iPhone a drop in the bucket?
While elitist nerds across the world have been changing their pants, LA Times staff writer Bruce Wallace has written how the iPhone is “business as usual” in Japan. He says that while it’s big news in America, “many Japanese had a harder time buying Jobs’ line about “reinventing” the phone.” He backs up his claims by interviewing… a clerk at a keitai shop? In… Harajuku? Umm… OK, but his second set of interviews holds a lot more water. He goes on to interview… gyaru? Who apparently claim to have a $170 phone, but then go on to say they would never pay more than $100 for a phone.
Between his shoddy interviewing skills and lack of consistency, it’s hard to say how the LA Times can make any kind of claim that the phone won’t make any kind of impact in Japan. The real strength of his argument is that the functions the iPhone is offering are ones that already exist in Japan. And that’s true enough: you can already shop online, check your train schedule, etc on Japanese phones. And you’ll be able to do that all on the iPhone. The point he seems to be missing is the absolutely unparalleled user interface that completely blows anything Japan has ever created out of the water. This is not a point to be taken lightly. Anybody who has used a Japanese keitai knows that the interface tends to be clunky and convoluted at the best of times. The iPhone has cleaned it all up with a couple of quick touches.
Hey Bruce, next time you’re gonna write a technology article, go to Akihabara and at least make an effort to talk to people who know what they’re talking about. I understand that you may need to go to Harajuku and use your “work” as an excuse to talk to Japanese girls in mini skirts, but don’t do it on the Times’ dime.
