Japanese "Hate" For the iPhone All a Big Mistake

MBCook writes "AppleInsider has posted a great article explaining that Wired's story about Japanese iPhone hate was completely false and has been edited at least twice. The comments in the article were recycled and taken out of context, with those interviewed blogging about the mistakes. The piece then goes on to analyze the iPhone's standing in Japan, as well as some of the major factors working for and against it. At last it points out that the Wall Street Journal tried the same myth of failure just after the phone's launch in Japan, recycled from a myth the year before, pushed by a research company with a possible anti-Apple agenda."

Comments

Everyone hates congress too

[peektwice]

but they keep re-electing their congressmen. Same thing applies here.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[gravos]

Why do people persist in propagating the myth that there's cultural opposition to US products? Apple absolutely dominates the MP3 category with the iPod here, and the Macbooks sell like gangbusters. US cars don't sell well because a) they don't sell well in the US either b) half of the overseas models don't even come in RHD versions. Of course they don't sell. I won't consider an iPhone for all the reasons others have listed. Why would I intentionally saddle myself with a phone that has fewer features - ALOT fewer - than my current Softbank model? A model that's 1.5 years old now?

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[tjstork]

Why do people persist in propagating the myth that there's cultural opposition to US products? Apple absolutely dominates the MP3 category with the iPod here, and the Macbooks sell like gangbusters.

US cars don't sell well because a) they don't sell well in the US either b) half of the overseas models don't even come in RHD versions. Of course they don't sell.

I won't consider an iPhone for all the reasons others have listed. Why would I intentionally saddle myself with a phone that has fewer features - ALOT fewer - than my current Softbank model? A model that's 1.5 years old now?

Why do people persist in propagating the myth that there's cultural opposition to US products?

Because its not a myth. By and large, it is easy to bring goods into the USA because the USA has a tradition of a generally free trading country. Do a google and see what's involved into bringing goods from the USA into Japan, and then see what's involved in vice versa. If they wanted to bring in more competition and other goods, you'd see those doors being opened. But they aren't.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[Reality Master 101]

Why would I intentionally saddle myself with a phone that has fewer features - ALOT fewer - than my current Softbank model? A model that's 1.5 years old now?

The reason I bought it was that it had one feature that actually worked, unlike other phones -- a web browser that didn't suck. I had been waiting for that for a LONG time.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[beelsebob]

Why would I intentionally saddle myself with a phone that has fewer features - ALOT fewer - than my current Softbank model? A model that's 1.5 years old now?
Because less is often more.

Take for example the most commonly cited complaint about the iPhone â" no MMS. Why would you want MMS? You have email. All MMS does is adds another option to the menu system and makes life more complex. Not only that but because there's no fixed standard, it more often than not sends messages that the receiving phone can't read. And finally, MMS is massively more costly to send than email.

So there you go, you'd buy something with fewer features, because often, fewer features but well implemented is better.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[pohl]

Do trade barriers count as "cultural opposition", though? Political and economic opposition, sure. But cultural?

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[filthpickle]

This is the same reson I got it. And I haven't been disappointed at all...and I just paid the bill about 2 minutes ago.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[Mr. Slippery]

In 2006 -- the year that Congress went from GOP to Democratic control -- there were 33 Senate races. Six Republican incumbents and no Democratic incumbents were defeated. There were three open seats. So 24 Senators out of 33 were re-elected.

In the House, twenty-two GOP incumbents got the boot and there 34 open seats (including primary election losers); 379 out of 435 got re-elected.

So in a particularly "revolutionary" and "tumultuous" election, 72% of Senators and 87% of Representatives were re-elected.

I'd have to call that people "re-electing" their congressmen.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[seventhevening]

I have been there. I never saw any cultural opposition at all. The iPod was popular there, mcdonalds is pretty popular (and has some cool exclusive menu items), several english books were recently translated into Japanese and were very popular. Hollywood movies can perform well in Japanese box office. MLB seems to be more popular there than here. I think really the Japanese applaud things that are new or that fit the attributes they want. Where it comes from isn't that important. We just like playing a xenophobe card everytime the iPhone doesn't do well because it lacks features the Japanese want, or when the Xbox and 360 sell poorly because it lacks the kinds of titles the Japanese like best. It strikes me as extremely arrogant to complain that the only reason a product designed by the mighty Americans isn't selling MUST be because of xenophobia and couldn't be because they just don't WANT it.

Re:Everyone hates congress too

[Veggiesama]

Status symbols are for fools. I have no interest in "keeping up with the Joneses" or even what they think about me using some ten-year-old phone. Most of today's economic recession was caused by people boring money they didn't have to try to impress others with shiny new gadgets/homes. AKA fools.

Correction: most of today's economic recession was caused by profit-driven lenders allowing people to borrow money and purchase homes that were beyond their means.

You can't fault people for taking a good opportunity when they see it (stupid people or not), but you CAN fault snake oil salesmen for knowingly pushing shitty products onto stupid people for short-term gain.

I don't mind fools as much as I mind people taking advantage of fools.

Either way...

[Anonymous Coward]

Who gives a fuck? Japan hates the iPhone, Japan doesn't hate the iPhone; it's a god-damned fucking piece of electronics, not an economic programme or school of politico-philosophical thought. Is it really so important for your sense of self-satisfaction that people you'll never meet in a country you never go to buy the same plastic shit as you do? Fucking Christ, what a sorry species.

Re:Either way...

[BadAnalogyGuy]

It is instinctive that people want to feel that they are making the right decisions. So when other people act similarly they receive validation that their choices are correct, even in minor lifestyle choices like buying Apple products.

So when a whole country (well, not really) rejects a lifestyle choice that an iPhone user made, it makes them uncomfortable and they try to find reasons why their choice is different from the foreign norm. In this case, either they try to invalidate the data (which is hard to do) or they try to explain away the problem by diminishing the importance of the data.

It is just a phone, but for many people it is also an expression of their personality. They don't want to be diminished, so they seek out those who are like-minded. This is the same type of behavior that can be seen at comic book conventions, furry conventions, and Star Trek conventions. Those of us who have no horse in this race should probably just stay as far away from the commotion as possible.

Re:Either way...

[mdwh2]

I agree, exactly - trying to claim that Japan "hates" the Iphone is buying into the pro-Apple Iphone hype just as much. As you say, it suggests that people in the US are offended that the Iphone isn't the best selling phone elsewhere (if it is even in the US - that seems to be another myth based on hype), and it implies that even for people who don't like it, they view it as a special case, in the same way that people "hate" Windows. People might hate Windows because it's the dominant platform, but it's laughable to suggest that the Iphone is anywhere near comparable (if the article was about the Ipod, sure, that would make sense.)

The reality is that lots of people, especially outside of the US, just don't care about the Iphone, just as they don't care about most other arbtirary models of phone. ("But, but, it I can browse the web, and look at maps!" I hear someone cry - yes, just like every other phone that's been around for years.)

And now we have this joke of an article trying to spin the so-called Apple "hate" as being some kind of agenda. Um, as opposed to the pro-Apple stance that most of the rest of the media take (e.g., the way we get an article about the Iphone everytime it does something that isn't anything special - consider the joke of an article yesterday, Use Your iPhone To Get Out of a Ticket)?

It a nice refreshing change to see an article pointing out that not everyone is mad about the Iphone, and that phones in other countries have had the hyped features for years. Sorry, that's a fact - no amount of whinging that this is an "anti-Apple agenda" will change that fact.

Re:Either way...

[99BottlesOfBeerInMyF]

Who gives a fuck? Japan hates the iPhone, Japan doesn't hate the iPhone;

I don't think that is the story here. I think the story is that the longer Fox owns the Wall Street Journal, the last we can trust their articles to not be utter fabrications or intentionally misleading. The real question to ask is what caused this particular bias.

I'm glad to hear you are feeling better

[hackstraw]

and that you have set the people in Japan and Wired straight.

Keep up the good work Steve, and take care of yourself.

-hackstraw

Wired Blatant Errors

[olafva]

This shows just how shoddy WIRED stories are fabricated and sensationalized. I can't help but take that into account in reading future WIRED stories. WIRED credibility is seriously called into question by such blatant errors which articles source denies.

comparing prices of xPhone apps

[v1]

$344 of actual examples of popular Windows Mobile apps included on the iPhone:
-Dashboard: WorldMate Pro $75 "world clocks and weather forecasts, flight and travel information"
-real email client: Pocket Informant $25 "replacement for Pocket Outlook on the Pocket PC"
-real web browser: none seem to exist.
-real contacts: Photo Contacts PRO $30
-Photo browser: Imageer $15
-iPod: Pocket Player MP3 player $20
-Movies: Pocket DVD studio $30
-TV: HandiTV $20 "watch TV from mobile devices"
-Dial up networking: PDANet $34 "use your mobile as a modem!"
-Calculator: Revolutionary Calculator $30
-Touch screen type input: Full Screen Keyboard $10
-PDF: PDF Reader $25
-Notes: List Pro $30 âoeManage your notesâ

Wow... I had no idea windows mobile apps were so expensive! I just got a touch recently and have about 20 apps installed on it, all but three of which were free. The three I bought were $0.99, $1.99, and $2.99. The most expensive app I saw while browsing was an incredible VNC client that does everything plus makes breakfast, for $24.99. over 1/2 the apps in the above list are more expensive than that.

Does MS get some insane cut on the apps or what? Why are they so incredibly more expensive?

I have to ask

[Sycraft-fu]

Who cares? Not who cares that Wired fucked up, but who cares if the Japanese do or don't like the iPhone? I mean Apple cares, because they want to sell as many as possible, but why does the average person care?

It seems to me like there is some misguided ideal in the US of an extremely tech savvy Japan. That the Japanese are far advanced technology wise, and if they don't like something, well it must be no good. Well, not really. Japan simply has a different set of tech priorities than the US. Huge surprise there, it's a different culture, and a different environment.

Well what this means is that if something succeeds or fails in Japan simply means that it is something the Japanese do or don't like/find useful. That has no bearing at all on how good of a product it is. Something very well may bomb in Japan and do well in the US, or fail in the US and have huge sales in Japan. Sometimes it is just because of different needs. High end headphones are more common in Japan because of the small living spaces. For the same reason, full sized speakers are not. If you live in a 200sq ft apartment, it matters that your sound gear doesn't take up too much space. If you live in a 2000sq ft house, it really isn't a concern.

Personally, I don't give a shit what the Japanese do or don't like. Doesn't affect me at all. They can do as they please, and I'll do as I please. If I look at a cellphone I am going to get it based on if it does what I want, not how popular it is, and certainly not how popular it is in a country I don't live in.

So regardless of the truth of Wired's story, who cares? Get the iPhone because you like it (or don't because you don't), not because it gets the approval of anyone else.

Re:I have to ask

[ukyoCE]

Agreed. I went to Japan expecting it to be time travel. They would be flying around in cars miles above the city, teleporting from place to place, and tentacles would be all over the place just like deer or squirrels in the US.

The WIRED article intentionally promotes this false view of japan. In reality, I didn't find anything in Japan we don't have in the US. A few niche items (like the R4 card for the DS) are easier to find in Tokyo than in the suburbs of the US. But it would be just as easy to find in a major city like New York or Chicago.

So of course the article is claiming the iPhone is hated in japan (false) and the reason is because they have such great amazing phones (false) that Americans won't see for a decade.

If the second premise were true, I could see that being reason for US consumers to care about the Wired article. Why buy an iphone if some crazy awesome japanese phone will be arriving in a couple months?

Fortunately for Apple, that isn't the case. I didn't think Wired was this trashy, especially reading about the dishonest quotes that were preserved (in some form) despite the complaints.

WIRED credibility?

[hwyhobo]

WIRED credibility is seriously called into question by such blatant errors which articles source denies.

WIRED credibility? I don't want to be disrespectful, but do people take WIRED seriously as a news source? I always thought it was just hundreds of pages of ads with a few fillers here and there masquerading as articles.

To be sure, they didn't invent it, they were just particularly blatant about it. PC Magazine & others have done it before, but at least they tried the "comparo"-style fillers to attract readers and create a pretense of content. WIRED never bothered to go to such lengths. To quote WIRED is a bit like using one of those supermarket stand recycled-paper car trader brochures as a source of auto industry news.

#1 Music App

[sabernar]

My partners and I had the #1 Music app in Japan for several weeks last month (Boombox - http://tiny.cc/Lrd5g), so they are definitely interested in the iPhone. Just because they don't buy the phone in the same numbers as in the US doesn't mean they hate it. It seems like it's doing fairly well over there.

Re:They don't hate it.

[Garse Janacek]

...from everything I've read...

...which apparently didn't include TFA. Wired fabricated a quote about how the iPhone is lame compared to Japanese phones, and tried to attach it to two separate Japanese "authorities" on the subject, and both of those people then repudiated Wired's attribution and said that actually the iPhone is their favorite phone. The whole point of the article is that the iPhone is doing fairly well and people like it a lot over there -- the main thing holding it back is its carrier, which is sort of an underdog. And it turns out the iPhone is primarily responsible for major growth in that carrier anyway.

So, you're basically repeating the same myths that the entire article was written to refute, since the article explicitly responds to most of your points... but by referring to "everything you've read", you still got modded informative. Oh well...

Re:IMO

[Garse Janacek]

The rebuke comes from AppleInsider. How partial can it be?

Good point. If only it cited its sources, thus allowing some way for its claims to be verified.

Come on now. This story is about blatant journalistic fraud. They give explicit documentation on how Wired completely fabricated important facts in order to make a sensational-sounding story. If their claim was "The iPhone is the best thing evar and EVERYONE LOVES IT", you'd have a point, but the article is mostly about how Wired repeatedly lied in its article, and then they present data to basically argue "the iPhone is doing pretty okay in Japan". They aren't making particularly inflated claims...

The myth of Japan being 10 years ahead

[zerojoker]

I am sorry, but this is not true anymore. Or rather, it depends on how you define "ahead".
Japanese cell-phones are all about the "bling".
Take my phone for example, which looks great on the feature-list: 3 MP Camera, Japanese-English dictionary, Web-browser etc. etc.
Thing is, that most of the features are so hard to use, that noone ever uses them.
The Web-browser is a joke. It works in theory, in practice it completely fails at every second web-page.
Sure, you can view i-mode pages (which is quite a big thing in Japan) but in the "western"-world everyone is interested in the "real"-web.
There is basically no function to synch the calendar/mails with the PC. No software as far as I know (docomo). Nobody synchs his cellphone with the PC, that's why.
There is no bluetooth, even among the latest models, so, how to connect to your PC, i.e. for sharing mp3/pictures etc.?
It's so hard to enter a word in the dictionary (you have to go through 4 or 5 layers of menus), that you're faster looking it up in a paper-dictionary.
Japanese people use their phone for three things: Phone, e-mail/messaging and surfing i-mode.
That's it. In 2000, that was maybe 10 years ahead. Nowadays it's a joke.
btw, you know what was the comment of my gf, when I said that I would like to have a phone with a full qwerty-keyboard, complaining that, at that time, no phone was available?
Who would've want that anyway? It's too bulky, it looks ugly!
It's all about the bling (TM). If the iPhone sells reasonable it's not because of the revolutionary way of actually being able to use the features. It sells because it from Apple and considered "cool" and "western". Brand recognition, like Starbucks.

Re:The myth of Japan being 10 years ahead

[Scrameustache]

the features are so hard to use, that noone ever uses them.

And that's why Apple gets away with higher prices for similar devices: Their interfaces are polished and shiny and functional.

There were MP3 players before the iPod, but none that worked so elegantly.

Re:The myth of Japan being 10 years ahead

[earthbound kid]

btw, you know what was the comment of my gf, when I said that I would like to have a phone with a full qwerty-keyboard, complaining that, at that time, no phone was available?

The Japanese I know prefer cellphone-style input for Japanese to qwerty. The Japanese alphabet just so happens to split up logically into ten groups, so it makes a lot of sense to use a number pad to type them. Combined with predictive text, it's pretty quick. On the other hand, the layout of the qwerty keyboard is basically random. So, the Japanese aren't really interested in using micro keyboards when a number pad works well enough and doesn't hurt your thumbs.

Why Americans Hate the P905i

[carlzum]

The Japanese phone of choice, the Panasonic P905i, would be a tough sell in the US. Sure, a big screen and TV tuner are nice features, but it's big and ugly. Americans spend their time in their cars and homes, surrounded by televisions. A handheld TV may be useful in Japan, but I doubt many people in the US would waste their time uploading videos to their phone. The iPhone has a thin case, simple interface, and applications Americans want on the go (email, web, youtube, etc). Surprise, people in Japan and the US have different preferences.

Re:No, bigot, Japanese houses suck.

[multimediavt]

Wow, it's just bigot-on-bigot action here! As a trained architect I can tell you that all of the size and amenity differences you pointed out as being better in American homes are all based in Western cultural norms. The data you used for housing longevity differences is also incorrect. In the U.S. homes are built to last 30 to 40 years (the average lifetime of a roof in a temperate climate).

You're just batting a thousand on this topic tjstork. I think it would be best for you to stop typing now.

They love iPhones here in Japan!

[Oyume]

I live in Japan and have been here for just over 9 years. And just about everyone I know (Japanese and foreigners alike) either have an iPhone or are dying to get one. Yours truly included.