iPhone Perhaps Not a Failure in Japan, After All?

Lonnie Lazar ()

3291499307_6472d8e916.jpg
Image: Nobuyuki Hayashi

The perception of iPhone as a “failure” in Japan is largely the result of what people read in newspapers, according to Nobuyki Hayashi, the Japanese journalist who was cited as a source in the Wired article we posted on late last night, and who put up a lengthy post of his own Friday to clarify the situation.

“The majority of Japanese … haven’t even touched one,” Hayashi wrote, adding, “So as soon as I give lecture, show it to them and let them play with it, they change their mind and become a fan of iPhone.”

Much of the chatter about the issue in the iPhone blogosphere Friday stemmed from Wired writer Brian X. Chen’s headline, which stated unequivocally that Japanese “hate” the iPhone, but as Hayashi points out in his post, Chen relied on quotes from a conversation Hayashi had with writer Lisa Katayama back in late 2007 to make his case.

Obviously, much has changed in the iPhone ecosystem, a well as in the US and Japanese economies since then.

The reality is likely more that the iPhone has been a relative disappointment in Japan. Many believe the device could do much better in Japan if Apple gave SoftBank more control in how they market / advertise the device, and if Apple would enable feature sets dear to the Japanese consumer, such as a built-in TV tuner and the ability to use it as a mobile payment system.

DON'T MISS
To Prevent Upskirts, Japanese iPhone 3G Always Alerts When Taking Photos

For a detailed look at Hayashi’s position on the iPhone in Japan, see his blog post.

6 comments »

About the author

Lonnie Lazar

Lonnie Lazar is a writer-musician-web designer-attorney. He writes about Apple for Cult of Mac and Mac|Life, and about VoIP and telecommunications for Voxilla. Follow Lonnie on Twitter @LonnieLazar, join the Cult of Mac on Facebook, and find Lonnie's photos on Flickr.

(sorry, you need Javascript to see this e-mail address)| Read more posts by .

Posted in Apple, iPhone, Media, News |

  • http://iphone-game-reviews.com Vicky @ iPhone Game Reviews

    I love my iPhone. What one would think is that the iPhone became a hit because of its great app-running platform. But the iPhone was a hit even before the App Store came into existence.

    People mostly look forward to features, and mostly are not enticed by great looks without features. But the iPhone has enticed them so much that they simply don’t like to talk about the iPhone’s lack of features, even though one part of them says they shouldn’t have bought the iPhone.

    Even though the iPhone was not a failure in Japan, I’d think that the iPhone still has space for more improvement. Maybe these features will come to the iPhone 4G.

  • http://blog.nobi.cc Nobi

    Thanks Lonnie for the follow up.
    BTW. you could be interested in where this picture actually came from.
    It came from the world public debut of SekaiCamera an iPhone app which made a big story here in Japan last week; so many people have watched it on TV; you can find some clips on YouTube.
    Watch this clip for example:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8wsJtTKGwY

    It was very interesting that the announcement took place in an fashion convention (not IT convention) because the guy who runs the fashion convention was blown away with the concept of Sekai Camera. And because of that venue so many non-techie types (fashion journalist, cloth makers, non-techie looking girls/boys) got a chance to play with Sekai Camera while at the same time get a chance to play with the real iPhone.

    I think that was a great opportunities for both Apple and SoftBank to raise awareness.

  • http://www.last.fm/user/naoTKO naotko

    yep true, even my father could play ipod touch without any infos. Apple should cut the price of iPOD TOUCH!, not iPhone and push the fun UI and app store feature. iPod is known well in japan but it’s hard for Apple to change our routine use of cell phones immediately.

  • http://mattbednar.blogspot.com Matt

    I agree, the spin around the Wired post was strange and a little suspect. I does however bring up an interesting point, that in countries where Apple doesn’t get a “pass” on features…they don’t perform as well. American consumers might do well to be more critical of their device’s features regardless of its looks.

    That being said, will that ever happen? No. Do I still love my iPhone? Yes.

  • bas

    So the wired post was a bit over the top, “hate” being a word too strong. However, looking at the sales figures, the iphone is a failure in Japan,

  • Peruchito

    like i keep telling people. in japan, it is normal for a phone to be offered free after a year. it happens to all phones.