Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Revenue grows at Softbank Mobile but falls at NTT Docomo, KDDI

Technology Jul. 31, 2009 - 07:00AM JST ( 5 )

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5 Comments

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biglittlemanJul. 31, 2009 - 07:36AM JST

Iphone baby!
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DeepAir65Jul. 31, 2009 - 10:21AM JST

but why do foreigners and a lot of Japanese for that matter go with Softbank?

I was out with two guys last night both with their iPhones trying to contact another mate with, you got it, an iPhone and they could not connect with each other.

The softbank coverage is dismal. First and foremost a phone should work as a phone - the rest is gold plating.

Don't get me wrong - I have no problem with Apple products, in fact I am a fan, but Softbank on the other hand...
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AltriaJul. 31, 2009 - 10:29AM JST

Sure, their revenues increased, but how much did they spend on advertising?

They have some of the best ads around, but Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Aya Ueto, that dog and his entourage, and now the entire cast of Smap - don't come cheap. Not to mention all the airtime they have to pay for.
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HimajinJul. 31, 2009 - 10:42AM JST

Docomo and KDDI suffered respective drops of 12% and 23% in handset sales.

They make you sign a contract that you'll keep the phone for 2 years with a penalty of 18,000 or something like that for early cancellation (I'd have to look at my contract) and then they're surprised when phones don't sell? I know that some people used to change phones like they'd change their socks and that must have been a pain, but as far as phone sales go they've shot themselves in the foot.
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notimpressedJul. 31, 2009 - 10:56AM JST

Exactly Himajin.

Ye gods, I hate the protectionist, monopolising, downright greedy and unfair strategies of Japans cell providers. I miss the days of being back home where I can buy a phone from anywhere, and as long as its the right frequency I can just throw my sim in there and bin the old phone or sell it on. These kind of strategies harm the customer, restrict trade, and in the long run doesnt help the providers, because sooner or later, a better option nmay come along. Heres hoping someone comes along and undercuts the lot of them and forces them to drop the prisoncontracts.