Japan Cellphone Upgrade Survey

Seron over at What Japan Thinks posted this translated version of a survey conducted by Goo Research looking into the domestic demand of users considering a handset upgrade this summer. While the results show that perhaps 7% seem likely to buy a new model, one rather interesting result found there is the strong demand for 1Seg digital tv as a required function. Another, albeit less surprising but certainly meaningful, question relating to services confirmed that over 40% consider an unlimited data plan to be important.

Just in case you missed the mini-flood of related news, coming via Tech-on and Nikkei Electronics, in mid-June we have posted quick blurb with link for details below. The 1Seg widget coming from Yahoo looks pretty interesting and we will try to get a video demo test-drive of that one posted here ASAP!

Yahoo Japan Launches Search Service Linked with TV Programs
Yahoo Japan Corp released the “Yahoo! 1seg Widget,” a service that displays Internet information on TV programs in conjunction with 1seg broadcasts, June 10, 2008. This service targets the action patterns of new users who browse the Internet while watching TV, Yahoo said. In addition, it is also available to call chat function of “Yahoo! Messenger” from the Yahoo! 1seg Widget. Users can chat and communicate with other users that are watching the same TV program.

1seg Handset Shipments Reach 30 Mil Units in Japan
Limited to the models with built-in 1seg tuners, however, the shipments increased 88.6% YoY to 2.062 million units. They accounted for more than 50% of the overall mobile phone shipments in Japan for six consecutive months with cumulative shipments reaching 30.893 million units since the start of the survey.

Sharp to Debut ‘AQUOS Mobile Phone’ in China in June
Sharp Corp will start selling the “AQUOS mobile phone,” which is crowned with the brand name of its LCD TVs, in China in late June 2008. The mobile phone to be sold in China is the “SH9010C,” which is the “920SH” SoftBank Mobile handset suited for the Chinese market, Sharp said. The handset supports GSM communication technology, but does not support TV viewing capability, according to Sharp. It will be sold via leading mobile phone outlets and volume retailers in China.