank shop in Omotesando tonight and check out if there is really a long line of people waiting for the new iPhone?!
The「eBook Initiative Japan」just released a new eBook and manga service today. Four days after the introduction of their new ebook service for Macintosh computers, they also launched an optimized version for the iPhone and the iPod touch.
The iPhone service offers over 22.000 ebooks, including about 16.000 mangas in a very wide range and from most famous Japanese publishers. The release dates and the purchase prices are exactly the same like the printed versions but some special online-only offers will be available soon.
All eBooks can be purchased directly from the phone by VISA card and through several popular Japanese eCash and online banking services. The service uses a special ebook reader which is not yet available for ordinary Japanese mobile phones. Therefore the typical payment methods for Japanese cell phones, like payment via phone bill or in the convinience store are not available. ( The new iPhone firmware will open doors for new distribution channels soon.)
Time will prove if the ECO-trendy Japanese are willing to pay the same price for the digital version and what manga collectors think about that service. For all jam-packed houses in Japan and all subways and trains, where thousands of mangas are thrown away after a single read-through every day, a trend to digital manga consumption would definately be a big relief!
And all manga fans around the world should listen up! Your beloved art works are accessable from around the world now! Just download them directly to your iPhone or iPod touch and enjoy them on their release date. Of course some Japaneses proficiency is assumed for reading the original Japanese material, but I guess high access from abroad can be assumed as soon as some finds out about it. Maybe this blog entry will give it’s part to it!
