Not unlike the rest of the world, Apple has taken Japan’s smartphone market by storm. In fact, 1.69 million of the units were sold in the fiscal year that just ended in March. The overall market in Japan is pushing toward more smartphones, with a total of 2.34 million units sold.
It is surprising, however, given the Japanese market’s penchant for mobile technology that the numbers aren’t higher than we’re seeing. That is likely explained, however, by the provider landscape.
The iPhone is sold, in Japan, by the 3rd largest provider – Softbank Corp. The sales might represent a rapid growth in overall market share for the provider, though it is still dwarfed by NTT DoCoMo.
HTC and Toshiba also showed healthy sales, with numbers far surpassing previous years. In the upcoming months, overall smartphone sales are expected to skyrocket in the Japanese market due to upcoming releases from Android and Sharp.
Via Bloomberg
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