iPhone now #1 in Japan as well

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zerogear

zerogear

Diamond Member
Jun 4, 2000
5,611
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Really? I think it's pretty unsurprising since Apple is pretty much a 'fashion' statement to a lot of people. And Japanese people eat that up.
 
D

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,133
38
91
Bateluer said:
There's some apprehension between Japan and Korea.
Click to expand...

So? Samsung is doing fine in Japan. They just aren't a top seller compared to the locals. So long as they don't put "Samsung" on the front they are fine.
 
H

hans007

Lifer
Feb 1, 2000
20,212
18
81
well q4 is also when the 4s came out. same stuff as america, in the "we just released our 1 phone per year" quarter they get a surge.

apple has like 90% of market share the day the 4S came out for that day! OMG
 
QueBert

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,752
985
126
Apple has the best selling phone in the US

"meeeh, it's not all that popular in the rest of the world so it doesn't matter"

Apple has the best selling phone in Japan

"meeh, Japanese people will buy anything"

Even when Apple wins they lose huh? The hilarious thing is so many people carry on and on about how advanced phones are in Japan, and how they have built in TV tuners and all this shit. I remember a ton of people saying no American phone would ever sell well over there because we're so far behind them technology wise. I guess that makes Japanese people Sheeple too?
 
Last edited:
senseamp

senseamp

Lifer
Feb 5, 2006
35,787
6,197
126
QueBert said:
Apple has the best selling phone in the US

"meeeh, it's not all that popular in the rest of the world so it doesn't matter"

Apple has the best selling phone in Japan

"meeh, Japanese people will buy anything"

Even when Apple wins they lose huh? The hilarious thing is so many people carry on and on about how advanced phones are in Japan, and how they have built in TV tuners and all this shit. I remember a ton of people saying no American phone would ever sell well over there because we're so far behind them technology wise. I guess that makes Japanese people Sheeple too?
Click to expand...
Japanese are very conformist, and phones are seen as one of the ways to display status.
That said it is amazing how much the world changed in a few years. I remember being in Japan a few short years ago and thinking how far behind we in the US were in terms of phones. And now iPhone is #1 in Japan, and I am guessing a lot of the other top sellers are using Android.
This should be a lesson to people who think any company got some part of the tech market locked down.
 
S

smartpatrol

Senior member
Mar 8, 2006
870
0
0
QueBert said:
The hilarious thing is so many people carry on and on about how advanced phones are in Japan, and how they have built in TV tuners and all this shit. I remember a ton of people saying no American phone would ever sell well over there because we're so far behind them technology wise. I guess that makes Japanese people Sheeple too?
Click to expand...

Well said. I just think it's mind-blowing to see an American consumer electronics device dominate the market in Japan. Japanese seem to have an irrational dislike of non-Japanese electronics. Just look at Xbox 360. . . despite great Japanese support, including lots of big name JRPGs like Tales of Vesperia, Star Ocean 4, Mistwalker's games (Final Fantasy creator's new studio), etc. it still flopped big time. Apple must be doing something very right to crack this market.
 
QueBert

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,752
985
126
smartpatrol said:
Well said. I just think it's mind-blowing to see an American consumer electronics device dominate the market in Japan. Japanese seem to have an irrational dislike of non-Japanese electronics. Just look at Xbox 360. . . despite great Japanese support, including lots of big name JRPGs like Tales of Vesperia, Star Ocean 4, Mistwalker's games (Final Fantasy creator's new studio), etc. it still flopped big time. Apple must be doing something very right to crack this market.
Click to expand...

No kidding this is an absolute HUGE feat, I'm curious how the Phandroid dudes will spin this one. They always seem to figure out new ways to discredit Apple.

For anyone who's knowledgeable on Japan, has an American product ever been this bit of a hit over there before? I know they typically turn their noses up at anything that comes from the good ole' US of A.
 
Pliablemoose

Pliablemoose

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
25,195
0
56
QueBert said:
Apple has the best selling phone in the US

"meeeh, it's not all that popular in the rest of the world so it doesn't matter"

Apple has the best selling phone in Japan

"meeh, Japanese people will buy anything"

Even when Apple wins they lose huh? The hilarious thing is so many people carry on and on about how advanced phones are in Japan, and how they have built in TV tuners and all this shit. I remember a ton of people saying no American phone would ever sell well over there because we're so far behind them technology wise. I guess that makes Japanese people Sheeple too?
Click to expand...

LOL, I know.

A survey will announce iPhone holding #1, #2, & #3 sales spots in the US, and it's a fluke...

I hopped on the subway the other day, and I was flipping surrounded by Apple devices, it's actually a little creepy to see how popular they are.
 
D

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,133
38
91
senseamp said:
Japanese are very conformist, and phones are seen as one of the ways to display status.
That said it is amazing how much the world changed in a few years. I remember being in Japan a few short years ago and thinking how far behind we in the US were in terms of phones. And now iPhone is #1 in Japan, and I am guessing a lot of the other top sellers are using Android.
This should be a lesson to people who think any company got some part of the tech market locked down.
Click to expand...

The US is still behind. Not sure about 4G but 3G was invented in Japan. The iPhone does not have a lot of Japanese technology like a tv tuner and being waterproof. Furthermore, the iPhone is not very Japanese. It's missing a lot of tech and not very vibrant. However, the reason the iPhone was able to succeed was because it was a good product, simple as that. Also, the Japanese market was heavily fractured because all their advanced phones were basically feature phones with no ecosystem. This is changing with the advent of Android. Even now Apple is 3rd place for the year in Japan. With more Japanese manufacturers making Android phones if Apple is not careful things could return to the bad old days of MacOS and Windows. Apple feels that they can make a global phone that does not cater to the local market. This is a classical problem for any business and reeks of arrogance. I don't think the iPhone will dominate like it is right now going forward. I say this because even Samsung was doing well with their Galaxy phones and now they are nowhere in the top 4 or 5. Apple could suffer a similar fate. We will see.
 
ponyo

ponyo

Lifer
Feb 14, 2002
19,688
2,810
126
Dari said:
The US is still behind. Not sure about 4G but 3G was invented in Japan.
Click to expand...

I stopped reading after this. It wasn't invented in Japan. It was launched in Japan first but it's not Japanese technology. Qualcomm, an American company holds crap load of CDMA and 3G patents. It's more American technology than anyone else.
 
D

Dari

Lifer
Oct 25, 2002
17,133
38
91
ponyo said:
I stopped reading after this. It wasn't invented in Japan. It was launched in Japan first but it's not Japanese technology. Qualcomm, an American company holds crap load of CDMA and 3G patents. It's more American technology than anyone else.
Click to expand...

You should've kept reading. I'm not sure what holding "craps load of CDMA and 3G patents" has to do with where it was originally invented...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W-CDMA

In the late 1990s, W-CDMA was developed by NTT DoCoMo as the air interface for their 3G network FOMA. Later NTT DoCoMo submitted the specification to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as a candidate for the international 3G standard known as IMT-2000. The ITU eventually accepted W-CDMA as part of the IMT-2000 family of 3G standards, as an alternative to CDMA2000, EDGE, and the short range DECT system. Later, W-CDMA was selected as an air interface for UMTS...
Click to expand...

The technology was invented by a group of Japanese companies, including NTT, NEC, etc...
 
S

smartpatrol

Senior member
Mar 8, 2006
870
0
0
Dari said:
The US is still behind. Not sure about 4G but 3G was invented in Japan. The iPhone does not have a lot of Japanese technology like a tv tuner and being waterproof. Furthermore, the iPhone is not very Japanese. It's missing a lot of tech and not very vibrant. However, the reason the iPhone was able to succeed was because it was a good product, simple as that. Also, the Japanese market was heavily fractured because all their advanced phones were basically feature phones with no ecosystem. This is changing with the advent of Android. Even now Apple is 3rd place for the year in Japan. With more Japanese manufacturers making Android phones if Apple is not careful things could return to the bad old days of MacOS and Windows. Apple feels that they can make a global phone that does not cater to the local market. This is a classical problem for any business and reeks of arrogance. I don't think the iPhone will dominate like it is right now going forward. I say this because even Samsung was doing well with their Galaxy phones and now they are nowhere in the top 4 or 5. Apple could suffer a similar fate. We will see.
Click to expand...

What tech do you think the iPhone needs in order to remain successful in Japan?
 
E

ew915

Senior member
Jun 19, 2001
748
0
76
Well i for one switched to apple after trying tons of android phones for 18 months. I don't know why it took so long for me to switch but in the end i was tired of the android bullshit that all phandroid try to sell you with unlimited customization and freedom.
All i saw was a half baked OS between the vendor and the carrier, long overdue updates and a phone that the battery life was mediocre at best. I mean for a phandroid 1 day of moderate usage is an accomplishment.
Apple got it right they have a good update process and you can do it shortly after its announced unlike android which can take 6 months or never ever.
 
M

Medu

Member
Mar 9, 2010
149
0
76
QueBert said:
No kidding this is an absolute HUGE feat, I'm curious how the Phandroid dudes will spin this one. They always seem to figure out new ways to discredit Apple.

For anyone who's knowledgeable on Japan, has an American product ever been this bit of a hit over there before? I know they typically turn their noses up at anything that comes from the good ole' US of A.
Click to expand...

There is no need to spin it- the iPhone is a massive success in all markets but people do love to twist stats. It's hardly a surprise that the iPhone is the top selling phone in nearly all markets in the quarter than it released it's annual update. It will also be no surprise that Android will dominate the next few quarters with new flagship phones from HTC/Samsung/Sony etc and that Apple will have a late surge at the end of the year when they release the iPhone 5.
 
W

wirednuts

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2007
7,121
4
0
why doesnt samsung just copy apples marketing model? find some logo and brand name that has to do with being a green eco friendly person on this planet and run with it. they already have the hardware to compete, and if they could sell more phones at 600 a pop they could keep adding elegant features like apple does.

i could work for samsungs marketing department. it blows my mind how they have been able to get the hardware right but they dont know how to convince idiots to buy it.
 
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