Latest Development-Apple’s iPhone in Japan

As the release in Japan of Apple’s iPhone surely gets closer and closer, what is the latest news leaking out about what the device may look like? Piecing together the news I can begin to get a clearer picture of what it will look like, and how my previous predictions may be realized. With the upcoming Apple iPhone v2.0 software, perhaps to be announced at the June Apple WWDC, many developers have got their hands on the beta versions of the software and are only too happy to leak details of what they are finding. MacRumors, for instance, has announced that the software has handwriting recognition for Chinese but not Japanese. Although Japanese kanji and Chinese hanzi are very similar and indeed Japanese has a much smaller set of commonly-used characters, the lack of Japanese handwriting can only be down to licensing issues; whether it means they haven’t yet closed a deal, been unable to close one, or are just not bothering is anyone’s guess.

One of Apple’s latest announcements was that the email component of the software is being rejigged to appeal to the mobile warrior wielding a BlackBerry by adding support for Microsoft Exchange; this is a great move to address the US Crack Berry addicts, but in Japan the sales of this device can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Mobile samurais are a rare breed indeed, so this move will do absolutely nothing for those awaiting the appearance of the iPhone in Japan.

The other big announcement they had was of the iPhone SDK and App Store, which is a plus, as it is an official way for people to develop specific applications that can address the Japanese iPhone market. There will be serious shortcomings with the device when it eventually appears in Japan, so there is now a way for the gaps to be filled. However, given that the applications will more than likely not be free, it becomes a harder sell if people realize they have to spend another 10,000 yen buying assorted tools to plug the gaps left by Apple.

The carriers will kill Apple’s iPhone in Japan. The Japanese marketplace is littered with the corpses of failed foreign mobiles. Motorola’s Smartphone is relegated to the back pages of the catalogues, and the Blackberry isn’t even offered as a consumer device. Nokia has seen limited success (or at least not absolute failure) with Softbank, but the Razor barely made an impact with DoCoMo, and au don’t even bother. Apple’s iPhone will enter Japan’s market in this shadow of death, and Apple’s insistence on making a deal on its own terms will see carriers favor the more pliable Japanese manufacturers.

Japan loves the iPod! Numerous surveys have shown that Japanese consumers have embraced the foreign music player, with Apple’s iPod outselling the local Japanese competition by a wide margin. Existing iPod owners in Japan have shown themselves keen to get their hands upon Apple’s new iPhone when it launches in Japan; desire for the iPod Touch too shows how strong the Apple brand is in Japan. It isn’t that expensive. The new 905i range of NTT DoCoMo cell phones launched recently, but even with an extremely closed design (there is little of the unlocking of cell phones that is seen in the West) people love them and are prepared to shell out huge sums of money every year for just an evolutionary device. Apple’s iPhone will be revolutionary in Japan, and with a price point likely similar to existing phones, sticker shock will not be a major issue in Japan.

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