Why the iPhone is not wanted in Japan
With tomorrow (July 11, 2008) being release day in Japan of the 3G iPhone through SoftBank, I thought I’d add to the tsunami of articles by adding this survey from BlogCh that looks at, amongst other things, what people feel is stopping them from buying Softbank’s iPhone.
Demographics
Between the 27th and 30th of June 2008 427 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 57.1% of the sample were male, 11.5% in their twenties, 49.2% in their thirties, 32.3% in their forties, and 7.0% other ages. The sample was pre-screened with all selected being holders of personal-use mobile phones.
It’s very interesting to note in Q2 that women seem slightly more interested in the iPhone than men, and in the detailed breakdown by current provider (see original survey for details) I think I could detect some envy amongst DoCoMo users!
One ease of use issue I’ve not seen specifically addressed but which is important in Japan is whether you can write email one-handed hanging off a strap in a crowded train. Inability to be thumb-driven in this fashion will be a black mark among reviewers, I suspect.
Commenting on another blog, I just realised that here about 13.3% are investigating purchasing, whereas earlier this month when looking at all the regular new models from DoCoMo, au and SoftBank just 6.7% wanted to buy any one of all the other summer 2008 phones. Incredible!
I also see that Strapya is already decked out with a few 3G iPhone accessories from Japan!
Research results
Q1: Who is your current mobile phone carrier? If more than one, answer for your main phone. (Sample size=427)
DoCoMo 40.5% au 28.6% SoftBank 21.5% Willcom 6.3% E-Mobile 0.5% Other 2.6% By sex, DoCoMo was more popular with men, au and SoftBank with women. By age, DoCoMo appealed more to older people, au and SoftBank to younger.
Q2: Has your desire to buy the iPhone changed since the price was announced? (Sample size=427)
All Male
N=244Female
N=183Planning, investigating buying since before price announced 6.3% 5.3% 7.7% Planning, investigating buying since after price announced 6.1% 5.3% 7.1% Planning, investigating buying for other reason 2.1% 1.6% 2.7% Don’t need it, not interested (to SQ) 85.5% 87.7% 82.5% Q2SQ: Why don’t you need or are not interested in the iPhone? (Sample size=365, multiple answer)
All Male
N=214Female
N=151Prefer my current mobile 29.3% 28.5% 30.5% Handset is expensive 18.4% 17.8% 19.2% Been over-hyped 16.7% 15.4% 18.5% Seems difficult to use 14.2% 14.5% 13.9% Doesn’t support One Seg digital terrestrial television 12.6% 15.0% 9.3% Dissatisfied with SoftBank: would buy from DoCoMo 11.8% 13.1% 9.9% Doesn’t support FeliCa, Osaifu Keitai electronic cash 11.2% 12.1% 9.9% Only has a touch panel 11.0% 12.6% 8.6% Dissatisfied with SoftBank: would buy from au 8.8% 7.9% 9.9% Hasn’t got removable battery 6.8% 6.5% 7.3% Dissatisfied with pricing plans 6.3% 8.4% 3.3% Doesn’t support infra-red 5.2% 5.1% 5.3% Not from a Japanese company 4.9% 5.1% 4.6% Dissatisfied with SoftBank: would buy from Willcom 3.3% 3.3% 3.3% Colour, design 3.0% 3.7% 2.0% Dissatisfied with SoftBank: would buy from E-Mobile 1.1% 1.9% 0.0% Other 24.7% 22.4% 27.8% No answer 1.9% 2.3% 1.3% In the breakdown by current service provider, SoftBank customers were more interested in the iPhone that others. Regarding those uninterested, One Seg was the dealbreaker for 22.5% of SoftBank owners versus 12.8% of DoCoMo and 7.3% of au. DoCoMo users overall had more complaints; for eample the overhyping turned off 20.8% of them versus 14.5% of au users and 11.3% of those with SoftBank.
＜意識調査＞iPhone価格発表に関する意識調査 ブロガー向け情報サイト「ブロッチ」などネットマーケティングを展開する株式会社アイシェアは同社が提供するサービス・・・≫続き
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Video: Tokyo waits for the iPhone | Japan Probe said,
July 10, 2008 @ 21:52
[…] Be sure to check out What Japan Thinks’ article translating a survey about Why the iPhone is not wanted in Japan! Do you think the iPhone will be a success in […]
Alex said,
July 10, 2008 @ 21:55
Not from a Japanese company 4.9% 5.1% 4.6%
Wow. Just…wow.
Ken said,
July 10, 2008 @ 23:13
Alex…is that high? I don’t know - when I first saw it I thought it was high, but then I thought about it and it seems kind of low. It would be great to know if this sort of thinking prevails with other purchasing decisions - for example, cars or TVs or even FMCGs.
Anyway, for me it’s 1) No removable battery, and 2) I’d prefer if it was with AU, though that should be coming soon…
Work « Em’s Freedom said,
July 10, 2008 @ 23:35
[…] I was browsing my Google Reader, I found the article Why the iPhone is not wanted in Japan. Listen there are the cellphone providers common in 日本. And I’d like to take note of […]
Nevin said,
July 11, 2008 @ 03:45
Not from a Japanese company 4.9% 5.1% 4.6%
Wow. Just…wow.
I would argue that this is a perfectly reasonable level of response… I’m surprised that there weren’t a greater number of responses stating Japanese people would not buy the iPhone because it is not Japanese.
People tend to be loyal to a particular brand, in this case, Japanese handsets. I would say that usability rather than chauvinism, is the greatest driver here.
Stranger in a Strange Land » Blog Archive » iPhone hits Japan said,
July 11, 2008 @ 08:27
[…] cellular providers in order to use their network. And to be honest, Japanese consumers don’t feel like they’re missing out on much, because our phones can already browse the net and use GPS, plus we can watch TV on them–who […]
Mark said,
July 11, 2008 @ 08:42
I’ll second that “not from a japanese company” is a decent reason why they didn’t want to purchase a product. Not only is supporting your domestic economy important, but quality of certain items can depend on the country of origin. A very extreme example is “MADE IN CHINA” labels compared to “Made in America” labels…but you get the idea.
Ken said,
July 11, 2008 @ 09:56
Not only is supporting your domestic economy important
Then why don’t the handset makers make all of the components domestically?
Nevin said,
July 11, 2008 @ 12:10
Then why don’t the handset makers make all of the components domestically?
I don’t think people “thinking globally, buying locally” by purchasing cell phones “made in Japan”. I don’t think anyone really has any idea of the supply chain, or where the cell phones are made. But they can easily recognize either a brand (Sony, Panasonic), or the fact that a certain product looks familiar, both in terms of the product design, as well as its usability and interface.
Cell phones are a little more complicated than media players such as the iPod. It’s a more personal relationship, and that’s why I think the iPhone won’t be particularly successful in Japan. Existing domestically produced cell phones already do all of the things an iPhone does, and more. All they lack is the sophisticated touch display. What they do possess is an easily understandable (at least from a Japanese point of view) interface.
Jerome said,
July 11, 2008 @ 12:39
I’m rather surprised by the “been over hyped” coming at 3rd place.
Usually Japanese love the hype, plus lot of people confessed never have heard of the iPhone in a previous survey.
Not surprised however by “seems difficult to use” coming at 4th.
A decade of habits with the usual japanese phones, who had seen very shy innovation in user interfaces, will not be easy to change.
Mork from Ork said,
July 11, 2008 @ 13:52
It’s a more personal relationship, and that’s why I think the iPhone won’t be particularly successful in Japan. Existing domestically produced cell phones already do all of the things an iPhone does, and more. All they lack is the sophisticated touch display. What they do possess is an easily understandable (at least from a Japanese point of view) interface.
I’m gonna be laughing when every single person who says this isn’t going to be successful specifically in Japan is proven wrong. Having a ton of features and the ability to do everything an iPhone can does not equal superiority especially if using those features aren’t straightforward for the average consumer. And I wouldn’t discount Apple right away when it comes to the UI. They aren’t that stupid that they didn’t put time into making the interface usable for the Asian market.
Some of the people I know bought the keitai they got due to the long list of things it can do but they rarely use them because they are just too complicated to figure out. But isn’t that symptomatic of the average Japanese consumer where they have these sadomasochistic tendencies or buy things with features they don’t need but do it anyway because they don’t know any better or think that it has to be better because it has everything. I know a few who play with theirs like a puzzle in trying to decipher how to use a feature during long commutes just to keep themselves busy. I guess that is one benefit of the Japanese keitai. Superior indeed.
And as far as breaking habits go, well here is something to chew on. Back in the days when cellphone technology was in its infancy, the Japanese looked at mobile phones (not PHS ones which were rather popular but had their own issues with limited coverage) and sort of shrugged them off as being too expensive. So most just sat on the PHS train and ignored regular mobile cellphones. There was also an older demographic of mostly salarymen and bureaucrats that refused to every have one of these newfangled portable devices because they felt it was unnecessary and furthermore, intrusive when they were out of the office. When they were out, they did not want to be contacted. So what happened when the prices of mobile keitai dropped and fell in line with that of PHS? Well a tide of consumers made the switch leaving PHS in the dust. And what of those dinosaurs who refused to carry a keitai? Well if they didn’t adapt ot the changes, they were left at a disadvantage in comparison to everyone else.
So what does that have to do with Japanese keitai versus the iPhone. Well you’ve got to be blind to even think that the firmware on most Japanese keitai are anything good. They are pure trash. The code on most Japanese made digital cameras and video cameras with touchscreens are pure crap as well because they are all developed with the same Japanese engineering mind which has little to do usability. They get the job done and most consumers don’t know any better but what happens when the bar is raised and someone makes the thing actually easy to use? What happens when they see the superior kanji fonts that are available on the iPhone? What happens when a bunch of Japanese development companies release software specifically tailored to the Japanese market? There are some developers who will be releasing some mind twisting puzzler games that will be entertaining for the most bored out of their mind commuter. There is even going to be purely silly stuff that will catch the fancy of many Japanese. Aren’t they the very ones who go crazy after stupid things like mugen puchi puchi? There is going to be a market of that mindless stuff coming to an Apple App Store near you in the future.
And just having a sophisticated touch screen does not a superior interface make. Part of that lays in the frameworks within the firmware. In the case of the iPhone, they have managed to scale their desktop operating system onto it. The only major difference besides the architecture is the usual keyboard and mouse UI layer being replaced with a touchscreen layer. Underneath that are the same feature rich API’s to write desktop quality programs. If Japanese written firmware was so superior, why haven’t they been able to create better code and interfaces for their consumer electronic devices and phones? All you see are some ugly looking and convoluted pieces of code that don’t do the hardware features justice. In that regards, Japanese consumer electronic firmware is full of FAIL and their software engineers are fully aware of this and know they are going to have to adapt and do way more in this area because they know they cannot just dismiss Apple and continue down their merry path blindly as if nothing were happening. Those who do that are doomed to finding out just how quickly the competition can steam roll right over them.
I will gladly come back here and eat a ton of humble pie if the iPhone turns into an utter failure in Japan. But if I am right, I will come back here, laugh, say I told you so, and rank the level of cluelesslness written in this topic at the same level as thread #500 regarding the iPod when it was first released over at MacRumors.
Nevin said,
July 11, 2008 @ 14:11
Mork, you make some really great (and really technical) points that I can’t argue with:
The code on most Japanese made digital cameras and video cameras with touchscreens are pure crap as well because they are all developed with the same Japanese engineering mind which has little to do usability…If Japanese written firmware was so superior, why haven’t they been able to create better code and interfaces for their consumer electronic devices and phones? All you see are some ugly looking and convoluted pieces of code that don’t do the hardware features justice.
The same thought was flashing through my (clueless… Heh) brain (although I am not so sure I would be as quick to categorize the ‘Japanese engineering mind’) when I pushed ’submit comment’, because the interface on most Japanese consumer electronics (and I’m thinking of Sony’s MD players and accompanying software in particular) are indeed terrible.
Ken said,
July 12, 2008 @ 13:59
Mork has some excellent points.
Ken, word is that Apple and Softbank are not saying how many were shipped to Japan. They are keeping the number under wraps for now.
Speculation is that they are looking for articles just like this to appear:
http://en.j-cast.com/2008/07/11023424.html
Ken Y-N said,
July 12, 2008 @ 22:59
Ken, yes, I remember with the PS3 (or some other console) when they released in the US they kept the numbers down so they could get the “sold out” coverage too. It says a random shop got 50 handsets, so could we surmise an average of 50 for each - how many SoftBank shops are there in Japan anyway?
I’m looking for more info regarding a Japanese article that said that on the White Plan email is not free. If that’s true, and given that it polls the server regularly, some people are in for a shock next month, I think.
Saw the new ad on the telly and it’s useless, BTW. Oh, and that j-cast translation is hideous!
Ken said,
July 14, 2008 @ 00:15
50 at each SoftBank shop would not add up to much, but there were Bic and Yodobashi Camera locations in Tokyo reporting that they sold “about 1,000.”
I’m looking for more info regarding a Japanese article that said that on the White Plan email is not free.
That was the impression I got from the pricing plans on their website.
Ken said,
July 15, 2008 @ 08:49
iPhone Dominates Japan’s Cell Phone Market On Release
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/AC/TNKS/Nni20080714D14JFA22.htm
Some interesting numbers. 40% of handset sales at electronic retailers in Japan were accounted for by iPhone sales on the day of release. But 50% of total sales of all handsets that day were at Softbank shops.
Japan Handset Makers Seek To Survive iPhone Shock
http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/AC/TNKS/Nni20080714D12HH661.htm
Gist: Japan’s handset makers, unable to compete overseas against Nokia et al, are in for rough times. Mitsubishi and Sanyo are already out - now the question is just who’s next?
Ken Y-N said,
July 15, 2008 @ 11:58
Thanks for the info Ken, even though I can’t read the Nikkei articles due to no subscription!
Can you find out what the average number of sales for a summer Friday might be, so you can extrapolate that to estimate iPhone shipments?
Without more info about survey method, etc, I’d be slightly wary about these figures for 50% of all sales, though.
Ash Kay said,
July 15, 2008 @ 17:58
Never underestimate the power of fads in Japan. Our small and local Softbank store disclosed that they were given 10 iPhones. All were sold out the night before by way of vouchers. if one store was given 10 phones and there are over 2000 stores, it should give an implied indication of the amount of phones sold in that one day.
I’m actually surprised by the number of “Not from a Japanese company 4.9% 5.1% 4.6%”. I suspected it would be higher. But then again, in my time living here, I’ve learned that most Japanese rarely tell you what they are really thinking. While food products are highly distrusted when from China, I’ve observed a greater prejudice toward Korean electronics like Samsung.
helical said,
July 19, 2008 @ 19:41
Aren’t they the very ones who go crazy after stupid things like mugen puchi puchi?
Dude Mook, I think you just crossed the line right there
…. but on a more serious note, for the most part, I do agree that firmware design and user interfaces leave much to be desired on Japanese products. There are countless tales of programmers regularly facing insane schedule “Death Marches” for programming cell phone software, and most readily admit the coding is crap. And I also agree that the fonts and such maybe not the best it could be. But then again, in terms of aesthetics, I may have grown fond of the utilitarian non-antialiased ugliness prevalent in Japanese consumer electrocnics… (yes, I’m the jerk that changed all the Windows interfaces to the Classic theme and confused everyone else in the office).
I think the “Not from a Japanese company” is rather low, but that may be because people have already accepted the iPod, and it may be that people share my impression that despite the hype, the iPhone is just an iPod with a fancy touch screen that you happen to be able to talk to your friends on.