By now we all know that the iPhone 3G was a huge success on it’s debut weekend. Now the question is: Will its international popularity hold up, or did first weekend sales boom due to curiosity for the sleek device?
With Apple announcing 1 million iPhone 3G sales in the first three days, they neglected to offer a regional breakdown to show exactly how many in each country sold. We do know that in Japan, Softbank Corp. carrier sold out of the device on the first day. What we don’t know is how many they had in stock and available to the public. Without this information, it is hard to gauge the iPhone’s actual success in the tech savvy country.
For those in Japan that did get their hands on the device, don’t expect them to give up their existing Japanse-made cell phone quite yet. While many were impressed with the iPhone’s quick internet connection (some Japanese cell phones show Web pages, but access on even the latest models is slower than on the iPhone) and the endless entertainment its connection to YouTube offers, some are still skeptical that the iPhone will culturally catch on, as it is missing many of the social feature young Japanese swear by.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Japan’s cloistered mobile system has its own icons for e-mail and other unique tools. That means many people are likely to stick to their old-style phones lest they be left out of the familiar communication circles. For example, many Japanese made phones share phone numbers, email address, and other contact information via infrared connections. While the iPhone has Bluetooth wireless links, it has yet to adopt infrared connections. Being without those instantaneous exchanges would be the death toll for every single, bar-crawling Japanese male.
The iPhone also lacks certain technology features that have become staples in Japanese cell phone’s. Such as digital TV broadcasts, built-in camcorder, voice recognition and an “electronic wallet” function….Not to mention mounting debt and time travel. (We only kid.) Other missing features include a hole in the handset for hanging trinkets. (Keep in mind, what one country finds tacky, another considers social norms.) Additionally, the iPhone requires the use of both hands while typing most of the time. In Japan, one thumb is typically used to text — so much so that experienced users are dubbed “oyayubi zoku” or “thumb tribe”.
While many Japanese consumers are open to the iPhone’s ability to show them some new tricks and infiltrate the Japanese cell phone market, many fear the iPhone to be just a trend that will fail to penetrate the mass market, remaining a device coveted only by the tech savvy. Kentaro Tohyama, who waited overnight in line to get the device states that, “Until I owned an iPhone, I didn’t see as clearly how closed Japanses content was. It was not a global standard at all,” the SMH reports. Toyhama was also quick to note that every now and then he still taps into his old Japanese cell phone, most likely to access its special smiley icons and unique images for email.
What the iPhone has succeeded in doing thus far has been its ability to bridge the technical gap between cultures and create a global standard of technology and communication for all. By continuously bringing high-technology to consumers (and making it easy to use), Apple will further itself from its competitors in every country and market, Japan included.
