Survey: Japanese handset users’ wants and needs

I came across an interesting survey conducted by iSHARE. They asked users about their expectations toward iPhone and other next generation device features. The responses didn’t surprise and confirmed the industry trend – mobile phones to become as powerful and feature-rich as computers. First of all, survey respondents expect to have rich browsing experience and ability to download software applications without restriction from operators. When respondents were asked about whom they expect to deliver such features, three OEM leaders emerged. Sharp, Sony Ericsson and Panasonic, companies with strong consumer electronics brands, were named among first. It’s interesting that Nokia fared pretty well, bypassing several Japanese OEMs.

Source: iSHARE blogch.jp

Panasonic 822P at 8.9mm thick hits Softbank’s shelves

Panasonic made a name for excelling in production of ultra-thin mobile phones. It doesn’t matter if it is a clamshell or candy bar form factor, Panasonic will make them really thin. This time Softbank is shipping Panasonic’s 822P candy bar phone at only 8.9mm thick. Besides the ultra-thin appeal, Softbank praises the 822P for simple, elegant design and ability to put into this slim body the high-end specs, including 3G, 2MP camera with auto focus, microSD memory card slot, video recording feature, music player, Internet browser, Bluetooth radio and other.

Phone Specs
Model:	822P
Carrier:	Softbank
Maker:	Panasonic
Cellular radios:	GSM (900/1800/1900)/WCDMA
Form factor:	candy bar
Color variations:	Red, White, Black, Golden Pink
Weight:	96g
Dimensions:	51 X 127 X 8.9mm
Main display:	2.2inch (240 X 320) QVGA TFT, 260K colors
Talk time:	200min
Standby time:	400hrs
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	37MB
Memory card slot:	microSD (up to 2GB)
GPS / Location:	Some Maps service
Bluetooth:	Yes (ver. 1.2)
Infrared:	Yes (IrMC 1.1)
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2MP with auto focus
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	No
Music player:	Yes
Browser:	PC website viewing
FM radio:	No
Mobile Wallet:	No
Barcode:	Yes (QR-code)
Biometrics:	Face recognition

SoftBank's top ten selling phone models

GfK, a market research company, published ranks of top selling mobile phones with each operator in Japan during the last week of November. This post will cover SoftBank. See table below for the top 10 sellers with SoftBank brand.

SoftBank Top Ten
1 (3)	Sharp 920SH
2 (1)	Sharp 911SH
3 (2)	Panasonic 705Px
4 (5)	Toshiba fanfan. 815T
5 (7)	Panasonic 810P
6 (6)	Sharp 910SH
7 (8)	Toshiba 911T
8 (10)	Toshiba 814T
9 (4)	Sharp Fullface 913SH
10 (11)	Sharp 812SH

Source: GfK via ITMedia

KDDI au's top ten selling phone models

GfK, a market research company, published ranks of top selling mobile phones with each operator in Japan during the last week of November. This post will cover KDDI au. See table below for the top 10 sellers with au brand.

KDDI au Top Ten
1 (1)	Toshiba W53T
2 (2)	Casio Exilim W53CA
3 (3)	Sharp W52SH
4 (4)	Sanyo W52SA
5 (5)	Kyocera A5528K
6 (8)	Sony Ericsson W53S
7 (6)	Casio W52CA
8 (7)	Panasonic W52P
9 (9)	Toshiba W54T
10 (20)	Kyocera W53K

Source: GfK via ITMedia

NTT DoCoMo’s top ten selling phone models

GfK, a market research company, published ranks of top selling mobile phones with each operator in Japan during the last week of November. This post will cover NTT DoCoMo. As DoCoMo starts rolling 905 series phones, devices from the 904 series line-up occupied the top positions due to discounts and general popularity of one-seg phones. Fujitsu’s one-seg F904i model ranked first for the second week in a row followed with another one-seg model the 704i by Sharp (see table below for the rest).

NTT DoCoMo Top Ten
1 (1)	Fujitsu F904i
2 (3)	Sharp SH704i
3 (4)	Panasonic P904i
4 (2)	Sharp SH904i
5 (5)	Fujitsu Raku-Raku4 F883iES
6 (6)	Fujitsu Raku-Raku3 F882iES
7 (9)	NEC N704iμ
8 (8)	NEC N904i
9 (10)	Mitsubishi D904i
10 (7)	Sharp SH903iTV

Source: GfK via ITMedia

Softbank launches Panasonic Mirror

Feature-wise Panasonic’s Mirror 821P handset for SoftBank would’ve had problems to differentiate itself from others if not for a couple of innovative design solutions. First of all, it is called Mirror for a reason as its front panel is polished to the level of being capable to reflect objects. Besides, if you look at the handset’s mirror panel at different angle it will change its color. Play of light if you wish. Another unusual but very useful solution is to place a clamshell open button into the hinge that will open the clamshell for you when pushed. It’s very convenient for one hand opening. However, other than that, it is a slim phone with quite a standard set of features, spotting 2MP camera with auto-focus and 10X digital zoom, 2.8 inch Wide QVGA screen and Full HTML browser.

Source: Nikkei (Japanese)

Phone Specs
Model:	Mirror 821P
Carrier:	SoftBank
Maker:	Panasonic
Price:	N/A
Form factor:	Clamshell
Color variations:	Black, White, Silver, Red, Purple
Weight:	113 g
Dimensions:	50 X 104 X 15.9 mm
Main display:	2.8 inch WQVGA TFT, 260K colors
Talk time:	200 min
Standby time:	400 hours
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	37MB
Memory card slot:	microSD (up to 2GB)
GPS / Location:	No
Bluetooth:	Yes (Ver. 1.2)
Infrared:	Yes
USB:	Yes
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2MP
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	No
Music player:	Yes
Browser:	Full HTML browser
FM radio:	No
Mobile Wallet:	No
QR-code:	Yes
Biometrics:	No

Sharp is still undisputed handset leader in Japan: 1Q07 data

Sharp continues to hold its dominant position in Japan’s handset market through four consecutive quarters, increasing its market share to 22.6% in 1Q07 from 21.2% in 4Q06, reports IDC. Strong sales of Raku-Raku series phones are worth mentioning among other 1Q07 highlights as they helped Fujitsu get in the top five handset vendors.

Overall, handset shipments increased by 3% from last year, reaching the five-year record of 14.39 million handsets. National carriers’ flourishing spring handset collections targeting at various segments with ultra-thin and easy-to-use models and improvements in service and pricing contributed to this rather unusual burst in handset sales.

Source: IDC Japan

Best selling phone in Tokyo area: Fujitsu F882iES

K-tai Watch routinely published a table of best-selling NTT DoCoMo's phones in Tokyo metropolitan area for the 10/5~10/11 time period. The king of the hill was the golden color FOMA Raku-Raku 3 phone also known as Fujitsu F882iES offered by NTT DoCoMo. What is interesting is that Raku-Raku series models target at older users by simplifying handset features and keeping "bells and whistles" away. For example, Raku-Raku phones spot bigger keys with easy-to-see numbers, the on-screen font size is also made larger, while menu is simplified for easy navigation. The F882iES also comes in pink and black, but the golden is this time favorite. During the last update it was third in the ranks and now it is on the top. I'll see how long it will hold to this sweet position. The F882iES was followed by two color variations of the same model by Panasonic: the P902i in silver and black. The fifth place was also occupied by the P902i - this time in white color variation. The white N701i by NEC was placed fourth.

Source: ITC Network via K-tai Watch

20-to-1: Japan's mobile vs. PC music downloads

Commenting on Apple-Softbank iTunes phone Business Week provides data that Japan's music downloads onto mobile handsets outstrip PC downloads at a 20-to-1 proportion. While there is a huge gap between mobile and PC music downloads, overall the mobile music downloads represent a small chunk of Japan's total music market:

Sales of digital music for cell phones accounted for around 5% of Japan's $4 billion music market last year, according to the Recording Industry Association of Japan. "There's a lot more room for growth in digital music downloads for cell phones," says Ichiro Michikoshi of BCN, a tech market research firm in Japan.

Business Week also says that iPod held a 51.9% music player market share in Japan as of April 2006, followed by Sony (15.2%) and Panasonic (7.1%) who also produce music phones. The move into the handset turf by Apple will seriously deteriorate the handset makers' attempts to grab a market share from Apple, while at the same time will provide Apple with the bargaining power to get much-desired contracts with domestic top labels.

On a carrier's side, the Apple-Softbank phone could provide a boost to Softbank-Vodafone's mobile music service, which is far behind the rivals. For example, KDDI au started offering its full song download service in 2004:

As of mid-January, AU had sold 5.9 million music-playing phones to customers who have bought more than 300 million tunes over the carrier's wireless network. Its LISMO and DuoMusic services let subscribers mix their collection of songs downloaded to cell phones and PCs. One of its handsets, made by Toshiba, has a 4-GB hard disk drive that stores 2,000 songs.

Gartner: 45 million handsets shipped in Japan in 2005

According to Gartner, Japanese carriers sold 11.7 million handsets in 4Q 2005, while the year 2005 total handset shipments reached 45 million terminals. The demand for music playback feature by youngsters drove the handset replacement purchases.

Among the top Japanese handset makers mentioned by Gartner were Sony Ericsson (5th place), Panasonic (8), NEC (9) and Sanyo (10). Apart from Sony Ericsson, a joint venture between Sony and Swedish Ericsson, Japan’s domestic makers did not expand their market shares, failing to address the market needs or finding niche markets. The fragmentation of the domestic market also did not help improve the situation, because standalone Japanese makers lack the economies of scale to compete with the world leaders.

Source: Gartner press release (pdf, Japanese)

Prosolid vs. Razr V3: the thinnest phones compared

Here we have them, Panasonic Prosolid and Motorala Razr, the thinnest handsets in the world, released almost simultaneously (the Razr by Cingular in November 2004 and Prosolid by DoCoMo in December 2004), but so different in their fate. While the Razr rocked the world, becoming one of the best selling handset in many countries, the Prosolid went almost unnoticed, making few splashes. Why? Well, partially, I can admit that the Razr may have a cooler look, but the main reason of such different outcomes is in another area. It is simple - Panasonic lacks the marketing, sales and distribution muscle of Motorola. It is not the exclusive problem of Panasonic, but this is the issue all domestic handset makers in Japan should address. While possessing technical expertise and creativity, Japanese companies often fail to go internationally, because they don't have enough qualified personnel or experience in dealing with foreign operators.

Prosolid Specs:

• Form Factor: Clamshell
• Finish: Anodized Aluminum magnezium
• Internal Memory:
• Dimensions (h x w x d): 108 x 48 x 16.7 mm
• Size (cc):
• Weight: 98 g
• Internal Display: 2.2 inches, 132 x 176 pixel, up to 65,536 TFT Color
• External Display: 0.8 inches, 25 x 96 pixel

Razr V3 Specs:

• Form Factor: Clamshell
• Finish: Anodized Aluminum
• Internal Memory: 5MB
• Color: Silver
• Dimensions (h x w x d): 98 x 53 x 14 mm
• Size (cc): 65
• Weight: 97g
• Internal Display: 176 x 220 pixel, up to 260K TFT Color, with 9 Lines of Text
• External Display: 96 x 80 pixel, 4k CSN Color, 4 Lines of Text / Line of Icons