[rawilliam]

There was an article stating that Blackberry will no longer be supporting the Japanese market because it is too difficult to develop a phone for the Japanese market? What gives?

[Kid Vibe]

Yup, there are no Blackberry's in Japan whatsoever it seems... Well, being in Tokyo for a while, iPhone's completely dominate. BB would need honestly one of their biggest marketing campaigns to sway over in Japan... The costs would be high and the risks would be even higher.

[pooger]

There are basically none in korea as well. Can't compete with samsung on their home turf.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9930

[howarmat]

Nikkei: BlackBerry to stop selling phones in Japan, no longer able to justify the cost

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91610M20130207

[RubberChicken76]

Another "rumour" link

[bespinct]

Another "rumour" link

Maybe a rumor, but is there any merit to the Japanese language transition? What language support has RIM already baked in. How much does it cost for that support, does .3% market share cover those costs? How much would the market share have to increase to become a valuable addition?

Keven has been saying for years that RIM isn't targeting everyone. Is there any reason why that could not be extended to say they are not targeting ever regional market?

And if they decide not to support now, that doesn't mean they won't change their minds and provide support in the future.

Steve

[njblackberry]

So once it is confirmed by BlackBerry, is it no longer a rumo(u)r?

BlackBerry Confirms No New Handsets for Japan - John Paczkowski - News - AllThingsD

Confirmed. I guess unless it comes from a trusted CrackBerry source (or W Hoa) it is a rumo(u)r.

[ccbs]

Japan smartphone penetration is over 70% and total size is about 35 ~ 40 million handsets per year. The refresh rate is about 18 months.
May not be big enough for BB, but other manufacturers like Apple, Sony, Samsung are fighting hard for it.

[sentimentGX4]

How much does it actually cost to translate the OS into Japanese?

[Tom689]

It's a smart business move to pull out of a failing market. They can return when they have a strong fiscal position. This is good news in my opinion

[ORIGINQuest]

Does anybody know if the Z10 will work on the Japanese mobile networks? If so, what network in particular is it compatible with?

[gp656]

Blackberry says it will continue to support Japanese sales- The Inquirer

[FunktasticLucky]

Does anybody know if the Z10 will work on the Japanese mobile networks? If so, what network in particular is it compatible with?

I'll let you know if an unlocked verizon phone works over here or not. I'm currently on Docomo with a 9900. I will be checking out other carriers soon though as my 2 year contract is coming to an end.



Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[SuperionMaximus]

Japan is not a priority for BlackBerry right now. It's not off the table that they may look to re-enter the market at some point down the road but for now, doing a custom phone for Japan would not benefit BlackBerry very much.

Japan is a very insular market where carriers dictate and domestic brands are hard to beat. You need to do a custom phone with technologies in it that are really only popular in Japan and use proprietary Japanese Standards. We don't care that there isn't a BB 10 phone with an IR port, but you'd need to put one in for Japan. We don't mind not having a TV tuner, but it's an extremely popular feature in Japan. Custom NFC implementation too. So a special model for one market would need to be produced.

Plus you need to add about 10X more carrier bloatware for au and NTT Docomo then you do even in North America.

The BlackBerry press release never said anything about pulling out forever, just that right now, Japan isn't worth the investment for Blackberry 10. Maybe in a year or two when they've won back some market share Globally and are in a better position to devote the resources, they'll do some phones for Japan again. All BlackBerry said was not right now. They didn't say they'll never bring a new phone to Japan again.

[Tinomane]

Sonbuster on redflagdeals posted this with regards to BlackBerry's recent Japan announcement. What do you guys think? I think he may be onto something here:

Today came 2 pieces of news that came out that had me wondering why they were released.

the first news
BlackBerry strengthens board with wireless industy veterans, Richard Lynch, a former long-serving executive at US wireless carrier Verizon Communications and Bert Nordberg, a former CEO of Sony Ericsson.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91611E20130207

cool, i thought. i wonder what they would bring to the table.

the second news came out and had a much more muted affected
BlackBerry to stop selling handsets in Japan, citing market share in Japan has shrunk to 0.3 percent from 5 percent, and that they cannot justify the cost of modifying its operating system to accommodate the Japanese language.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/techno...91610M20130207

that completely puzzled me as to why they would announce that. Japan is a huge market for smartphones and surely they might be able to claw some of that back. The language part was a bit off too, b/c they tout the BlackBerry z10 as one of the best phones when it comes to language inputs.

why these 2 announcements why now? you may have already figured it out.

my opinion, but i believe BlackBerry picked up the ex-CEO of Sony Ericksson, Bert Nordberg in order to bridge a relationship between BlackBerry and Sony. Some found it sad that Blackberry won't be selling in Japan, but with this connection we might see this relationship extend to having BB10 OS on Sony phones for the Japanese and Global Market.

The partnership, via a licensing deal, makes perfect sense. Sony has it's struggles too. Sony makes good phones, but they're not popular when everyone else is getting a samsung or an LG or any of the chinese makers.

this would be a synergistic deal that would benefit both parties.

[richardat]

J
Japan is a very insular market where carriers dictate and domestic brands are hard to beat. .

Actually a lot of people think that is an overblown business myth, and point to the many successes of foreign companies in Japan. Some say it's hard to compete in Japan with "shoddy" products, because Japanese quality control standards have traditionally been very high. In any case, since Apple managed to get to #1 in Japan, I'd say it an insular market is not an insurmountable barrier.....but then again...maybe the Japanese are part of the US media conspiracy......:-0

[world traveler and former ceo]

Does anybody know if the Z10 will work on the Japanese mobile networks? If so, what network in particular is it compatible with?

Yes... bb's are here already ...using bb 9900 currently and i will have one (bb z10) couriered from Toronto this week ...

[applyglove]

I use my BB9900 all the time in Japan. It was bought in Singapore. reads and writes in Japanese language.

Im not sure about the Z10 because the parallel imports sell out all the time. But if the Z10 cannot read nor write Japanese, then Japan being a major commercial market for finance and goods may impact the useability of the device for transnational corporations.

[sonbuster]

Sonbuster on redflagdeals posted this with regards to BlackBerry's recent Japan announcement. What do you guys think? I think he may be onto something here:

Today came 2 pieces of news that came out that had me wondering why they were released.

the first news
BlackBerry strengthens board with wireless industy veterans, Richard Lynch, a former long-serving executive at US wireless carrier Verizon Communications and Bert Nordberg, a former CEO of Sony Ericsson.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91611E20130207

cool, i thought. i wonder what they would bring to the table.

the second news came out and had a much more muted affected
BlackBerry to stop selling handsets in Japan, citing market share in Japan has shrunk to 0.3 percent from 5 percent, and that they cannot justify the cost of modifying its operating system to accommodate the Japanese language.
http://ca.reuters.com/article/techno...91610M20130207

that completely puzzled me as to why they would announce that. Japan is a huge market for smartphones and surely they might be able to claw some of that back. The language part was a bit off too, b/c they tout the BlackBerry z10 as one of the best phones when it comes to language inputs.

why these 2 announcements why now? you may have already figured it out.

my opinion, but i believe BlackBerry picked up the ex-CEO of Sony Ericksson, Bert Nordberg in order to bridge a relationship between BlackBerry and Sony. Some found it sad that Blackberry won't be selling in Japan, but with this connection we might see this relationship extend to having BB10 OS on Sony phones for the Japanese and Global Market.

The partnership, via a licensing deal, makes perfect sense. Sony has it's struggles too. Sony makes good phones, but they're not popular when everyone else is getting a samsung or an LG or any of the chinese makers.

this would be a synergistic deal that would benefit both parties.

Thanks for the reference Tinomane! I'm really excited about the prospects of a licensing deal between Sony and BlackBerry. Just think of all the other possibilities like having the QNX OS in TV's, Blu Ray Players, Sony Tablets/ computers, cameras and future Playstation consoles? another peer mentioned that Lenovo is interested in a license deal too. Perfect! Lenovo will attract chinese customers and Sony will attract the japanese. it makes complete sense why it would work.

[Masahiro]

Looks like I'll be one of the only people in Japan with a z10 when I go back to visit relatives. I hope blackberry implements Japanese language support soon.

Posted using CrackBerry App on BB10

[kiwisimon]

Yes... bb's are here already ...using bb 9900 currently and i will have one (bb z10) couriered from Toronto this week ...

No input for Japanese, is all your business in English? If yes then you are sorted. Let us know how it works for you.

[johnny_larue]

There is a slight (1 in 4 or 5) chance that I could end up working in Japan for a year. If I bought a style or q10, is it likely that I could use it there?

[Evi Goto]

I'm with z10 in Japan, can use the Bbm through wifi but I couldn't get 3G internet connection with Docomo. Why??? Is it because they don't support the z10

[SuperionMaximus]

Today came 2 pieces of news that came out that had me wondering why they were released.

the first news
BlackBerry strengthens board with wireless industy veterans, Richard Lynch, a former long-serving executive at US wireless carrier Verizon Communications and Bert Nordberg, a former CEO of Sony Ericsson.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...91611E20130207

cool, i thought. i wonder what they would bring to the table.



my opinion, but i believe BlackBerry picked up the ex-CEO of Sony Ericksson, Bert Nordberg in order to bridge a relationship between BlackBerry and Sony. Some found it sad that Blackberry won't be selling in Japan, but with this connection we might see this relationship extend to having BB10 OS on Sony phones for the Japanese and Global Market.

The partnership, via a licensing deal, makes perfect sense. Sony has it's struggles too. Sony makes good phones, but they're not popular when everyone else is getting a samsung or an LG or any of the chinese makers.

this would be a synergistic deal that would benefit both parties.

Yeah, when I hear a name like Bert Nordberg and the guy is from Sweden I immediately think Sony. Sony Ericcson was a joint venture and I'll give you 1 guess which half Mr Nrdberg came from. Hint - not the Sony half. Yes he was CEO of the Joint Venture but that doesn't mean he has ties to Sony Corp or that his election to the Board of Directors at BlackBerry signifies any talks or even intentions to talk with Sony.

It would be cool if they did license BB10 to Sony and if Sony was interested in using the Platform, but there has been no indication that is the case.

[FunktasticLucky]

I'm with z10 in Japan, can use the Bbm through wifi but I couldn't get 3G internet connection with Docomo. Why??? Is it because they don't support the z10

The Z10 works flawlessly in Japan for those that would like to know. I'm stationed in Okinawa and bought a Verizon Z10. When you get your phone you have to add mopera to you data plan. It's 545 yen a month I believe. But that's the data plan it uses. No more bis. Hope that helps and enjoy the fast innernets

TL DR - Add mopera to your plan and dump bis. Reboot z10 and enjoy flawless data.

Edit : forgot to mention I have docomo

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