Email tops the list of most popular handset apps in Japan

According to the survey conducted by marketing company iSHARE, Japanese consumers pay attention to the handset’s design (26.3%) first, when choosing a new model. Next come handset’s price (24.3%) and functionality (20.1%).

When asked what handset features they used most, the respondents stated email (45.2%), followed by camera (24.2%) and mobile application usage (10.9%). The high rank of cameras can be explained by the widespread use of QR-codes that need to be scanned by cameras. It is interesting that mobile wallet and Web surfing are missing from the popularity list. Despite the video calling was introduced a while ago in Japan, its adoption remains low. Even radio usage beats video calling, according to iSHARE.