5 reasons why Japanese consumers aren't buying iPhones

Just got back to Japan this week. So let’s start with some iPhone news in Japan.

Fuji Sankei Business reported yesterday that Apple’s iPhone sales is losing momentum in Japan. It was predicted that the iPhone would sell 1 million units in Japan, but a Japanese analyst from UBS is predicting that sales will stop at around 200 thousand units.

The article also states reasons why the iPhone is not taking off in Japan. Here they are:

1. No emoticons!
   iPhone does not support emoticons, which is part of mobile texting culture in Japan.
2. Can’t pay for stuff!
   iPhone does not have e-wallet functions, which are common among other recent Japanese handsets. 
3. Can’t watch TV! 
   iPhone also does not have 1seg, which is a service that lets Japnese consumers watch mobile terrestrial digital TV. 
4. Email address has to be changed. 
   Softbank requires iPhone users to change their mobile email addresses. 
5. Short battery life. 
   

The analyst also mentions that Japanese users are accustomed to music players and browsing the mobile web with cell phones already.  Therefore, the iPhone does not bring anything "really" new to the table for Japanese consumers.  

I’d personally add one more reason – the weak content lineup of iTunes in Japan. While it has a solid lineup of music contents, the lack of video contents is quite critical.


Source: FujiSnakei Business (Japanese)