"Mobile Phones in Japan" now available at Fast Market Research

The emergence of Android-run smartphones with a similar appearance to a feature phone is encouraging feature phone users to migrate to smartphones. These phones are locally called galaho, offering the functionality of smartphones (known as sumaho) and the appearance and some features of feature phones (known as galapagos keitai-denwa). The term galapagos refers to Japanese feature phones' offer of unique features such as 1-seg reception, FeliCa (enabling feature phones to be use pre-paid electronic payment services such as Suica and Edy) and infrared communication. Like the wildlife found on the Galapagos Islands, these phones are thus unique to Japan. Galapagos phones, like the new galaho smartphones, also typically feature a flip-top design, which has a strong retro appeal to many consumers.

Competitive Landscape

Apple remains the clear leader in mobile phones and accounted for an impressive 44% retail volume share in 2015. This is impressive, given that the company accounted for just 2% retail volume share in 2008. Apple benefited from its iPhone brand being gradually rolled by the country's leading telco operators, with au offering the brand from 2009, followed by KDDI from 2011 and finally DoCoMo in 2013. Apple also saw the strongest gain in retail volume share in overall mobile phones in 2015 over the previous year, gaining an impressive three percentage points. This was partly due to rising tourist demand for high-tech and premium smartphones, with Japan becoming an increasingly popular shopping tourism destination. Apple's iPhone thus benefited from strong global consumer awareness.

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Industry Prospects

By 2017, the development of feature phones is expected to cease in Japan, due to rising manufacturing and development costs, especially costs related to operating systems. Low retail prices for feature phones and expectations of ongoing expectations of sales decline will also encourage players to exit feature phones, due to the rising popularity of smartphones. Feature phone manufacturers, which are predominantly domestic, are thus expected to increase their focus on galaho Android smartphones, with these having a uniquely Japanese appeal.

Report Overview

Discover the latest market trends and uncover sources of future market growth for the Mobile Phones industry in Japan with research from Euromonitor's team of in-country analysts.

Find hidden opportunities in the most current research data available, understand competitive threats with our detailed market analysis, and plan your corporate strategy with our expert qualitative analysis and growth projections.

If you're in the Mobile Phones industry in Japan, our research will save you time and money while empowering you to make informed, profitable decisions.

The Mobile Phones in Japan market research report includes:

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