Why Android Will Dominate Japan

Japan, second-largest economy in the world, the land of QR-codes, mobile payments and (soon) 4G networks. Here in the West, we hear many rumors about the state of mobile in the Land of the Rising Sun – often about superiority of its mobile ecosystem and hardware. Recently Mobify got a chance to visit, attending Mobile Monday Tokyo and MCPC. What we saw was surprising – it seems that the Japanese smartphone market is about to undergo a major transformation, embracing Android. Here’s why:

1. The “i-mode” mobile web experience looks and feels outdated. It is terrifying how similar most i-mode pages are to sites rendered on a Motorola RAZR, perhaps because the browsers are supplied by the same vendors. Yes, there is lots of content in i-mode and its competitors that millions of people use, but it’s far from a well-designed mobile view or a mobile app in terms of the overall experience. Flash Lite, which is Japan’s way to develop rich mobile interfaces is mostly used for creating landing pages only, handing off links to the browser. In the end, to get a modern browser on a device, a good OS is necessary – LiMo and Symbian, current market leaders in Japan, are already behind in their arms race with Android.

2. Japanese carriers want to control everything, including the OS of their devices. Historically carriers like NTT DoCoMo would order devices directly from manufacturers, specifying everything down to the color. This kind of influence is not possible with Apple – in fact, we’ve heard horror stories about the effort that SoftBank (the Japanese carrier for the iPhone) had to go through to get emoji, a core mobile feature in Japan, included in the 2.2 firmware. Android is the opposite – the carriers can customize it any way they like. That’s why DoCoMo brass proudly carry around the recent white HTC Android device (though often have a feature phone as well).

3. The developer community is increasingly looking at the global market, instead of focusing on Japan alone. We met several iPhone & Android app developers who dream big – their applications are not quite as smooth as the best ones coming out of SV, but quickly getting there. Many in the japanese mobile community are frustrated with the slowing pace of local innovation, especially when it comes to mobile software. Just like developers in the West, they want openness, power and a big international audience – all of which are promised by Android.

The degree to which Android will take off in Japan will also depend on the smartphone/feature phone balance. Not everybody needs the advanced features of a WebKit-equipped mobile, but the economies of scale should eventually make it economical to use Android for all types of devices. A world-class, free mobile OS, combined with outstanding hardware could propel the japanese mobile ecosystem to even greater heights. Google’s renewed focus on the market is no coincidence.

It was great to visit Japan, huge thanks to everyone who helped make the trip happen and supported us on the ground.