Why Japan Leads the Mobile World

Phurge writes "It is no wonder that companies touting m-commerce as the next big web thing tell us Japan is the future blueprint. The Guardian takes a look at the cutting edge and everyday life of cell phone users in Japan. 'By offering the Japanese a multiplicity of services — and, very importantly, some very cool handsets to use them on — the operators have created what every western mobile service provider is dreaming of: a mobile lifestyle culture that keeps millions reaching for the mobile rather than the fixed internet ... What they are less keen on is video calling: in Japan, as in the UK, 90% say "no thanks, never". And as for using the mobile as a modem - to link to the internet - that's very expensive in Japan.'"

Comments

awesome

[User 956]

It is no wonder that companies touting m-commerce as the next big web thing tell us Japan is the future blueprint.

You mean we'll be able to buy used panties and tentacle hentai direct from our mobile phones soon, too?

Why do they lead? Simple answer: Godzilla.

[jollyreaper]

Every few years he stamps everything flat so they're always rebuilding from scratch. No legacy systems to work in, it's all new equipment from central office to cell tower.

Japanese youth does not have their own room

[fluor2]

It's important here that the youth of Japan grow up in very small houses, where even some have beds they have to pull out from the walls. It's all about small rooms and small things.

Do you want to sit at home surfing using the computer in the living room? No, of course not. That's why they buy small telephones and use them for surfing.

It's not comparable to anywhere else in the world, except maybe China.

Re:Japanese youth does not have their own room

[TheRaven64]

typing is even more painful Actually, this is the big difference. Japanese is entered using kana which are part of an intrinsically two dimensional alphabet. Each character is a consonant and a vowel sound. The key you press gives you the consonant, and the number of presses gives you the vowel. Even though there are more letters than with the Latin alphabet, they are much easier to type fast on a small keypad.

Re:Japanese youth does not have their own room

[fbjon]

Incidentally, the last japanese phone I had many years ago (a Sony Ericsson), had a scroll wheel (actually a bar) instead of up-down buttons, which made text input with the text prediction/completion system a total breeze. Unfortunately it's still the only phone I've ever seen that had a wheel. (it also had a very nice 640x480 screen, and was fairly cheap, further aggravating my irritation with the phone manufacturers)

Re:Japanese youth does not have their own room

[TheRaven64]

No, because you don't enter kanji directly. You enter the kana, which are phonograms, and then (optionally) select the corresponding kanji (ideogram) for a short sequence of kana from a short list. It might be possible to devise an input method for entering kanji directly along the lines of cangjie, where the button presses corresponded to the start or end point of a brush stroke in a 3x3 grid. I don't know how difficult this would be, but it might be an interesting project.

Re:Japanese youth does not have their own room

[gordo3000]

not true, computer offerings in japan( I live in tokyo) are on par with the US for size. houses are smaller but most other things are more efficient with space(including their desks, household appliances, beds, etc). game consoles are the exact same as here.

In japan though, it's common to have a 1 to 2 hour commute which is almost always done on public transportation. what does that mean? you have 2 to 4 hours a day where you can play games, check email, send messages, with NOTHING better to do! Trains are crowded so the only thing you can do is sit around and play these games or read books. Cars are far less common as a method of transportation than in the US.

In general, convenience is easy to get in Japan if you have the money. cell phone usage is generally 1 cent a text message and 20 cents a minute for talking(yeah, highway robbery). I can get GPS, a charge system to pay for goods at the convenience store, and electronic passes that cover all the public transportation systems. in new cabs, I could use my cell phone to pay rather than toting around cash.

they make fun of us too

[the dark hero]

http://www.boohooforyou.com/

Give the people what they want...

[Opportunist]

...and they will come to you and love your product and weave it into their lifestyle. Simple as that.

Give the people barely any service for their money, and they will use it only as much as they entirely have to and look for alternatives.

Re:Give the people what they want...

[Opportunist]

And that's why it fails. You know the story about sun and wind competing who gets some guy to take off his jacket?

If you give people what they want, they will buy it because they want to have it. They will love it and they will start finding ways to use it in various ways, improving it and giving you ideas for the next version, because you've seen what people want to do with it, and many cannot do it themselves, so they will buy your next version that can do that. That's how it has been for years before the 90s, and it worked like a dream. People also simply and blindly went into the store and bought your gear, knowing that it will do what they want it to do.

Today it's very different, just like you describe. There is no alternative, so people have to buy what's offered. They don't really want that thing, but they have no choice, so they will buy it. Some will simply refuse to buy it, because it simply isn't what they want. They will not love it. They will use it like they use a tool, for the purpose intended and nothing else. They couldn't anyway, either it's so locked down that they simply cannot use it for anything else, or it is strictly forbidden by some kind of law to use it for anything but what the manufacturer wants you to.

In other words, today's products are inferior to what we had in the past. It's actually a shame.

Biometric interfaces

[gr8dude]

I've seen such a "square tattoo on paper". My guess is that they use the phone's built-in camera to photograph it, and some software to process the image and interpret it (like scanners do with bar-codes).

Some phones also come with swipe fingerprint sensors; can anyone provide technical details of these sensors? Do they comply with BioAPI or HA-API? Is there a way to interact with them via a computer?

Techno Fashion

[p0tat03]

As an Asian (who lives in Canada), I know why Asia tends to be superior in terms of mobile technology (or really, ANY consumer technology). It's because they have a techno-centric fashion culture.

Here, the iPhone *just* hit us as the first *true* "fashion phone". You could argue the RAZR was in before that, but even that was fairly recent. In Asia they've had these things for years. Phones that rival jewelery in glitziness and price. Not to mention a society that values fashion and appearance above all else - and thus the willingness to pay a lot, and pay often, for new fashionable phones.

If Americans had the same attitude towards their phones as we do for our wardrobes, we'd be pretty durned advanced too. :P

We need content

[jtroutman]

I am a mobile user, I have a Motorola Q and an unlimited access plan. I can access quite a few sites and some of them, Google for instance, even seem to be set up to recognize that I am accessing them from a mobile device. Most, however, are not. While I can still browse eBay, Wikipedia or Slashdot even, the formatting leaves a lot to be desired. eBay is full of gigantic graphics and Wikipedia and Slashdot both format the text like this:

Why
Japan
Leads
the
Mobile
World
Posted
by
Zonk
on
Thursday
September
27,
@01:06PM
from the always-on-the-move dept.

So while I can use my mobile device to get some news and for navigation using special mobile ready apps like Google Mobile Maps, until I can access the sites that I find most relevant I'm still tied to a PC.

Re:The UK only says "no never"

[Duhavid]

"So rather than skin the consumers for every cent, they keep a good-value proposition."

That is it in a nutshell.

America could have the same, except no one will sign up,
because they know from their basic cell phone experience
that they will be taken for a ride. People are not fooled
for long.

Video calling

[c0d3h4x0r]

What they are less keen on is video calling: in Japan, as in the UK, 90% say "no thanks, never". That will change when someone finally invents software to change not only your voice, but your on-screen appearance, to any popular persona of your choice.

If you think ringtones of popular songs sell well, or custom voices to make your GPS sound like Mr. T, imagine how well the "Jessic Alba" and "Brad Pitt" video chat disguises would sell.

Cost

[nicklott]

The reason the mobile internet has not taken off in the UK is very simple: bandwidth cost.

We have the same flashy gadget laden phones that the japanese do, and, I believe, with not too much of a lag anymore. However after the mobile companies paid £4-5bn each for 3G frequencies they needed to get their money back and they decided to get it through bandwidth charges. Until very recently a typical charge per Mb was between £5-£10 (US$10-$20).

Very recently (like in the last 8 weeks) they have begun to fall, but I can't imagine why it didn't take off before, can you?

Companies are not interested...

[KiwiCanuck]

in giving consumers what the consumer wants. The compaines only want to gouge you for the limited services that they offer. That's the North American way.

Small country

[trickonion]

Because their country is as big as most of our states. When you can replace your entire cellular infrastructure with that few towers you better damn well be in the lead.

Re:Small country

[Anonymous Coward]

It is not a simple as that, since a high population density calls for a high cell density as well. Plus Japans mountainous terrain makes coverage planning difficult too.

Face it, the USA has dropped the ball on the whole cellular thing. Australia has more advanced cellular networks than the USA, despite an even lower population density.

simple

[Kristoph]

The vast majority of Japanese spend a great deal of time on public transport, often (during rush hour) standing. Japan has a culture where it is considered bad manners to speak on your phone on public transport. Hence, to stay in touch with your friends, and to pass the time, you need a one handed device you can use to email, surf the web and whatnot.

Incidentally, the Japanese also have better wired internet access. The vast majority can get fiber to the home at a reasonable price.

]{

In my experience...

[interactive_civilian]

In my experience, it does not even cross the minds of a HUGE majority of Japanese people to rip someone off. They are a very trusting people in a safe, peaceful, low crime country.

In Japan you can see unattended store displays full of expensive products (even including flat screen TVs) out on the street, but it doesn't occur to anyone to take something. You can walk down the street in the middle of the night with the equivalent of thousands of dollars in your pocket in cash and not be worried about someone mugging you. (From personal experience) You can lose your passport in one of the busiest shopping areas of Tokyo (Shibuya), walk into the police station the next day or the day after, and get it back because someone would rather turn it in than steal your identity. Hell, you can lose your wallet with money in it, and the chances are you will get it back with all of the money (though you are expected to reward the finder something like 10%). You can accidentally leave your really nice, expensive camera on the train, and easily get it back later from one of the stations on that line.

So, people don't worry about someone wirelessly stealing their ID data and stuff from their phones because generally people aren't interested in taking advantage of each other. They are interested in living a fun, good life, not in ruining the lives of others.

Yes, there are exceptions. A big one in recent years was the "Ore Ore" scam where young men would call random old people saying "It's me! It's me" and their target would say, "What? Is that you Takeshi?". The scammer, now armed with a name, would reply, "Yeah, it's me, Takeshi. I'm in trouble, grandma. I need you to send me money." And then they would get money. This scam worked because people are naïve and (sadly) old people sometimes not well taken care of by their families.

But, generally speaking, this kind of crime is not a big concern in Japan. I hope it never becomes one, because the low crime rate is one of the things I truly loved while living there.

Myths, myths, and more myths...

[InakaBoyJoe]

Every now and then the same myths about the Japanese mobile market come up. Here's what we've seen on Slashdot today:

1. "Japanese live in small houses, have small fingers, and they just love small things." "The Japanese" are not some kind of lilliputian race. In fact, these days their phones are BIGGER than most current GSM models. There is indeed space for a PC in most homes, although it's true that the level of PC ownership is not as high as in the US.
   
   
2. "Japanese are all crowded together in the cities, so it's easier to build wireless networks." Urban population percentage: Japan - 65%, USA - 80%, Canada - 80%. In reality, the proportion of people living in the densest cities is more like Canada (the biggest wireless backwater in the world). Moreover, once you start getting REALLY dense, it becomes even harder to build mobile networks because you end up having to put base stations in weird places instead of just erecting a tower.
   
   
3. "Mobile phones are bling in Asia." Commonly uttered by those who don't understand that Japan is not Hong Kong. High-end "fashion phones" do not drive features in Japan. DoCoMo's flagship 900 series phones have all retailed around the $200 mark since forever. The bling that you sometimes see on the street is all aftermarket dress-up and doesn't have much to do with new features. In fact, these days, the hottest market is the creation of high usability, large-type phones for the senior market.
   
   
4. "Using the phone as a modem is expensive in Japan." As of 2007, also not true anymore. I posted a thread before realizing there were more myths to bust. Flat rate data for laptops is also coming from the Big Three carriers within the next month or so.

I could go on, but when it comes to Japan, be careful whose information you trust. Lots of people who claim to know about Japan don't speak even speak the language, which continues to contribute to a lot of misinformation.

Myths aside, I think the real reasons Japan is so far ahead have a little bit to do with culture and language, a little more to do with urban density causing carriers to push low-bandwith services (i.e., text messaging) coupled with public transport and portability factors, and a lot more to do with insanely poor telecom regulation in other areas of the world (here's looking at you, Canada).

There are no really good reasons why we can't have the same quality of mobile services as Japan -- if only we demanded it (in large masses) from our governments, telecom carriers, and handset manufacturers. Thankfully, in the wake of iPhone and the unlocking debate it started, we might see some positive change. When we're on par with Japan, I'm going to laugh at all the pundits who claimed there was something unique about Japanese people, society, or culture that makes them so mobile-centric.