More Japanese phones and Galapagos Syndrome

Well, this came at an opportune time. Remember when I was gushing over those Japanese phones last week? Today someone tweeted a link to this NYTimes article, which explains why they haven't been able to expand to other markets.


One of the reasons is that the phones themselves are too advanced for anyone else's infrastructures and capabilities. I knew they were years ahead of the rest of the world, but didn't realize just how much:

[Japan's] cellphones set the pace in almost every industry innovation: e-mail capabilities in 1999, camera phones in 2000, third-generation networks in 2001, full music downloads in 2002, electronic payments in 2004 and digital TV in 2005.

E-mail in 1999? That is bonkers. Apparently this conundrum has a name – Galápagos syndrome. Japan’s cellphones are like the endemic species that Darwin encountered on the Galápagos Islands — fantastically evolved and divergent from their mainland cousins — explains Takeshi Natsuno, who teaches at Tokyo’s Keio University. The only Japanese handset manufacturer that's been able to significantly move into other markets is Sony, largely because of its partnership with Swedish manufacturer Ericsson.

Another big reason for this stunted global growth is that Japanese handset hardware is what seems to get the most resources and attention – bar code readers, credit card chips, electronic built-in car keys, facial recognition, etc. This seem to put the focus on the entire experience within the handset itself, rather than how it can be used as a tool to receive information from other places.


For instance, connecting a phone to a computer is a foreign concept to them, which is one of the reasons the iPhone did so poorly in its launch there. Coincidentally, this Wall Street Journal article from today talks about Apple's and RIM's successes over other brands because of services, software and data packages. "The two accounted for only 3% of all cellphones sold in the world last year but 35% of operating profits." Guess they were onto something all along.

I wonder if Japanese manufacturers could find a way to merge their innovations and vision in hardware with other company's software advancements. Can you imagine a Japanese phone with Apple's software/services, or something like that (one can dream)? It would be even more bonkers than mobile e-mail in 1999. The NYTimes quotes Natsuno's recommendation: "Japan’s handset makers must focus more on software and must be more aggressive in hiring foreign talent, and the country’s cellphone carriers must also set their sights overseas." What do you think?

let me count the ways, Last.fm

Since I (tardily) signed up for Last.fm last summer, I've been hooked. And this morning I got just one more reason (I needed more?) to love them.

For those of you who don't know (?), Last.fm is an SNS that revolves around music. You download the software, and it records everything you listen to (they call it "scrobbling"). You can take that a step further and download iScrobbler, which pulls what you've listened to on your iPod throughout the day and adds it to your library of listened-to music. There are dozens of awesome features - it creates charts of last songs listened to, top artists of the week (ie 10 most listened-to), top tracks of the week, you get the picture. You can put these charts in your other media (MySpace, blog (mine's on the right there if you're reading this NOT through a feed reader), LiveJournal, etc.). The cool thing about Last.fm is that it's a more accurate snapshot of your music behavior than if you just listed off the bands you like, because it records your behavior rather than relying on self-reporting. (I think Noah has written about this before in a more brilliant manner than I just did.)

Many of you are familiar with this web site so I can get to my point.

Last night, I got an alert for Last.fm software updates. I installed them. Last.fm crashed. I started the app again, and it crashed again. This happened five times. I panicked. I couldn't conceive of the idea of some of my music not being scrobbled. I restarted my iBook. crashed. three times. I deleted, redownloaded and installed the program. crashed. crashed crashed.

I wrote a frantic message through their support form.

I am in a total panic. This feels like accidentally leaving my mobile phone home for an entire day. A few minutes ago I downloaded the software update (I run OS X 10.3.9), and now last.fm crashes every single time I open the application. I restarted my computer, deleted the app and redownloaded it, and nothing helps. Less than 30 seconds after I click on it in my dock, it "unexpectedly quits." Not so unexpected anymore. HELP PLEASE! I hope this is a bug and it's fixed REALLY SOON. Sad Johanna :( (please & thanks)

Yes, it was midnight and I was a bit exhausted and delerious. Despite all of that, I woke up to an email in my INBOX from them. Not a robot-generated email. A real one. From a person. They let me know that my version of OS X doesn't support the new version of Last.fm. The wonderful, wonderful news is that I was given a link to an older version of Last.fm I could download for my archaic version of OS X. I was ecstatic. I downloaded and scrobbled away.




see?! It's working again! I am thrilled and ecstatic.

I am less thrilled about my now-working software than I am about the brand itself. I not only got a response, but I got one from a real human being AND in a very (extremely) timely manner. I freaked out, fell asleep, woke up and it was solved. It's been a while since I encountered a brand that actually gave a damn, and I'm thrilled thrilled thrilled. Thank you Last.fm. I love you. times infinity.