The rise & fall of Japanese phone giants

[@onewhoisanonymous]

I remember when i went to Hong Kong in the early 2000s and I bought a Japanese camcorder. It was super thin and it has the capability to take still pictures as well. Folded up it looked like a thick cellphone. When I brought it back to the USA, everyone was in awe at that tech. I miss those days when you can be at awe by technology, especially Japanese technology.

[@KallusGarnet]

Japan is dead i had to face that realty in 2014.

[@USandGlobal]

@@KallusGarnet what do you mean?

[@tenga3tango]

The questionwe need answering is if Japan going to or even able to pick up the slack even if it wanted to today. I think most people would agree that when Japan rejected and did not jump on the bandwagon of the MP3 miniaturisation and its ubiquitous invasion into many products was the turning point for Japan . My personal opinion was Japan thought it could continue to scale up on so called higher fidelity audio and analogue HD TV , and continue to add high value to these products and expected a market where people will continue to pay a premium over high fidelity , high quality sound products from Japan . That was a wrong market prediction. Consumers was willing to sacrifice a loss of non discernible sound quality and video quality in exchange for instant replay, downloadability, instant gratification, and greater portability. JAPAN bet on the wrong horse badly. The next misstep Japan made was the mobile phone , and that is another big analysis I would not get into. And the next area where Japan was eaten up by the competition was office automation products and PC and laptops. I remember the Koreans started slowly by coming out with printers and catridges but Korea already had great plans on which areas to bet big . Nowadays , Japanese brands like NEC, TOSHIBA, PANASONIC is slowly fading into a blurry memory.

[@thebravegallade731]

@@tenga3tango ergo, japanese companies that are still largly relevent are the ones where such things actually worked, ergo the entertainment industry. porn, hentai, video games, and anime.

[@tenga3tango]

@@KallusGarnet Very strong words , Dead . What do you mean . Slowly boiled alive is more the description, 😉

[@Adrianbudiman]

I went to Japan when i was still 10/12 years old, it was the 1995s and I remembered going into Akihabara like a literal kid in a candy store. It was so surreal, Japan had the most advance technology at the time. I am from Indonesia and when I saw that they can do video call over their mobile phone I was literally floored. It was sooooooo advance at the time, I remembered vividly thinking that why is this not in every other countries!?!? It dawned on me that the infrastructure is not compatible but surely they can port that and make it into mass market in GSM infrastructure. Japan was in a different league. They just missed out on the software revolution.

[@Adrianbudiman]

Ok, I just watched the whole video. Japan missed out on exporting their technology and got side swiped by the software revolution.

[@ondrejsedlak4935]

One reason Japan switched to email instead of the SMS protocol came down down to SMS not being able to handle the Japanese character sets correctly (at the time). Email already used the UTF system and could handle the complexities of the Japanese written language easily. SMS can now handle the extended character sets easily and is used parallel to the email system on the Galapago phones. I absolutely loved using them during my time in Japan.

[@kfj6709]

What do you mean by galapago phones? Did you mean Japanese phones or all advanced Eastern phones?

[@ondrejsedlak4935]

@@kfj6709 Just the Japanese flip phones. Reason they were called Galapago phones is because the Galapagos islands are home to species only ever found there. Hence the name Galapago, as the phone is unique to Japan and will only work in Japan.

[@taotao98103]

I remember back in early 2000s, I met some Japanese exchange students and they are looking down American's cell phone technologies to a point that they showed off their (unusable in the US) Japanese "advance" phone to me. I was genuinely excited with their phone.

[@Gigi-zr6hp]

Now it's only basically using either Chinese phones or South Korea phones with iPhone being the only prominent US phone

[@taotao98103]

@@Gigi-zr6hp No more Japanese phones, no more Erisson, no more Nokia or Siemens. It's actually sad because there are fewer and fewer players in the field, there's less incentive for innovations.

[@krixpop]

@@Gigi-zr6hp Germany is rising with their smartphones since 2018 all German made strong like a Tiger 2 and reliable like an Flak 88 Gigaset

[@Eddies_Bra-att-ha-grejer]

@@krixpop Doesn't Gigaset primarily make cordless landline phones? I had never heard about them before, I doubt their smartphones are popular anywhere outside of Germany.

[@krixpop]

@@Eddies_Bra-att-ha-grejer Gigaset is selling over here in Belgium as well by both greatest internet/mobile providers, Proximus and Telenet. I am planning to buy one this winter. It has good reviews and is exactly what I need . (not much of a mobile-zombie anyway lol)

[@muhitulalam5068]

I'm literally doing a Brand analysis University assignment on Sony, this video could not have timed any better.

[@aminesaadhalioua6416]

Godly luck 😂😂

[@ytlurker220]

I think Sony is making a comeback with their new phones, headphones, earphones, TVs, cameras and the PS5. That's for the consumer business - they still have many other successful divisions for movies, music, insurance etc.

[@dinozaurpickupline4221]

In Britain

[@SonyEnthusiast]

How's it going? I'm the number one Sony Fan that made a Sony channel kzbin.info how's your Sony project going?

[@SonyEnthusiast]

@@ytlurker220 true

[@ibrahimhasaan65]

It's sad to see that diversity of smartphone companies is decreasing. USA, China and Korea are the only three countries that sell phones. Europe, India, Japan and others have died

[@devashishbhavsar]

Indian brands are coming back eg micromax

[@lolcat]

@@devashishbhavsar never heard of them

[@mourgos1234]

USA doesnt sell anything, all iphones are made in China 😛

[@josir1994]

If not bothering with the US market is dead then I might prefer these brands to stay away from the United Slaves of Apple, save some more resources for R&D and sell products to people appreciating their style

[@abhikdoesthings]

@@lolcat You've never heard before is because Micromax is a local brand in India, once it was the most selling smartphone brand in India, now is completely irrelevant after the coming of Chinese smartphone wave in India

[@JKTravelsShow]

When I visited Japan in 2017, it blew my mind 90% of people had the same-looking iPhone 6/6S/7.

[@arx117]

Because japanese software suck.

[@KallusGarnet]

@@arx117 yes this is very true

[@walnut9472]

@@arx117 But they are good at hardware

[@thebravegallade731]

@@arx117 not really, when you look at game companies

[@askyourmama5862]

@@arx117 Ever played some games dude?

[@africa_everyday]

Your content is always unique .

[@_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-]

Your comment is always unique.

[@khmerkandal121]

Weren't you from atomic shrimp? ,

[@africa_everyday]

@@khmerkandal121 yes 👍, I am.

[@timothyrahughes]

Ur

[@khmerkandal121]

@@africa_everyday nice!

[@Rationalific]

It is quite sad. For decades, I've been interested in Japan. From 2001-2002, I studied abroad there and was blown away by the phones. They seemed at least a decade, if not more, ahead of what was in the West. While we had small black and white integrated screens without internet for the most part, they had flip-phones that allowed for much larger, full-color screens with at least a version of the internet, songs, and many other features. I went back to Japan in 2005 to teach English and again saw their amazing phones, while we languished. (Finnish) Nokia, which was among the most popular Western brands, was no match against Japanese phones. Then, I came home for vacation in the winter of 2007, and I went to a Barnes & Noble with my friend, and they were selling the iPhone. I was shocked, as this phone with an even bigger screen seemed like a leap over the Japanese competition, but it still looked like it could be a fight, as all the 3rd-party apps and such were not yet available. But soon, it became clear that the iPhone and Android Phones were going to dominate. In the year 2010, I finally got my first smartphone in Japan. I was a rebel. It wasn't an iPhone or a Japanese phone (which were mostly still feature phones at the time). It was a Taiwanese HTC Desire HD. And that changed everything phone-wise for me. And although HTC met the same fate as many of the Japanese companies, I currently (in America) use an Android phone...now the Chinese OnePlus 5, which gives me a good value for the price. I'm sad to see what happened to Japan not only in terms of being a cell phone pioneer, but also being the country that produced the most and best video games, although they are still doing better with video games than cell phones. Even so, the provider-specific experiences needed to end, because they had too much power to determine what was possible or no on your phone. That's another reason I have never owned an Apple product, and instead use Android. I have more freedom and options. That was a good change. But I do miss Japan being at the cutting edge of technology.

[@mikehawk287]

It's the nature of business in Japan, they aim to survive, they don't compete.

[@charlech]

Japan's strong entrepreneurial spirit died a long time ago, while America is able to consistently produce legendary entrepreneurs. The number of strong entrepreneurs is what fundamentally determines the strength of your empire.

[@apathak34]

@@charlech Why do you think it died?

[@Roger-zi3xq]

Lived there a few years during pre iPhone era and was baffled by the tech in their flipphones at the time. Was so sad seeing they gave up their head start while visiting last year.

[@mikehawk287]

@@charlech It's not even close to death, you didn't read my reply. For example Toyota is the #1 best selling car brand in the world, and there's a reason for that: every other car companies are competing, they tune engines to produce more power year after year, they change engines, they change transmission, and they try to produce a lot of cars in a short time, and at the end, their chance of failure is high. However, Toyota doesn't do that, a 2020 Toyota Hilux uses the same engine that was designed in 2004, Toyota doesn't play with the rest of the kids. Now this Japanese strategy works well if you sell cars to 30-40 year old men who work smart and understand reason, but if you sell smartphones in this way to 7-16 year old kids, you would end up like Sony, kids don't understand reason, you have to jingle keys in front of them.

[@benrichardson1941]

Very well researched, and well written documentary. I lived in Tokyo from 2000-2004 and had engineering friends who worked NTT Docomo at the time, and they having come from Italy at the time were completely blown away by the technology available at the time to average consumer. It was nice to be able to switch up from the PHS, which I had through High School, I-Mode was a game changer.

[@kuljeetsingh9]

I worked on some of these FOMA phones, it's hard to believe how ahead of time they were with face recognition, video and audio editing and digital payments years ahead of rest of the world. I believe part of their downfall is they never really tried to sell them outside of Japan.

[@archimedes2261]

Throw in Canada we once dominated the global smartphone market remember when blackberry was a must have phone just over a decade ago?? 😄

[@snowdog03]

Drug dealers still use them.

[@archimedes2261]

@@snowdog03 Not technical but I believe back then the hype was mostly because it was more secure drug dealing is business too 😄

[@ameerikbal8160]

I do remember when blackberry was the real deal. Having a blackberry in india is like you are royalty.

[@archimedes2261]

@@ameerikbal8160 indeed I had a blackberry in 2009-10 and it was the best thing at the time most business people had it as their primary phone.

[@RoodeMenon]

That's Canadian? Blackberry's were sought after by businessmen.

[@user-dt6ld7yy8j]

When first iPhone came to Japan Japanese phones could do: watch TV, work for a week without charging, use as an e-wallet, high-resolution camera what iPhone was better at: the internet

[@hrs.ai2018]

The hi-res at that time is different from today. Compare to these day those are not hi enough. hence today smartphone consume more power resource than before. If you attach the same batery that were using during nokia era, the phone would going to black out sooner.

[@damnfreakingsien]

correction what the iPhone was better at: the Internet, means of navigation, has an app store

[@Jiterdomer]

There's also a high tech watches too that Japan didn't do in 2000s.

[@bnstndrd]

The Japanese phones were awesome.

[@alexejvornoskov6580]

@@damnfreakingsien didnt had half of that at the start... first iphone was only good for internet browsing - at the time where most sites wernt optimized for it = it was bad even at that.

[@shintarotakagi2440]

Thank you for the video. I live in Japan and I think Japanese phones are really weird. Also in Japan, Japanese phones are called garake or Galápagos phone literally means that the phones evolved within Japan so I wonder how foreigners see these Japanese phones to be honest. Also, people in Japan are really loyal for Apple so it is more likely to buy a iphone by any chance.

[@franciscoflamenco]

So that's where the name comes from. When I first arrived to Japan and attempted to buy a SIM card, I was a bit confused by this term that seemed to apply to feature phones.

[@ummerfarooq5383]

Inward looking Japan is always weird.

[@LeoMkII]

I mean, If I was japanese I'd buy Iphone too rather than buying korean or chinese stuff

[@zethloveless7238]

@@LeoMkII iPhones are Chinese my dude. As I type this on a 13 pro max

[@gumott]

Man, I used to love Sony smartphones, their design was super simple and refined, sadly I never coul afford one because other manufacturers had cheaper phones with comparable specs.

[@MyJunkyard]

I'm a Japanese, and I'm glad to see tech people talk about Japan's mobile phone situation in English!

[@dev1lm4n63]

Only person who doesn't post videos while I'm sleeping

[@Connie_TinuityError]

what's your time zone?

[@Arya_amsha]

because he lives in Europe

[@pepkin88]

Why does it matter at what hour someone publishes their video? You can watch it whenever you like.

[@muddi900]

"But then Sony acquired a relatively tiny entertainment company and it started to massively screw up. When MP3 rolled around and Sony's walkman customers were clamoring for a solid-state MP3 player, Sony let its music business-unit run its show: instead of making a high-capacity MP3 walkman, Sony shipped its Music Clips, low-capacity devices that played brain-damaged DRM formats like Real and OpenMG. They spent good money engineering "features" into these devices that kept their customers from freely moving their music back and forth between their devices. Customers stayed away in droves. Today, Sony is dead in the water when it comes to walkmen. The market leaders are poky Singaporean outfits like Creative Labs - the kind of company that Sony used to crush like a bug, back before it got borged by its entertainment unit - and PC companies like Apple." -Cory Dotorow, 2007

[@franklingoodwin]

Yeah, Sony screwed up the Walkman brand up big time. All they had to do was release a good MP3 player and the iPod wouldn't have been able to touch it in terms of popularity. People forget that Apple weren't that popular at all before the iPod

[@PurgatoryPriest]

Sony eventually became what they rebelled against in the 70's with the Video Tape Recorder, pissing off the motion picture industry, so much so that the US government went after Sony, wanting to ban imports unless Sony stopped making "VCR's", they ended up compromising, then several years down the road, they go & buy Columbia and the rest is history, they became DRM crazy. Were you recording their copyrighted properties (or attempting to circumvent the idiotic & proprietary embedded software) ? Well, you're not allowed or sued! Then not long after, you would have an out of date, useless tech, obsolescence at its highest, I'll never forgive you Sony. Ahhh Karma, my old friend, hello there. I'm not feeling sorry for Sony, their bed, all 100% made by them, now they can lie forever in it. 😴

[@wyw201]

Sony is still the market leader in high end MP3 players right now. It’s zx300, 507 and even wm lines have been selling out everywhere.

[@feiticeirafatale561]

@@franklingoodwin iPod story is much more complicated than than. It was stroke of a genius really - Apple united Big 4 of publishers and got most popular library of music available. Steve even made such a deal that companies were so sure that they got better of Apple and iPod - and they were completly wrong. See, Apple didnt made billions by selling iPod - no, the iTunes store made them rich. Publishers couldnt care less about "digital file" and were more into "CDs" but they were trying to prevent piracy and by signing such a deal, to make up for a loss that "piracy" make, they legalized digital music and literally dug their own graves. Whos buying CDs now? Or any other proprietary format? No one. And furthermore - Audio CD is made by Philips and Sony! Sony made money out of every single Audio CD sale in the world. And that is why they were never into "mp3 players" seriously. Apple destroyed music industry by iPod and iTunes - and don get me started on their ban because another company named "Apple Inc" and in the ownership by Beatles (yes, those Beatles) filed complained about Apple 15 years before iPod! This was Steve Jobs revange against everyone and it was as ruthless as possible. Sure, music industry would be destroyed by internet eventually but Steve Jobs made a lot of money before internet ever took a swing. And best part of it - hes foreseen all of this before anyone else and that is why Apple even made iPod - to make money while theres still time.

[@franklingoodwin]

@@feiticeirafatale561 The thing is, Sony actually own most of the big record labels. So it wasn't as genius as you claim. It was more a case of Sony shooting themselves in the foot and Apple taking advantage. Something they couldn't have done otherwise. Apple didn't have the industry clout before the iPod, considering they were saved from bankruptcy by Bill Gates only a couple of years before

[@exxodas]

Japan had the potential to dominate the mobile industry forever, but they refused to export their cutting edge technologies to the USA. It is one of the costliest mistakes Japan has ever made.

[@cb250nighthawk3]

They got secretly sanctioned for that.

[@KallusGarnet]

@@cb250nighthawk3 yes this is true sadly.

[@USandGlobal]

Sure they did😂, they just failed to see the future.

[@Dongzzzzzz]

It's their weird ass logic of Japan only, like how they do it on their entertainment and cars.

[@ClockworksOfGL]

Japan can be quite insular, their local market is....different. Successful Japanese companies seem to make a conscious effort to be more “open”. Toyota and Honda, for example, have kept design bureaus in the US for decades.

[@andoreh]

I am just sitting here, watching this video in a Xperia phone (my 4th Sony phone in my lifetime) and just wishing that Sony keeps manufacturing (and selling well) new phones.

[@iamdave84]

Yeah, I also hope they continue. My daily phones were all Sony from 2002 to 2017, then I got a stupid good deal on the S8 and then upgraded to Note 10+. I'll definately consider what Sony has on offer when I decide to upgrade again. We know Sony's camera hardware is top notch and the manual mode gives awesome level of control, but I think Pixel and Galaxy phones tend to take nicer photos on full auto mode at the moment. That's just software lacking, so hopefully it improves with updates or gcam works well.

[@hrs.ai2018]

Sony was too proud for their past glory and refuse to adopt new better tech that not from in-house. My guess all japam tech compamy almost having the same style

[@joelshajan8706]

They finally made a sleeper hit this year,there is yet hope

[@aerotive]

A few years ago Sony released some phones in the US that had fingerprint sensors installed but that had been intentionally disabled. Supposedly because Sony wouldn't pay for some patent licenses. At that point I knew they were done.

[@rashadarbab2769]

That’s because Japan thinks software engineering is a second rate science. They are all about having the best hardware engineers and working in the lab to physically make better products. Instead of using software to make better products.

[@neoqueto]

You forgot one thing: Japan invented emoji.

[@feiticeirafatale561]

Emoji`s were here from the start of computers. Yes, they were symbols at that time but that was emojis for sure.

[@Mkhl4Sure]

@@feiticeirafatale561 those were emoticons, not emoji's

[@HERKELMERKEL]

i was using those since 1990s and 2000s.. when there was icq and msn messenger .. i still use :) ;) :D .. since my keyboard doesnt have emoji button :lol:

[@Mkhl4Sure]

@@HERKELMERKEL what keyboard or phone do you use, trying to figure why the keyboard doesn't a dedicated emoji in 2020

[@neoqueto]

Emoji is a text encoding standard first and foremost.

[@sloppynyuszi]

When I first went to Japan in 2000, I was amazed how far in the future everything was, but it pretty much stagnated since. Last time I was there in 2017 I still couldn’t get a regular throw away SIM card. Had to get a wifi box that I had to return at the airport or pay a big fine if I lose it. And honestly it’s fun, kitschy, but totally stuck in the past with their tech.

[@erejnion]

Sony has a problem that other brands have "solved": I have bought just two Sony phones over the last decade. First lasted 5 years, the second is in its 4th year and is still going strong. Most other phones will disintegrate in such periods of time - especially after being dropped on the street dozens of times.

[@TheRoniverseOfficial]

when reliability and ruggedness are actually a disadvantage for your company... this is why we consumers are doomed

[@Sakuyushi]

This is the same case with Apple (apart from dropping the phone part), with their 4-5 years of software support. I myself is still rocking the iPhone 8 . Sony phones simply do not have any deal-breaking features. Pixel: cameras; Apple: seamless exp.; Samsung: cameras and featuers; Chinese brands: price

[@v3xman]

How's the software update though

[@ihl0700677525]

I dunno.. My Sony-Ericsson phone (IIRC it was "T-280" or something, from late 2000s) it lasted for ~2 years. It works well till, suddenly, it start buzzing super-annoying high pitch noise out of nowhere. Then I bought Samsung Galaxy Note (the first gen) and it lasted for 6+ years, and still running rn (it has battery issue, but that's pretty much it). My current smartphone (Galaxy Note 5) is about 4-5 yo now, and still running well. My colleague's iPhone 4s also lasted ~7 years till she upgraded to iPhone Xs (which is ~2 yo at this point).

[@apathak34]

That's not the reason lol.

[@zastanawiamsie2809]

I just watched "Steins;Gate" anime where everybody uses mails instead of sms or message apps and I was quite suprised by that. Even though the action is placed in 2010, so after the peak of the carrier services, thanks to your video I understand where that came from, thanks :) That's somehow sad that this innovative approach of japanese technology was replaced by some generic all the same smartphones.

[@lokasz9]

I literally bought Xperia 1 II yesterday..

[@GURCISTANAZERISI]

it is a good phone. at least sony gives you a quality on their phones.

[@tebasnineone]

@@GURCISTANAZERISI Precisely, but sadly iphone just stomp it all mercilessly.

[@mrfatah4510]

Bought the same phone which is amazing, I am a Sony man since Xperia X8.

[@StraightcheD]

Same, xperia has been good since a couple of years ago.

[@lokasz9]

Once you get an Xperia, you can never go back. Such a good phones

[@gitcat6671]

Hope you cover the success story of Korea as well because they also had a dominating phone carrier with a proprietary app platform. So tight that the first iPhone that came into the market was iPhone 3GS in late 2009, and it almost didn't make it because it had WiFi. It would be a great case study against Japan.

[@hakimzah]

One of Sony problems is naming their phone using google's autogenerated password

[@lakshmananr6068]

One of the best top tech KZbin channel..

[@jasejj]

You hit the nail on the head with the commodity thing. There is no skill in manufacturing smartphones - it's all about specification and to improve the spec, you just replace one part with another. Any monkey can produce a competitive product now, you just need good marketing and cheap manufacturing. The clever part is the software. There is nowhere for the Japanese to differentiate. If a phone is 20% more expensive than the next guy's for the same specification and doesn't have an Apple logo on it, it gets ignored. Exactly as happened to the PC and laptop markets. Commodity products.

[@sergiogutzalenko3520]

I worked in the wireless space for about 16 years, one of the big factor is I think, in the US market, that’s brought down so many brands is companies like AT&T and Verizon choosing winners and losers. Basically, once a brand falls out of popularity, even if they make some really nice devices most carriers won’t pick them up forcing them to go unlocked and in the American market that’s gonna be minuscule sales

[@djdrastic1]

Underrated comment

[@deeppatel4737]

Japan has missed such an important market, where South Korea and China have taken almost all of it.

[@mourgos1234]

Not South Korea, only Samsung.

[@etnevel.naitzsirk]

@@mourgos1234 Then what about LG?

[@mourgos1234]

@@etnevel.naitzsirk they has really small market margin

[@Roger-zi3xq]

True. It seems by trying to strengthen their local market and boycotting chinese korean phonemakers they lost the quick moving race within the smartphonemarket

[@itwipsy17]

@@mourgos1234 lol!

[@SeoWoojin55]

Update: Now, Samsung holds around 15% of the Japanese market share. Samsung steals the 2nd spot in the Japanese market from local manufacturer Sharp. Sony drops off the top 5 list and Oppp gains ground in Japan too.

[@yusefkh862]

"And that i think is quite sad..., ANYWAY..." That's quite a transition! 9:03

[@armadillito]

It was uncharacteristically sudden and harsh

[@JFPickus]

Watching on my Sony Xperia 1 II. I love this phone.

[@martineyles]

Same here!

[@TarekMidani]

Legendary phone. I'll still dreaming to have one

[@Dregenism]

Me too :D

[@cpuid8266]

i wish i had one, but the price..hmm

[@heroiamarelo]

It's a good phone but without a 120hz screen and way too experience!

[@frapippo420]

Here in Italy there was one phone operator who attempted to launch an i-mode internet service in 2003 (in partnership with a japanese operator), but it failed pretty quickly.

[@pncake_]

Here in the Philippines, almost all local phone companies have already stopped creating new smartphones. I have concluded in my research that only Cherry Mobile is the only one left. Everyone else is still selling their products but they are old and crappy phones and they don't create new ones anymore.

[@saswatsarangi6669]

Digital TV streaming. What da duck. That's why I wonder why in Anime everything happens in those flip phones, their flip phones were on high tech

[@KoushiroIzumi85]

It wasn't Digital TV "streaming" like the uploader describes it. The phones in Japan are actually capable of receiving digital TV broadcasts. This was before streaming was a thing.

[@fenn_fren]

@@KoushiroIzumi85 I remember having a pocket TV. Man, how the times have changed.

[@MrRodrigo1250]

In my country (Brazil) there are some Galaxy phones capable of receiving digital TV too! U don't even need a data plan for that, cause it's free.

[@709466ok]

@@MrRodrigo1250 They are Korean models.

[@lutenic6111]

This is one of the best episode you have done in this series so far. Real quality content. Keep it up!

[@kartikgada6782]

For the documentaries, do meet current executives of HMD Global and ask what's going on inside. They are destroying Nokia phones.

[@kartikgada6782]

@Silvester You really see Nokia phones as competitive? Nokia doesn't even come in top 10 smartphone brands in the world.

[@kartikgada6782]

@@jl86_ Their marketing and advertising is weak compared to big brands.

[@apathak34]

Nokia was destroyed long back

[@kartikgada6782]

@Silvester You are ill-informed. Nokia phones didn't exist for 2-3 years before HMD brought them back in 2017.

[@jofx4051]

It relies on people simping them to buy and realize it sucks more than china phones

[@ReinoldFZ]

Funny thing that the iPhone, or at least I feel that way, is more Japanese than Japanese cellphones, with that simplicity and care in all the details of the experience. Said that I love my Sharp Sh06D evangelion edition. I only would wish batteries would be generic so I could have more life of it :c

[@sariosario6631]

Sony : 1. Refuse to listen to customer 2. Bad spec to price 3. Can't fill the low and mid price range

[@pinkywinky911]

I started living in Japan from 2003. I brought with me my unusable Nokia 3310. One day mom showed my phone to her Japanese friends and they all thought it was a toy. 😅 Japan made phones were packed with features like internet and TV and I remember seeing the various models displayed on the shops. They were really ahead from the rest of the world. My last Japanese phone was a Sony Experia back in 2011 and it sucked big time. It’s just way more easier to own an iphone now. But yeah I kinda miss it when Japanese phones were kings here. 😅

[@stephintheatre6335]

I still have my Xperia, I'll never use an apple phone

[@Sabundy]

It's insane how far ahead Japan was in the early 2000s 😮......it makes one wonder what could have been if they focused on and pursued the global market at that time instead of almost exclusively making their phones for the domestic market....

[@JoaoPedro-gc8mw]

I remember that. I lived in Japan from 2004 to 2008. When I came back to Brazil, just before the IPhone became a thing, it was like if I went back in time lol

[@Lvlaple4Ever]

Why did their mobile payment seemingly regressed with them preferring to use cash now if they had NFC payment back in the 2000s?

[@kristijangrgic9841]

Some people prefer cash due to privacy. In Europe as well like Germany for example. Cash is the king.

[@ademkaragoz4104]

@@kristijangrgic9841 Well, I live in Germany yet I use NFC Payment

[@kristijangrgic9841]

@@ademkaragoz4104 i dont really care but thank you for your information

[@jeffersonbezerrachaves8152]

@@kristijangrgic9841 wtf dude

[@grimreaper2948]

I used Xperia before... The phone function and settings feels like a constant struggle to solve a puzzle in one of those classic Japanese video games. My first and last for Japanese smartphones.

[@ashraf.manjothi]

I love Xperia phones since Xperia S was introduced. I'd love to own Xperia 5 II but sadly they no more sell in India.

[@sasorishino]

Well, the smartphone industry has basically stagnated TBH, it will just get cheaper as more manufacturers will be sprouting from different countries.

[@LeoMkII]

@-Can Ameri- I disagree, that's how Xiaomi, oppo and others became what they are, when pretty much all phones and their parts are assembled by the same company there's nothing much more than price to tempt the people

[@KoushiroIzumi85]

At 0:26 "And just a few years later, phones like the Sharp 912SH became commonplace in Japan supporting contactless mobile payments, cameras with 3 or more megapixels, digital TV streaming and more" Uhh, actually their phones were capable of receiving digital TV broadcasts (1seg) so you can't really call it "streaming". That's why a lot of them had those pull-out antennas.

[@Joecagar]

6:23 just letting you know about the differentiation spelling error! Also the Sony Xperia xz1 was the most ergonomic and satisfying phone to use (fingerprint sensor was a big part)..if only the camera wasn't awful 😔

[@andrewverden459]

Xperia cameras are eternal meme.

[@AKK5I]

@@andrewverden459 they really are. It was hyped that their camera would magically become the best in the market every release, from the Xperia Z3, the Z5, the XZ (2 and then 3) and now the Xperia 1 (and ii) yet the results never spoke

[@Joecagar]

@Omar Valentini absolutely mad. I think the quality of the lens was the weakest link to be honest. Tech altar might even have said it but they had no incentive to put amazing sensors in their phones because then people wouldn't buy their cameras 🥲

[@lotfibenhammou916]

I don't think there's a problem with the lenses, it's probably a software issue

[@andrewverden459]

@@lotfibenhammou916 undoubtedly, Xperia camera software lags behind the competition (Sony used to act like they were monopolists and there was no competition at all), but lens flares which were noticeable in XZ2/XZ3 at night (and nearly absent since XZ Premium) are to my view signs of low-quality camera hardware (optics). * Certain gear, such as prime lenses are less prone to lens flare than others. One reason for this is because they have fewer internal parts for the light to disperse through. Additionally, coated filters, while more expensive than regular filters, are also less prone to lens flare than regular filters since they don’t smudge as easily.

[@NoVisionGuy]

My first Sony smartphone was Sony Xperia Z, I still think that phone has the best music player I had. I couldn't buy any Sony phones after that since Sony phased out in my country..

[@tubeliac]

Basically they did the same screw up IBM did in the 80's. Invest heavy in hardware, keep software on the backburner. Smartphones and personal computers pretty much had the same arc

[@stra9761]

Japanese brands did better than IBM in the 70's and 80's

[@eniolapeters90]

Gaming actually saved Sony. PlayStation is one very important part of the whole company that'll live very long.

[@Kreska0]

What killed them was the issue with proximity sensor on Z3 and Z5 that was happening to almost every user. When contracts finished customers moved away from the brand.

[@evanh9301]

The fall of Japanese economy in general

[@random123games6]

I had a Xperia 10 plus, which died 3 weeks ago. I’m using an iPhone 12 Pro, a Christmas gift from my dad. When I do a replacement, I’m planning to move back to the Xperia line. I miss the tall and narrow form factor. The screen looked amazing for movies and multitasking, and it was lcd. I really want to see how it looks on the (edit:OLED) variants. I love stock Android, and getting used to iOS after not using it for 2 years is a pain. I miss the freedom of Android, though I appreciate face time, Apple Pay, iMessages, and the security of iPhone.

[@osamashaher3772]

Never too late to sell

[@CHITYLLIEnt]

I'm currently using the Sony Xperia XZ, Bruh! It has Awesome Camera

[@existentialcrisis9757]

Great for video recording

[@Lolimaster]

Between 2000-2008 japanese phones were like science fiction for the rest of the world, literally 1-2 decades ahead at least in integration/ideas.

[@haroldasraz]

It is also interesting what happened to Japanese robotics and especially Asimo from Honda. Now Boston dynamics seems to be way ahead in bipedal motion amongst others.

[@cwfqayin]

When I went to japan 12 years ago, I was fascinated by Japanese mobile phones so much. Eventhough back then I used Nokia 6600 which by then is not the current generation Symbian, it was still a smartphone that support native 3rd party apps and multitasking, but when I compare it to Japanese 3G FOMA phone, I felt that my Nokia is just a toy. The other problems of Japanese phone maker is software. After iPhone became mainstream in Japan. The other carriers that still had not started selling iPhone back then tried to market their own Android phone as an alternative. A problem was that they try to build in all the custom services on top of Android and it became bloated. It makes Japanese people assume that Android is worse than iPhone and Android reputation in the country is quite worse, compare to the other country.

[@kpn574]

Watched this episode after some time and TA has moved to better topics of interest! Nice. Looking forward to more such documentaries.

[@petouser]

Recently, Rakuten started to make their own phones. I guess they can be somewhat successful on a national level, but probably not internationally. especially since no one knows Rakuten outside of Japan.

[@thiostory]

Rakuten is a market place online .. like amazon in the usa,.

[@francis8062]

In Italy is well known

[@intoxxy]

Yes, although Rakuten is expanding to a lot of areas recently in Japan, I doubt that their business model is international-focused. Of course, vendors would want to work with Japanese companies thru Rakuten, but there is still Amazon, and their main businesses are strictly focused on Japanese customers, like the Rakuten bank, Rakuten mobile, and such.

[@teemos2732]

1. Really loved this ep 2. differeNtiation! 3. I cannot wait to see your new documentary-style videos - good luck

[@r.d.7698]

for a brief period of time in 2005 i-Mode was actually present outside Japan as a technology licensed by Russian carrier MTC from NTT DoCoMo

[@mourgos1234]

Also by Cosmote in Greece

[@linkfanandroid]

Also by Bouygues Telecom in France in 2003-2007 If I remember correctly

[@kyliandc9276]

I remember my grandma SAGEM flip phone having an I-mode button circa 2004-5 in France

[@alexwang1465]

After Nokia failed. I've used a lot of Xperia phones. I like their industrial design, which is the main reason why I buy them, but they do have many disadvantages, such as poor battery life, small memory, poor signal, unreliable waterproof and so on. I want to say that it's really normal for Sony's phones to be eliminated from the market. I haven't used other Japanese brands, so I don't evaluate them. I hope Sony can focus on the areas they are better at, such as cameras, video, hifi and Playstation.

[@ridakesserwan8712]

9:09 That's why I love your channel so much, you fulfill my curiosity and i terests without me even asking, and you go all the way and provide us with legit info that's excellently scripted a cookie can understand, thanks man.

[@mikeshoults4155]

In Japan hardware is considered more important than software. A software engineer is an entry position and not well respected. Apple, Amazon and Google built their companies around software. That's why they outpaced Japanese rivals. In Japan they considered firmware and UI as an afterthought. In America it's the selling feature. Also Most of the owners of companies are old men in their 80s who still have their minds stuck in the 90s. They still can't comprehend the importance of software. They still treat their software engineers like crap

[@tsuba14]

I've always had love-hate with Sony. They make some great platforms and then try to screw the consumer by forcing narrow proprietary standards that always end up disappearing (cords, memory cards, etc.). thank goodness for standards like USB.

[@toshineon]

Remember that weird connector Sony Ericsson's phones had that was used for both charging and headphones? Those sucked.

[@milesthomas932]

Nice explanation. I was in Japan in the early 2000s. I thought wow these phones are amazing. I can't wait until they come to the states. Now I get why that never happened. Never forget the mini disk!

[@MegaAnirudhsharma]

I always wanted to know this. I would buy Sony anyday over Apple or Samsung phones. But they don't sell phones in India anymore.

[@Yamaguchi2Chris]

anirudh sharma use Nokia

[@SeoWoojin55]

I would buy Samsung and Apple over Sony anyday. Sony has terrible software, bad software support, terrible battery life. Sony is only good for Playstation consoles and cameras now.

[@chrisd6287]

This was unbelievably cool and informative. Our tech truly was inferior in the West.

[@MiddleMan5]

Apple really flip the whole telecomunication industry upside down. Everywhere i go, I see Apple.

[@MichaelSmith-cl1uo]

Before the rise of apple and Samsung I found japanese phones were 5yrs ahead of it's time. I remember a japan girl showing me her flip phone with cameras and video chat I was blown away at the time.

[@eriksantoso1741]

Simple japanese product is known never to die,durability so strong,reliable. that the reason japanese product was not making innovative again because the product is always long lasting.

[@rahimimusamuhdzakaria3445]

China make cheaper smartphone while Japan make little expensive smartphone

[@makatron]

I remember back in 2004 I had a Sanyo flip phone with a 0.8 megapixel camera and I thought it was amazing. Sony has released good phones lately but needs to give marketing a bigger budget.

[@markc312]

I Miss ALL those Quirky Phones from the 2000’s. I owned a Sidekick & a Samsung Upstage in both Red & Black; those Two Phones were very Quirky.

[@user10476]

I actually bought my first Sony phone this year - an Xperia 5 II.

[@gcc4426]

you deserve MORE views and recognition than what you have right now, really.

[@iNaurto04]

JAPAN POPULARIZE JAPANESE PHONES CHALLENGE

[@breaky73]

Same thing happened to also most other consumer tech. TV's are mostly Korean branded and computers and laptops are made in China/Taiwan. All of the rest is mostly OEM tech made in China and just rebranded, depending on the market. Only cameras are still mostly Japanese brands.

[@willybyun1834]

Without technology, Japan will die out like their elderly . 5 years they will be a footnote. LOL

[@keangimawaiotebwa4069]

I really expect japanese own companies to express their own opinions or ideas so we can do something else

[@touwaxsdr8998]

In relation to the laptops, and as a technician on a service delivery company I really don't know why the Japanese manufacturers lost the market. I have worked in many projects where they replaced the Fujitsu ones by Lenovo, and they were horrible. Something I never saw before as for example, brand new laptops with the keyboard not working, USB ports not working or battery swollen.... This is what some of the actual brands are delivering... maybe they won because they are offering better prices than Fujitsu or Toshiba... but the shit they are selling is unbelievable...

[@OdysseyTag]

This was a stellar video. Love the clear research that went into this - I recognised all the Japanese electronic brands mentioned funny enough.

[@mehranshowkat09]

THe transition to skill share was SMOOOTH

[@paolochicco7200]

Yes: it’s sad…especially for someone like me who lives in Tokyo since 2006 and saw the rise and fall of local electronic 😢

[@alaharon1233]

Sony actually has the best flagships of this gen with the Xperia 1 II and Xperia 5 II

[@mikldude9376]

Hmmm , to each his own matey , for some time i always thought i might like to try a sony phone , and i own other sony stuff , but they rarely seem to hit the spot with form factor or features on their phones , the last good sony phone i thought was heading in the right direction was the XZ premium , and then they went all weird with the stupidly annoying super tall thin form factor like a tv remote , not to mention while other phone brands upped their battery size , sony like googles pixel seemed reluctant to fit them and also reluctant to make a phablet phone like samsung or other makers , we could add to that , iirc sony the company that was known for music and media threw away the 3.5 mm earphone jack to follow other brands and then finally brought it back probably in an act of desperation . It seems to me Sony could have done a lot more with their phone models to make them more attractive too mass buyers , but instead drove a lot away . ..

[@alaharon1233]

@@mikldude9376 That's why the Xperia 5 II looks so good. Great battery, headphone jack, great screen, etc. It ticks every box unlike last generation

[@sariosario6631]

I love sony since Sony Ericsson but sales numbers speak the truth that even Xiaomi is better than Sony now. Manufactured the best products is not enough nowadays

[@alaharon1233]

@@sariosario6631 better at selling phones, sure. Doesn't mean their phones are better tho

[@sariosario6631]

@@alaharon1233 as I said before, create the best phone doesn't enough now..... Sony and LG are example of company that have the best innovations in technologies but crap in marketing.... and if they keep doing that someday there will be no Sony and LG phones we can buy.... I kept my Sony Ericsson cellphone because it's the best android 2 phone ever, it still work fine, it once has the best spec to price ratio

[@jimik89]

I had a Sony Xperia Z. It was a poor quality phone, was replaced a few months later by a new model and quickly stopped getting software updates. Not exactly things that are going to breed repeat custom

[@oisinq]

I really liked this video, the pacing felt so much more professional which I really liked!

[@TechAltar]

Glad to hear it!

[@JayJay-vd4jp]

I remember back in the days, it was always Japan with the newest tech, oh how things has changed now….

[@manojk5679]

There is also problem of aged population compared to all of its neighbours at that time also made sure that enthusiast market to die out slowly. No surprise they are still using lot of feature phone even though they can afford smartphones like my mother

[@testtestmann3155]

I have not got what he said. Please tell me what relations are between aged population, enthuasist market, and feature phone.

[@chinnimanikrishna9823]

It's not a problem if they are comfortable with using feature phones let them use it,why should they be forced into new tech.

[@shivangswain]

@@testtestmann3155 The 90s & 00s Japan had a lot of young tech saavy "enthusiast" flip-phone users who right now are in their 50s and 60s and still haven't moved on to the smartphone space after their first comfortable interaction with the flip-phone world (which right now would be called a feature phone).

[@manojk5679]

@@testtestmann3155 just like my father doesn’t care about what megapixel camera he got it his 3 year old phone, Japanese aged population doesn’t care about all the new innovations coming to smartphones unlike in their golden age pf 80s and 90s. Thats why younger markets like India are more tech savvy than East Asian or European countries which has their average age in mid 40s and India has average age of 29

[@unixli1069]

That's the United States stole Japan's semiconductor industry through the Plaza agreement and Section 301.

[@TheDarkever]

Classic example of isolated speciation, where one animal specie (Japan proprietary formats) evolve in their own ecosystem. But when an invasive generalist specie (iPhone and Android) enter that ecosystem, the isolated animals do not possess the skills to adapt... and they become extinct. Evolution is everywhere, including the economy.

[@jurisjancevskis9076]

Ouch

[@JP-tl8hk]

I am a loyal Sony Xperia user. Their phones are so well made.

[@OmgEinfachNurOmg]

"And this is just sad..." ANYWAY

[@raccoonstudios4458]

I have a Sony phone now. Honestly this brand is very rugged, durable, cheaper than Samsung and has higher specs, I don't get how they can't compete

[@paltrax]

I do appreciate Sony for bringing back some well beloved features, in the 1 and 5 mark two. but these days that just isn't enough. but to be fair, no one rules forever see Nokia and HTC.