Here’s an interesting graphic from Roman Nedielka which points to Japan as a world leader in the mobile industry [1], but notes that it’s a leader that is currently undergoing a shift of sorts.
He points out what he calls Japan’s “old story” which saw high profile hardware manufacturers leading the world in producing quality electronics. Japan’s opportunity to stay out front as a leader, he notes, lies in retaining its culture of quality and applying it to mobile services, citing GREE (TYO:3632) and NHN Japan’s Line as key examples of services leading the way already.
I certainly agree that Japan, and certainly Korea, are already certainly breaking some new ground with interesting business models that they can test with consumers already comfortable with mobile payments. Although with regards to the common narrative that Japanese mobile manufacturing is a thing of the past as companies like Apple and Samsung soar, I would like to point to an argument recently made by our friends at Wireless Watch, who figure that Japanese companies still produce about 40 percent of the components used in all the world’s mobile phones.
Check out Roman’s graphic below, and let us know what you think.
-
Roman notes in his graphic that Japan is the ‘most advanced mobile nation,’ which of course is debatable depending on which metrics you use. Roman tells me in this case, he is citing Tomi Ahonen’s ‘20 Most Advanced Countries in Mobile’ for 2011. The rest of Roman’s sources for this graphic can be found here. ↩
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
