Abstract
In this report, the smartphone is defined as two types; smartphone in a broad
sense and in a narrow sense. The smartphone in a broad sense refers to a
device that provides more PDA-like functions than the existing handsets,
regardless of the type of operating system (OS). But in a narrow sense,
smartphone refers to a device that is equipped with Symbian UIQ, Nokia
S60/S80, Windows Mobile, Palm, Linux OS and BlackBerry. This report focuses
mainly on smartphones in the narrow sense. NTT DoCoMo' s MOAP devices with
sales reaching to 20 million fall into the category of broad-sense
smartphones, therefore those are not included in this report.
The Japanese smartphone market size is estimated to have grown to about
600,000 in 2006 from about 100,000 in 2005 thanks to the expansion of the
business market and increase in models. To forecast the smartphone market
beyond 2007, early-state Japanese notebook PC and mobile handset markets in
the mid-1990s were analyzed; the smartphone market was compared with notebook
PCs and handset markets to extract relations between them. The economic aspect
was also considered. The results show that the market size is expected to grow
every year by 78.6% (on the average) to reach 6 million units, occupying 13%
of the total mobile handset market.
This report is organized as follows; first, smartphone definition and user
analysis are provided. Main operating systems of smartphones are analyzed with
a focus on version characteristics and development trends. The current trends
and strategies among Japanese operators are examined. Finally, the report
presents opportunities and obstacles to the future growth of Japanese
smartphone market, with a conclusion at the end.
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