Japan the Model to Follow?

In prior posts, we’ve looked at Japan as a sign of things to come in the US in the future. Toto from TechCrunch posts an interesting article saying “maybe not,” but fundamentally, we disagree with his analysis.

He cites 5 factors as being key to Japan’s quick uptake of mobile web:

• the ubiquity of advanced cell phones combined with a vast selection of tailor-made services
• tech-savvy customers who often had their first web experience on a cell phone
• a reliable technical infrastructure
• symbiotic business relations between carriers and content providers
• relatively sound regulatory policy

While his main point is that Japan is not necessarily a blueprint for the world, the article comes off sounding the “mobile may be dead” gong.

And while the factors above certainly may have contributed to faster uptake, it is without a doubt far too early to sound the death knell for the US and the EU’s mobile web acceptance.

In fact, I think we are at the beginning of an iPhone led big bang into the mobile web world even now. Far more compelling a factor to look at is two big issues the US consumer has had to face in using a mobile phone in the place of a computer:

1. Until recently, speeds were fairly horrible – and yet Americans have very fast connections at home, and plenty of space for a PC.
2. The lack of a single cell phone with a solid mobile experience.
3. Exciting content and experiences that make the mobile experience uniquely differentiated over the PC-based experience.

In fact, the US lifestyle is quite different from the Japanese lifestyle in many ways, from commuting, to living space size, to cultural expectations of workers.

The fact that US consumers are only now starting to really become aware of the mobile experience isn’t all that surprising. Nor is it surprising that the advent of the iPhone has changed the game as well – but for the early adopters first.

The reason the iPhone is so compelling is that it addresses each of these three problems – and imitators have cropped up quickly, undoubtedly bringing more innovation and lower prices. Sounds like the technology acceptance curve to me. If anything, the economy is probably further slowing down the curve for us, but accentuating it for Japan, an economy on the upswing after a long period of deflation and other economic problems.