Exec: Japanese iPhone success a local failure
updated 09:35 am EDT, Fri August 15, 2008
Japanese iPhone success
The new-found popularity of the iPhone in Japan is as much a failure of local industry as it is an advancement by Apple, a former NTT DoCoMo executive claims. Tsuyoshi Natsuno, who lead the carrier's i-mode division, describes the Japanese cellular industry as having fallen into a "collegial system," where phones are designed explicitly according to specifications outlined by carriers. The phones in fact have no existence outside of their carriers, a situation which Natsuno believes to offer no incentive for driving technology forward.
Although Japanese phones do have technological edges, like better cameras, wireless payments and 1Seg mobile TV, the situation is said to be so bad that workers who might actually advance Japanese phones are not assigned any positions of responsibility. The iPhone should in fact shake up Japanese cellphones, Natsuno argues, simply by showing people that there is no reason for phone makers to remain static.
The executive notes that the iPhone also has the benefit of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, a leader with "solid faith" in his product. Products with a positive vision behind them tend to do better, says Natsuno, because it encourages workers to cooperate and realize that vision.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Dec 2005
Not just in Japan
And what did you think was going on in the US? Carriers were the ones calling for this and that feature in a new package, so little was being done to advance mobile interfaces.
It takes a proven innovator like Apple that can take an idea, put months and years of R&D behind it, and then market the h*** of it. Since Apple does not use the "give them everything and see what sticks" business model, refining and executing an idea like they did with the iPhone is nothing out of the ordinary compared to the companies past efforts.
Now I'd like to see if Apple can continue to innovate in the handset industry, or stagnates like the previous big players were. In the meantime, what do you think the chances of Moto, etc. coming up with a new idea to outshine the iPhone?