No emoji, no iPhone love ?

Following on the apparent sluggish sales, here’s one comment on the iPhone “demise”. The author points to the lack of emoji. I would also add another important factor, albeit to a lesser extent: a Yahoo! Keitai-type of web for the oh-so-many services not available for iPhone users.

Yes, emoji, and emoji alone. It’s missing a FeliCa RFID smart card, but most people use them embedded in credit cards, not phones; everyone talks about wanting One Seg but most people don’t actually watch television on their mobiles; there’s no QR code scanner but there’s a free App Store program to download for that; SD memory cards are popular add-ons, but the iPhone has lots of built-in storage; there’s no place to hang a strap, but an after-market slipcase can be decorated instead; there’s no emoji, yet having a lot of text emoticons and smilies in the dictionary does not paper over the chasm.

†┏┛墓┗┓† ←iPhone R.I.P. » 世論 What Japan Thinks.

It’s too soon to say if the iPhone is really a failure in Japan. The market for high-end handsets is shaking worldwide and the Japanese market will adapt in one way of another.

At the moment, it seems some people are buying the Apple phone while keeping their old handset at the same time. We’ll see if this pattern continues, especially with the possible introduction of emoji in the next firmware update.

Softbank still ahead in subscription growth

Softbank stays ahead in subscribers’ growth, 17 months in a row. While the real iPhone impact is unknown, its introduction since July has certainly helped the japanese carrier.

Tokyo, Oct 7, 2008 Jiji Press - Softbank Mobile Corp. remained in the top spot in net mobile phone subscription growth for the third straight half year in April-September, industry data showed Tuesday.

The unit of Internet and telecommunications conglomerate Softbank Corp. <9984> registered a net subscription number increase of 1,047,000, with its low basic monthly fees continuing to appeal to customers, the Telecommunications Carriers Association said.

Softbanks new handsets launches for the summer shopping season, including Sharp Corp.s <6753> Aquos series, and the craze of Apple Inc.s iPhone at the time of its debut in Japan in July also contributed to Softbanks growth.

NTT DoCoMo Inc. <9437> ranked second with net growth of 549,300, followed by EMobile Ltd. which logged a net rise of 400,200.

KDDI Corp. <9433>, the provider of the “au” service, was bottom, with a net increase of 112,600.

For September alone, Softbank retained its top position for the 17th consecutive month, logging net growth of 142,800. NTT DoCoMo was in second place with a net rise of 129,700, followed by KDDI with 74,900 and EMobile with 59,300, the association said.

 

Softbank Stays Top in Mobile Subscription Growth for 3rd Half Year.

iPhone pricing in Japan

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Since I’ve received countless info request since my blog post explaining what you should do to get an iPhone in Japan, here’s a recap’ of the current iPhone pricing plan in Japan, as sold by Softbank (special offers by Yodobashi Camera, Bic Camera or others are not taken into account, for simplicity’s sake).

All prices include taxes. The iPhone has to be bought with a 24 months contract. Prices in red are the minimum requirements.

Contract fee:

JPY 2,835 for a new Softbank contract, or JPY 1,995 for a Softbank contract upgrade. This is a one-shot fee.

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Getting an iPhone 3G in Japan

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Getting an iPhone on July 11 was possible only if you were willing to queue for hours.

As time passes, however, it gets easier to find both the 8GB and 16GB version.

One thing to remember: the Apple Store in Ginza and the online store do not sell iPhones !

Where to buy an iPhone?

I got mine at Softbank in Omotesando, their flagship store, since they offer english-speaking services. It’s on the Omotesando street. You can either drop at the Harakuju station (JR Line) or Meiji-jingumae station (Tokyo Metro)

In Tokyo, you canalso go to the Softbank Shibuya store, the Roppongi store or at the Narita airport mini-store. Just go there to check the closest to your place.

Some people have had no problem registering in English at either Bic Camera (english list of stores) or Yodobashi Camera. Some smaller shops have their iPhones and since most clerks are always very helpful, you can try your luck there (just don’t expect english-speaking clerks everywhere).

At the time of this writing, still expect some queues in some shops.

What to bring with you ?

First of all, you must be a resident in Japan to get your iPhone. There’s no prepaid option for it.

Since Softbank seem to alter their policies every two days, play it on the safe side, bring:

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