iPhone is doing better in Japan than Wired.com expected … much better! Nikkei.net has posted a report on Japanese tech market research company’s (BCN’s) survey of Japanese handset sales. This was not just a tiny sampling. 2,300 stores that sell mobile phones participated in the BCN survey. The results? In the smartphone category, the iPhone 3G 8GB easily came in at number one followed by the 16GB iPhone. The NTT CoCoMo Aquos SH-04A came in at number three. The iPhone 3GS launched just days ago (too late for the BCN survey) and with its enhanced camera and video capability, it’s a fair bet that iPhone 3GS will quickly move up the list of hot 
smartphones in Japan.
Smartphone best sellers in Japan:
- iPhone 3G 8GB
- iPhone 3G 16GB
- Aquos SH-04A
- Shiho Hishida poses with her new Apple iPhone
The report said that while ordinary cellphone sales are plummeting, smartphone sales have grown by nearly 80 percent in a year.
Perhaps it’s time for Wired.com to re-write (again) their anti-iPhone hit piece (Why the Japanese Hate iPhone)? It seems that carrying an iPhone in Japan doesn’t make you “look pretty lame” as Wired erroneously concluded.
