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Japan gripped by iPad frenzy

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I wonder where all the dumb****s are who said two years ago that the iPhone would be a huge failure in Japan due to inferior specs and the lack of a strap attachment point? Or the people who said earlier this year that the iPad would be a huge failure because it was 'just an oversized iPod touch'? :rolleyes:

Back OT, I'm glad to see Apple doing well here in Japan. It essentially guarantees that I'll continue to be able to get my hands on Apple shwag with relative ease, rather than having to import everything from the States. Now if only some of the smaller accessory manufacturers would distribute over here (I'm looking at you, Wrapsol) ...
 
The iPad 3G is wonderful in Japan.

FWIW, you can use an AT&T micro-SIM in your Japanese (Softbank) iPad 3G when in The US. No need to JailBreak.
 
mavis said:
Now if only some of the smaller accessory manufacturers would distribute over here (I'm looking at you, Wrapsol) ...
Click to expand...

Grab the initiative and see if you can become a reseller for Japan. I'm sure that they'd love the opportunity to sell their products there through someone who is fluent in English - the Japanese are notoriously difficult to deal with due to the language (and culture) barrier. You could probably make a tidy turnover through Yahoo! auctions, so there would be little need to deal with stores or wholesale purchasers.
 
sushi said:
The iPad 3G is wonderful in Japan.

FWIW, you can use an AT&T micro-SIM in your Japanese (Softbank) iPad 3G when in The US. No need to JailBreak.
Click to expand...

This raises an interesting possibility: Would it be possible to use an AT&T micro-SIM (sold for an iPad) in a jailbroken-unlocked Softbank-issued iPhone 4 while in the United States? I realize the iPad plan is data-only, but I wouldn't need the iPhone 4 as a phone, just as a data device.
 
japanime said:
This raises an interesting possibility: Would it be possible to use an AT&T micro-SIM (sold for an iPad) in a jailbroken-unlocked Softbank-issued iPhone 4 while in the United States? I realize the iPad plan is data-only, but I wouldn't need the iPhone 4 as a phone, just as a data device.
Click to expand...

Not that interesting a question. Go to USA with your iPad. Get an iPad SIM from AT&T. Put it in, and buy a month for $25. No need to jailbreak, and there's no such thing as an unlock for it anyway. All iPads are unlocked.
 
japanime said:
This raises an interesting possibility: Would it be possible to use an AT&T micro-SIM (sold for an iPad) in a jailbroken-unlocked Softbank-issued iPhone 4 while in the United States? I realize the iPad plan is data-only, but I wouldn't need the iPhone 4 as a phone, just as a data device.
Click to expand...
Interesting question for sure.

I don't have an iPhone 4 so I can't test your idea. Sorry.

WilliamG said:
Not that interesting a question. Go to USA with your iPad. Get an iPad SIM from AT&T. Put it in, and buy a month for $25. No need to jailbreak, and there's no such thing as an unlock for it anyway. All iPads are unlocked.
Click to expand...
Well, yes and no.

As of last week, you cannot:

A. Take a US purchased iPad 3G to Japan and then use a Softbank micro-SIM. Softbank will not give or sell you one.

B. Use a DoCoMo micro-SIM, or any other Japanese telcom company's micro-SIM, in a Japanese purchased iPad 3G.

That means there are some restrictions regarding Japan and iPad 3G's.
 
WilliamG said:
Not that interesting a question. Go to USA with your iPad. Get an iPad SIM from AT&T. Put it in, and buy a month for $25. No need to jailbreak, and there's no such thing as an unlock for it anyway. All iPads are unlocked.
Click to expand...

Except I wasn't talking about an iPad. I was talking about an iPhone. So, I think the question becomes interesting again. :D
 
mavis said:
I wonder where all the dumb****s are who said two years ago that the iPhone would be a huge failure in Japan due to inferior specs and the lack of a strap attachment point?
Click to expand...

In the first year it only sold what, about 520K ?

Once it got missing features like video recording and MMS, plus Softbank began giving them away for free with a two year contract, sales increased to 1.7 million the next year.

I believe that's ~12% of Softbank customers, which is akin to AT&T takeup rates, and thus can now be considered a success... which it certainly was not at first.
 
kdarling said:
In the first year it only sold what, about 520K ?

Once it got missing features like video recording and MMS, plus Softbank began giving them away for free with a two year contract, sales increased to 1.7 million the next year.

I believe that's ~12% of Softbank customers, which is akin to AT&T takeup rates, and thus can now be considered a success... which it certainly was not at first.
Click to expand...

Good point. I certainly didn't notice many people using iPhones in Japan until Softbank started its "iPhone for Everyone" sales campaign and began giving the phones away for free (or practically nothing) with a 2-year contract.
 
WilliamG said:
Not that interesting a question. Go to USA with your iPad. Get an iPad SIM from AT&T. Put it in, and buy a month for $25. No need to jailbreak, and there's no such thing as an unlock for it anyway. All iPads are unlocked.
Click to expand...

Perhaps you should've actually read the poster's question before answering the completely different one you managed to formulate in your head.
 
When the iPad first came out in Japan, I saw several people using it on trains and at MacDonalds and elsewhere, but after Miyazaki Hayao made a comment some time in early July that "using iPad looks like masturbating," I hardly see anyone using iPads in public anymore, and the media had quieted down. I do feel that the comment by the Anime Father had a significant effect on the Japanese.
 
Satoneko said:
When the iPad first came out in Japan, I saw several people using it on trains and at MacDonalds and elsewhere, but after Miyazaki Hayao made a comment some time in early July that "using iPad looks like masturbating," I hardly see anyone using iPads in public anymore, and the media had quieted down. I do feel that the comment by the Anime Father had a significant effect on the Japanese.
Click to expand...

Hmmm bet he'll have to take that back when Animes become popular on the iPad...
 
... and yet it only takes 300 daily sales to hit number 1 paid ipad app in the Japanese appstore. I know as I was briefly there .....
 
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