Learn about the Top 5 things you need to know about cell phone industry in Japan
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| Talking Japanese Culture, Season 1, Lesson 17 – |
| Top 5 Things You Need to Know About The Cell Phone Industry in Japan |
| [INTRO] |
| Hello, and welcome to JapanesePod101.com. |
| I’m Eric. |
| In this lesson we will talk about the "Top 5 things you need to know about cell phone industry in Japan". |
| === |
| The first topic (on the list) is about the three big mobile phone carriers in Japan. |
| The biggest one is “NTT DoCoMo” (J: NTT Dokomo) which holds |
| around forty percent of Japanese market share. |
| Better known as “DoCoMo” (J: Dokomo), the carrier has a |
| solid reception for its extensive network |
| coverage. |
| The second biggest is “au by KDDI”, or “au” (J: |
| ĒYū), which has some 20 percent market |
| share, followed by the third largest “Softbank” (J: Sofuto banku). |
| === |
| The next topic (on the list) is about old-fashioned |
| flip phones dubbed as “Galapagos mobile |
| phones” (J: Garapagosu keitai) or “Gala-kei” (J: garakē). |
| These flip phones have a wide range of |
| special features such as original ringtones, TV |
| functions, and a mobile wallet function. |
| But these multi-function phones are now likened to the evolution of life on the very isolated |
| Galapagos Islands because their functions |
| were specifically designed for and available only in Japan. |
| === |
| The next topic (on the list) is about a growing |
| smartphone market for both iPhones (J: Aifōn)and Android phones (J: Andoroido). |
| According to data from 2014, about 40 percent of mobile phone users in Japan use smartphones, and Android phones are slightly more popular than iPhones. |
| In 2010, big cell phone manufactures such as Sharp started off by releasing Android-based Smartphones in Japan, encouraging flip phoneusers to switch to the touch screen phones. |
| Meanwhile, BlackBerry Bold and Touch Pro failed to repeat their overseas success in Japan amid the growing popularity of iPhones. |
| === |
| The next topic (on the list) is about Android-based phone manufacturers. |
| As of March 2015, the most popular manufacturer for Android-based smartphones is Sony Mobile, which is formerly known as Sony Ericsson. The company is known for making phones with sophisticated design and high-quality sound and screen. |
| The rival Sharp is known for making phones withstunning screen quality, using the company’s cutting-edge technology for making television screens. |
| Panasonic, on the other hand, produces smartphones targeting enterprise and business users. |
| === |
| Last but not least is about the rapid growth of Wi-Fi calling which is fueled also by other popular applications such as LINE (J: Rain) and Skype (J: Sukaipu) . |
| In Japan, the calling rates for regular mobile phonesare often much higher than Wi-Fi calling. |
| What’s more, the Wi-Fi calls between app users, and sometimes even between non-users, can be made free of charge. |
| When you are overseas, it is also much cheaper to find Wi-Fi hotspots and make a call using Wi-Fi rather than using a regular phone line. |
| === |
| That’s all we have for this lesson. |
| Japan has one of the most advanced cell phone industries in the world, with dozens of advanced and unique applications. |
| What is your favorite service or application? |
| Leave us a comment and let us know! |
| Thanks for listening and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
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