Japan'sSmartphone Audience Grows 43 Percent since the Beginning of 2012 while Nearly Two-Thirds of Japan’s Smartphone Population Uses an Android-Operated Device. This is according to comScore MobiLens report based on the three month average period ending June 2012.
The study surveyed more than 4,000 Japanese mobile subscribers and found Sharp to be the top mobile handset manufacturer overall with 22.6 percent market share. Google’s Android platform accounted for the majority of smartphone market at 64.1 percent, followed by Apple with 32.3 percent of the market.
Sharp Leads as Top Device Manufacturer
For the three-month average period ending in June, 102.7 million people age 13 and older used mobile devices in Japan (feature phone and smartphone devices).
Device manufacturer Sharp ranked as the top OEM with 22.6 percent of Japanese mobile subscribers, followed by Panasonic with 13.6 percent share. Fujitsu captured the #3 ranking in June with 11.8 percent of mobile subscribers, followed by NEC at 8.9 percent and Sony at 7.9 percent to round out the top five.
Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending Jun. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2012 Total Japan Mobile Subscribers (Smartphone & Non-Smartphone) Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
| Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers |
Mar-12 | Jun-12 | Point Change |
Total Mobile Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
Sharp | 23.4% | 22.6% | -0.8 |
Panasonic | 13.8% | 13.6% | -0.2 |
Fujitsu | 11.9% | 11.8% | -0.1 |
NEC | 9.5% | 8.9% | -0.6 |
Sony | 7.2% | 7.9% | 0.7 |
Android Accounts for Majority of Japan’s Smartphone Market
More than 24 million people in Japan owned smartphones during the three months ending in June, representing 23.5 percent of the entire mobile population. Smartphone adoption has increased rapidly in 2012, growing 43 percent versus the end of 2011.
Android’s share of the smartphone market reached 64.1 percent (up 1.9 percentage points versus March), while Apple ranked second with 32.3 percent of the smartphone market, followed by Microsoft, which accounted for 3.2 percent share in June 2012.
Top Smartphone* Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending Jun. 2012 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2012 Total Japan Smartphone Subscribers Ages 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens |
| Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers |
Mar-12 | Jun-12 | Point Change |
Total Smartphone Subscribers | 100.0% | 100.0% | N/A |
Android | 62.2% | 64.1% | 1.9 |
Apple | 33.7% | 32.3% | -1.4 |
Microsoft | 3.7% | 3.2% | -0.5 |
Other | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.0 |