iPhone Hysteria

[IkemenTommy]

The iPhone 3G will be launched in Japan on July 11th.

Should I be jerking off to this news?
[quote]I wonder whether it will be priced according to Apple's worldwide fixed price $199 (8GB model)?
Apple Japan online page only says, "iPhone 3Gは]
If this was true, no wonder Docomo didn't sign the contract with Apple. All of their latest 906i phones are in the 50,000 yen range. All of the Japanese keitai manufacturers (NEC, Panasonic, Sharp, Fujitsu) will be all against competing with a 20,000 yen i-Phone.

I am very certain that Apple would have much rather chosen to sign contract with the biggest carrier in Japan with more potential users. On the contrary, Apple might have chosen Softginko instead as a guinea pig to experiment, on a smaller scale, how the Japan market reacts to the i-phone craze.

I don't know.. I am not trying to start a conspiracy theory or anything.

[Greji]

I don't know.. I am not trying to start a conspiracy theory or anything.

Conspiracy? Here in Japan? Never happen! Ahh, make that "Never happen, some of the time".

However, I will be getting me very own Iphone regardless whether or not Docomo declares me PNG for not being a team player and thus anti-Waga Nippon!

[IkemenTommy]

G-man, I think you are referring to the unlocked i-phone but does that even exist?

[maraboutslim]

In the USA, the phone price is being knocked down to $200 because one will have to sign a two year contract with the cell phone provider (ATT) and they are subsidizing the phone price, just like all cell phone carriers here do for all phones. What kind of arrangement is taking place in Japan? Do customers have to activate their phones with the carrier at purchase time and are you locked in to a long term contract? (and the carrier pays kick backs to apple for the period of that contract?)

[Kuang_Grade]

Actually, for new users of the 3G iphone in the US, they will face data plans $10 higher than old iphone plans, so over the course of the 2 year contract period, they will be paying $240 more...not much of a subsidy, given the actual total cost of ownership is going up for new users, although at what time some of that cash is being paid is changing.

But as part of this shift, Apple is switching away from revenue sharing model and towards a more traditional hardware manufacturer/network operator relationship, although Apple is maintaining control on the software side of things for the iphone.

[IkemenTommy]

[YT]dGY28Qbj76A[/YT]

[GomiGirl]

Apparantly the word on the street is that everybody has been going to softbank shops wanting to know when they can get the iPhone and dates etc. Softbank store staff don't know how many units are in the first shipment or when it lands. People have been demanding to be put on a waiting list. I think there will be lines around the corners outside of stores for the first day.

GomiBrother is probably bringing about 10 back from WWDC but these will not be the 3G and just for our internal OS testing. So apart from the WiFi are going to be useless as a phone.

[Mulboyne]

...People have been demanding to be put on a waiting list. I think there will be lines around the corners outside of stores for the first day...

It does indicate that there is a solid core who really want an iphone but it isn't necessarily a good guide to how it will sell overall. There were lines outside the stores in Europe but, to date, it still hasn't made much of an impression in the region. It will be fascinating to see if Apple can leverage their brand better in Japan.

[GomiGirl]

Agreed - it is the hard core Mac people that will line up - time will tell how it will all pan out.

But Apple does have a larger market share in japan than in other countries and it is the land of brands and early adoption so it does bode well. What will make the difference will really be the business model that Softbank come out with in terms of SIM locking and third party apps, OTA iTunes and accessories. Having seen the Newton adoption here in Japan first hand followed by the iPod craze, I am kinda optimistic about iPhone.. with a HUGE caveat on how it is handled by Softbank.

[maraboutslim]

Actually, for new users of the 3G iphone in the US, they will face data plans $10 higher than old iphone plans, so over the course of the 2 year contract period, they will be paying $240 more...not much of a subsidy, given the actual total cost of ownership is going up for new users, although at what time some of that cash is being paid is changing.

Previous price about $400. Current price $200, but the cell company kicks back most of that extra fee to Apple, so Apple makes the same as they did when charging customers $400. That's what I meant. And I was wondering if the providers in other parts of the world are going to be paying the same kickback to Apple or if the phones will just cost more than $200 in those markets. Because regardless, Apple is going to want its $400 per unit.

[FG Lurker]

Has Apple added MMS support yet? AFAIK they have refused to in every other market.

Without MMS it won't be possible to use a softbank mail address on the phone -- no pushed email unless you have an Exchange server. Of course no emoji either (not that I care but TIJ).

This will be a deal killer for Apple in the Japanese market unless they wise up.

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Another question, being Softcrank will the iPhone have to use 010 for international dial-out?

[GomiGirl]

Has Apple added MMS support yet? AFAIK they have refused to in every other market.

Without MMS it won't be possible to use a softbank mail address on the phone -- no pushed email unless you have an Exchange server. Of course no emoji either (not that I care but TIJ).

This will be a deal killer for Apple in the Japanese market unless they wise up.

Really not sure of any details yet. I am keen to hear about the content menu and embedded apps.

There has been no advance info but then GomiBrother got back to Tokyo today so will see if he has heard any goss.

You are right though about the MMS/email and emoji. Nokia are struggling as they don't have lots of the cool features that are standard on the Japanese phones - deco mail, QR code readers, flash, saifu etc.

[Baka Chan]

I have one, I love it, but the only carrier in the US is AT&T (other than hacking carriers), but I couldn't afford the service. Actually, I got tired. My 1st bill was $600.00. I was so used to living in Japan, just used it all the time without thinking (service is so cheap in Japan). Anyway, even if I made only 2calls the whole month, my bill was $100.00. And then, the reception was bad! Dropped calls, missed calls... Fuck that:D I paid $175 to cancel my contract with AT&T. I can still use it for the internet, e-mail, GPS, Yahoo maps, iTunes etc since I can pickup Wi-Fi anywhere here. But, they are addictive. Now, its just a $400 iPod/camera/calender book:(
I hope whatever company in Japan who services the iPhone can offer a good package contract.

[maraboutslim]

Huh? What are you talking about? I have an iphone with AT&T and also have two other regular phones on the same account. The total for this acocunt is less than $100 a month for 800 anytime minutes (shared between the three phones), plus the usual free nights and weekends and mobile to mobile calls, free long distance calling. I can use the internet or email or any of that fancy iphone stuff as much as i'd like for no additional charge. How could you have possibly ran up a $600 bill? Did you travel to europe and leave your phone on and "roam" all round connecting to the internet via the network or something?

[Mulboyne]

[GomiGirl]

People will pay this!! Easy. People don't care about free minutes as hardly anybody talks on the phone.

[Caustic Saint]

6,800 a month for unlimited browsing seems a bit steep, unless they're going to allow tethering to a laptop via Bluetooth.

If that's the case, I'm perfectly fine with the price.

[Mulboyne]

6,800 a month for unlimited browsing seems a bit steep, unless they're going to allow tethering to a laptop via Bluetooth.

If that's the case, I'm perfectly fine with the price.

Are you already with Softbank, Caustic or would you just be happy to switch?

[Caustic Saint]

I had Softbank (2G Vodafone at the time) for nearly two years. Back in '06 I changed to Docomo so that I could have useable reception in the place I was living in at the time. That phone lasted until about 6 weeks ago when the speaker in the earpiece died. I swapped it out for an older one (but one that was a step up D902i to D903i) for about 7,000. I didn't bother with anything better since I was pretty sure iPhone news was coming around WWDC time.

Now that the news is out, I'd go back to Softbank for the iPhone, especially since their 3g coverage is better for where I'm living than my current Docomo 2G. If the leaked Softbank pricing is real, it'd be a jump up in monthly costs from what I'm paying now, but if tethering is a possibility, I'd be happy to pay it.

I got an iPod Touch back in March during a trip to the US (US Apple refurb prices kill any deal you could get in Japan), and after less than a day of using it, my only thought was, "Why isn't this thing my phone?"

[Ol Dirty Gaijin]

Softbank have removed tethering on phones before. Another thing to check when released.

[Guy Incognito]

Apologies if this is a double post... didn't have time to read all threads...

Survey: 91% of Japanese Will Not Buy 'iPhone'

According to a survey by iSHARE, 91.0% of Japanese mobile phone users are not planning to purchase Apple Inc's "iPhone" mobile phone.

This research was conducted in the wake of the announcement by SoftBank Mobile Corp that it will release the iPhone in Japan (See related article). Targeting Internet users aged primarily 20 to 49, iSHARE asked questions about their intention to purchase an iPhone, as well as other questions and received 402 responses over the Internet.

The survey had been conducted from June 5 to 6, 2008, before pricing for an iPhone handset was announced. Of carriers that the respondents were subscribing to, NTT DoCoMo accounted for 39.8%, followed by au at 26.9%, SoftBank Mobile at 22.9% and the other carriers including Emobile and Willcom at 6.5%.

Asked if they have a plan to purchase an iPhone, 36 respondents (8.9%) said "I am planning to purchase one." Nearly half of these 36 respondents were SoftBank Mobile users, iSHARE said.

To a question asking how they are planning to position the iPhone after purchasing, 6.2% said "as my primary handset," while 2.7% said "as my second (or lower) handset." By gender, the intent to purchase was much higher among male respondents. Meanwhile, respondents that are "not planning to buy one now" constituted 91.0% of all respondents.

iSHARE said it had also conducted an iPhone purchase intention survey in July 2007. At that time, 9.6% said "I'm willing to buy (replace) one," while 62.2% said "I will consider buying one after examining the price or circumstances" if the iPhone is released from the carrier they are using.

Compared with these results, the intention to purchase an iPhone has greatly weakened and grown negative from a year ago, iSHARE explained.

[Caustic Saint]

Guy, that survey is a bit misleading. It was taken after the 04 June press release, which stated, "SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple® to bring the iPhone™ to Japan later this year."

It wasn't until the 09 June that they said, "SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp.(SBM) and Apple® today announced that the highly anticipated iPhone™ 3G will be available in Japan on July 11."

At the time of the survey, there was no date or pricing information available, so of course interest was low.

A survey conducted on 13 June has different numbers.

[Guy Incognito]

A survey conducted on 13 June has different numbers.

Still... those figures are far from indicating any 'hysteria' on behalf of the J market.

Seems that there is a big chunk of the market who are 'loyal' to their carriers...

Although, I wonder how much a poll can tell us about tech take up anyway... If someone had asked me if I planned on using facebook not so long ago I'd have given the most negative answer I could. DAMN YOU NETWORK EFFECT!

[IkemenTommy]

Here is the Softginko employee training brochure with the specs.

[IkemenTommy]

Nicely engrishly translated survival guide

[FG Lurker]

I still don't see mention of MMS anywhere.

Is Apple really arrogant enough to think they can sell a phone in Japan that doesn't support keitai email? (Rhetorical question...)

[Caustic Saint]

Here is the Softginko employee training brochure with the specs.

The staff brochure has three more pages.

[GomiGirl]

I still don't see mention of MMS anywhere.

Is Apple really arrogant enough to think they can sell a phone in Japan that doesn't support keitai email? (Rhetorical question...)

Does the Blackberry have a docomo.ne.jp address?
Does the Wilcomm?

Actually, what they may do is have a special pop mail system set up under the yahoo mail system but have the domain mimic a softbank.ne.jp address. Missing would be the emoji I would suspect, but some clever person may develop it as an app for download via the apps store.

[Caustic Saint]

[quote="GomiGirl"]Actually, what they may do is have a special pop mail system set up under the yahoo mail system but have the domain mimic a softbank.ne.jp address. Missing would be the emoji I would suspect, but some clever person may develop it as an app for download via the apps store. ]
Well, the iPhone does support gmail, and gmail supports emoji....so there's one way to work it. Gmail can display received ones (only on the gmail site, it seems - they just show up as boxes in mail.app), and forward them, but can you enter them? I don't see an option for that on the gmail site, so is that something they'll have to add on the iPhone?