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.

they make fun of us too

[the dark hero]

http://www.boohooforyou.com/

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.

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?

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.