iPhone wins enterprise deal in Japan

Fast Retailing, an operator of clothing chain Uniqlo in Japan, will purchase 1,200 iPhones from Softbank in order to provide its employees with an always-connected means for communication. Besides Softbank providing FMC/WiFi solutions for in-store calling/data usage, Uniqlo employees will be able to view customer data without storing it on device and search company directory - all cloud-based.

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Lack of smartphones make Japanese users wish more

Despite the common believe that Japan market is flooded with advanced smartphones from domestic vendors, it is not exactly so. While some well-known research powerhouses put Japanese vendors into the world's top smartphone rankings just because those vendors' phones are based on local flavors of Symbian or Linux, in Japan they are considered just as regular phones, advanced but still phones. In Japan, the smartphone definition goes beyond just simple notion of phone's operating system and includes other conditions such as a PDA-like form factor with bigger display and full text keyboard or touch screen. Surprisingly, just few models in Japan meet these conditions, making Japan's market the one with the lowest smartphone penetration. Recent study by Impress also found that Japanese users are more familiar with Windows Mobile OS and they expect their next smartphone to run on Windows rather than Apple's OS X or Android OS. This is partially explained by the WM's head start in Japan. Though the users' attitude will undoubtedly change with Android smartphones taking a full assault on Japan's shores this year.

Most Popular Smartphones
Apple	iPhone 3G
Apple	iPhone 3Gs
Sharp	Advanced W-ZERO3 (es)
Sharp	Willcom 03
Sharp	W-ZERO3 (es)
HTC	Touch Diamond (S21HT)
Sharp	W-ZERO3
HTC	EMonster (S11HT)
Toshiba	T-01A
HTC	HT-03A
RIM	Blackberry Bold

Study: iPhone apps usage in Japan

It was reported that Japanese iPhone users mostly use their beloved gadgets for four purposes, with web browsing being the most popular. Web surfing is then followed by Email, iPod and phone calling use cases. Surprisingly, iPhone apps, including games came fifth in this survey of about 300 iPhone users conducted by IMJ Mobile. Nevertheless, 91% of respondents claim to have downloaded an app from iTunes. It's quite obvious that the most popular app category turns out to be games, considering Japanese people's passion for games.

Source: IMJ Mobile

iPhone 3GS tops the charts in Japan

The recent mobile phone sale figures from GfK show the rise of the iPhone 3GS 32Gb model to the top of the charts. Softbank's marketing campaign under the "iPhone for Everyone" slogan is clearly bearing the fruit. Just two weeks ago iPhone was ranked tenth...

TOP 10 (Sep. 7-13)
1(3) iPhone 3GS 32Gb	Softbank
2(2) Sharp SH-06A	NTT DoCoMo
3(1) Sharp SH001	KDDI au
4(6) Sharp SH-02A	NTT DoCoMo
5(4) SE W64S	KDDI au
6(12) iPhone 3GS 16Gb	Softbank
7(5) Panasonic 830P	Softbank
8(8) Sharp URBANO	KDDI au
9(7) Sharp SH-05A	NTT DoCoMo
10(10) iPhone 3G 8GB	Softbank

Previous Japan's top 10 mobile phone rankings:

• Top 10: Aug. 31-Sep. 6

Source: IT Media Mobile

Top 10: Best selling mobile phone in Japan

The first week of September witnessed a big jump of iPhone 3GS from the 10th to third ranking in top 10 selling mobile phone rankings in Japan. The big jump is attributed to solving the earlier inventory problems for iPhone 3GS. Nevertheless, the undisputed leader Sharp saw two of its models swapping the top and second positions, securing its hold on Japanese market.

TOP 10
1(2) Sharp SH001	KDDI au
2(1) Sharp SH-06A	NTT DoCoMo
3(10) iPhone 3GS	Softbank
4(6) SE W64S	KDDI au
5(5) Panasonic 810P	Softbank
6(13) Sharp SH-02A	NTT DoCoMo
7(3) Sharp SH-05A	NTT DoCoMo
8(18) Sharp URBANO	KDDI au
9(7) NEC N-08A	NTT DoCoMo
10(4) iPhone 3G 8GB	Softbank

Source: IT Media Mobile

NHK joins iPhone app craze

NHK, the Japanese analogue of British BBC, joined the ranks of iPhone application developers by releasing the replica of its iconic clock. The clock application doesn't only keep the authentic looks but it also provides the time tone similar to the original sampling. It's available free for download from the iPhone appstore.

Source: CNet Japan

iPhone sales in Japan estimated to hit 1 million in three months

While Apple doesn't release iPhone sales by region, there are some indicators that iPhone is doing pretty well in Japan as Softbank's agressive sales tactics and viral marketing are starting to bring new customers to Softbank shops. According to Business Media, which refers to some internal sources at Softbank, the iPhone sales should easily achieve one million devices after one year from iPhone's landing in Japan. Given that the iPhone went on sale in Japan nine months ago, the one million milestone should be reached in the mid of summer.

Source: Business Media

Advanced Media launches voice-to-text Email app for iPhone

Tokyo-based Advanced Media has released beta voice-to-text Email application for iPhone. Since the application is in beta, it is distributed free via iPhone store. Advanced Media intend to charge for the app once Apple releases iPhone OS 3.0. The app on iPhone is just a nice interface to establish a connection to the server where all the heavy-lifting is done. Advanced Media has developed an in-house speech recognition engine Amivoice, which learns end-user's speech patterns and allows to record geographic and personal names in advance. It is one of the fewest apps out there to cater to users with a need for voice-to-text emailing in Japanese. Good news is that Advanced Media plans similar app for Android and Windows Mobile platforms.

Source: Advanced Media press release

Nico Nico Douga finally launches iPhone app

Given the fact that Nico Nico Douga is considered to be Japanese YouTube, it took awfully long time for them to release iPhone application. What is interesting is that iPhone is not even the first device to be optimized for Nico Nico Douga Mobile experience. Users of various models from DoCoMo, au and Softbank had the opportunity to watch videos and leave comments for some time. Actually, the mobile service accounts for about 3.2 million users. Now, when it is iPhone's turn to foray into Japan video sharing marketplace via Nico Nico Douga Mobile, users have a broad set of functions embedded into iPhone app, including the ability to leave comments, search, rank and tag videos. And yeah, it's free. Just type Dwango in iPhone App Store search to find it.

Source: Niwango press release (pdf) via Keitai Watch

Mobile phone sales drop by 29% in Japan in 2008

According to MM Research Institute, the cellphone shipments decreased by 29.3% YoY in Japan in 2008, totaling in 35.8 million units. Sharp was leading the pack for four years consecutively, shipping over 8 million handsets last year. International players failed to make a big impact in 2008, grouped in the Other category where Apple iPhone and HTC Diamond were notoriously visible. The 2009 outlook doesn't look bright as the handset shipments are expected to drop by another 7.5% hitting the low of 33.2 million units.

Source: MM Research Institute via Keitai Watch

iPhone in Japan turns into TV tuner

Now you can't blame iPhone in Japan for not being capable of oneseg TV reception, a must-have feature for Japanese phones. Softbank is shipping a stand-alone oneseg & battery hardware box that will serve as a TV tuner and battery for iPhone. It can send over the TV signal to iPhone using the WiFi connection or be connected to iPhone via a cable when used as an extra battery. It sells for around 100 dollars. Additionally, users will need to download a free oneseg app from App Store in order to watch oneseg TV.

Hudson wants to become a number one app developer for iPhone

Gaming powerhouse Hudson from Japan is eyeing the lucrative market of iPhone/iPod Touch applications. Recently one of its executives laid out ambitious goals for the future in the interview to local media. While it lacks brand awareness beyond Japan, Hudson is determined to expand internationally. Watch out for the new competitor! Below are some interesting points from the interview:

• During next six months Hudson intends to get into ten best content providers for Apple’s App Store and even become the top producer, if possible.
• As of now, 10 applications from Hudson are available through iTunes to iPhone/iPod Touch users, five more to be added soon.
• Hudson's so far best record in App Store was Bomber Man title ranked 16th at the time of the interview
• Typically 20 developers can come up with an iPhone app within less than a month at Hudson
• Games released by Hudson are priced from $0 to $7.99
• Hudson sees potential in networked games as they can become a building element for iPhone-based gaming communities

Source: IT Media +D

Samsung Omnia to land in Japan

One of Samsung’s numerous and most promising assaults on Apple’s iPhone the SGH-i900 a.k.a Omnia was noticed during Wireless Japan 2008 trade show at Samsung’s bigger than ever booth. The 3.2 inch touchscreen Windows Mobile machine with Samsung’s proprietary TouchWiz UI went through the localization demonstrating Japanese language menu and text input. While Omnia’s 5MP camera and some other specs are superior that of Apple’s 3G iPhone, Samsung realizes that in order to beat iPhone it needs to go that extra mile. In Japan it means adding one-seg TV functionality and contactless FeliCa chipset for mobile payments. Samsung is said to be considering the integration of these options into the device along with the new name for Japan’s Omnia campaing. Softank is most likely to carry this device in Japan.

Source: IT Media

Will DoCoMo offer LG Prada instead of Apple iPhone?

Wall Street Journal reported that DoCoMo would bring LG Prada to Japan on May 23. The news raises a question of a fate of iPhone on DoCoMo’s network. It’s no secret that Prada is a direct competitor with the iPhone. Why would DoCoMo bring Prada if it was going to introduce iPhone? In a simple logic, you don’t want to cannibalize your iPhone sales by bringing a competing product. AT&T serves as a good example here. I have two theories to explain this move by DoCoMo. First of all, the negotiations between Apple and DoCoMo didn’t bring a fruit and DoCoMo decided to launch a competing product ahead of the iPhone’s launch on a rival’s network – Softbank’s, to be precise. Second, DoCoMo decided it takes too long for Apple to come up with 3G iPhone for Japanese market. There is still a possibility that iPhone will be shipped by DoCoMo as the Prada’s move can be seen by someone as pressure on Apple to become more flexible in its terms. We’ll see very soon.

Related iPhone articles:

• Apple’s iPhone to hit Japan market in 2008?
• iPhone balancing act: DoCoMo or SoftBank?
• Japanese users think iPhone is fat

Source: WSJ

iPhone balancing act: DoCoMo or SoftBank?

Apple is reported to conduct talks with Japan's two UMTS carriers on a subject of who will launch iPhone in Japan. KDDI au the second biggest carrier is missing from the talks due to its CDMA network standard, which is not supported by iPhone. Japan is poised to become a first country to enjoy 3G version of iPhone. However, it is not clear who will get the "right of first night" with iPhone. DoCoMo variant is more attractive for Apple as the carrier controls more than 50% of market in Japan. However, DoCoMo is notoriously known for its tight control of the handset ecosystem in Japan and is not willing to cede it to anybody else. Maybe, that is the reason why Apple is bringing SoftBank to the negotiation table - to make DoCoMo play by Apple's rules over the fear that the iPhone deal may be snatched by SoftBank. It looks like Apple needs to stand firm with its conditions of revenue sharing with operators. If it shows weakness now, operators in other countries will demand the same deal. The possible solution is a compromise between Apple and DoCoMo - Apple still get the revenue-sharing but with a smaller margin than it got in the US or Europe (and other operators won't necessarily know about the terms of the deal). Below are some headlines from today's news sources discussing the matter:

• Apple Mulls Options for iPhone Japan
• Apple plays DoCoMo against Softbank over iPhone
• Apple in Talks with DoCoMo in Japan
• Apple Meets With DoCoMo, Softbank On Launching iPhone in Japan

Survey: Nearly half of iPod users intend to switch to iPhone in Japan

According to the recent survey conducted by Mitsubishi Research Institute, iPhone as a product has a high level of awareness among Japanese consumers, with 11.3% of survey respondents (out of total 2,400) understanding iPhone’s features and functions and 35.6% having heard about iPhone name. Moreover, when asked about iPhone purchase intension as a replacement for the existing phone, 5.2% of respondents expressed a strong intension to do so, followed with 22.4% of respondent also considering this move. Male users in age segment from ten to forties and female users in age segment from ten to thirties are the ones with most positive attitude toward buying iPhone, with males in their twenties especially tending to become the first adopters of iPhone in Japan. Among iPod users the intension to buy iPhone was even higher – 13.3% strongly inclined to acquire iPhone and 31.4% more likely to do so.

Source: Mitsubishi Research Institute

Apple launches wireless Internet store in Japan

Apple has opened a version of its online store for wireless Internet users in Japan.

The service is available to owners of most handsets sold by NTT DoCoMo Inc. and KDDI Corp.'s Au unit, which together account for about 82 percent of all wireless Internet subscribers in Japan. The version for Au's EZWeb service launched on March 28 and the NTT DoCoMo I-mode site went live on April 1, Apple said.