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Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

economist.com

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Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#31

Post by rhizome31 »

zbisch wrote: post #29
flocial wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in Japan. That's the wrong example. Cell phones came with a music player, rfid (your train pass, membership cards, and TVs long before the iphone). These electronic dictionaries come bundled with several different types like English/Japanese, Oxford, etc. that would cost you a small fortune separately and most are needed for college prep and college. Using a cell phone might work but for most adults but at school…

You're spot on. When I first saw Google Wallet, I thought, "haven't Japanese cellphones been doing this for a while?" Also, I have an electronic dictionary, a DS with a dictionary game, and a phone with a dictionary. I still prefer to use my electronic dictionary when possible. The reason is simply that it is by far the best. It has the most extensive dictionary (including many computer terms), more (quantity and qua…

You also don't need to recharge dictionary. Just a little battery to change a few times a year.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#32

Post by jamesteow »

psykotic wrote: post #28
jamesteow wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that and the language (like their database offerings) and overall visual design of Heroku imply that it's a Japanese company.

Really? Suppose you went to a website for a similar kind of company but with a prominent Wild West theme, sheriff stars for buttons and products called Lasso and Six-Shooter. If I had to guess, I'd say that company was anything but American. Heroku's website oozes fanboy kitsch in much the same way. The difference is that a lot more technologists are Japanophiles than wannabe cowboys, so we don't notice as much and j…

Yeah you make a point. Same could be said about Outback Steakhouse.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#33

Post by jamesteow »

georgieporgie wrote: post #30
jamesteow wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that and the language (like their database offerings) and overall visual design of Heroku imply that it's a Japanese company.

The irony is that real Japanese company websites look nothing like Heroku. :-) http://www.rakuten.co.jp/ http://www.biccamera.com/ http://www.sony.co.jp/

Well that depends.

straightline.co.jp has plenty of Japanese websites that have a variety of visual designs.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#34

Post by psykotic »

jamesteow wrote: post #32
psykotic wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Suppose you went to a website for a similar kind of company but with a prominent Wild West theme, sheriff stars for buttons and products called Lasso and Six-Shooter. If I had to guess, I'd say that company was anything but American. Heroku's website oozes fanboy kitsch in much the same way. The difference is that a lot more technologists are Japanophiles than wannabe cowboys, so we don't notice as much and j…

Yeah you make a point. Same could be said about Outback Steakhouse.

On that note, I remember going to Black Angus Steakhouse when the first restaurant in Korea opened at Gangnam-yeok, Seoul. The greeters at the door wore cowboy-style outfits with handkerchiefs around their necks and enormous hats that almost swallowed them up. As customers entered, they would sing out an awkwardly pronounced "Howdy, partner!" in unison. Then, rather incongruously, they would bow in the customary Korean fashion.

Now, I haven't ever been to a Black Angus in the US, but I'm guessing they don't ham it up there nearly as much. :)

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#36

Post by Gring »

This reminds me of the article "Why Japan didn’t create the iPod", which adds lots of details to the same issue: http://blog.gatunka.com/2008/05/05/why-japan-didnt-create-th...

Notably, the "appliance mindset" (people own many devices which are not interacting), average japanese people not owning a PC in 2001, the popularity of gaming consoles and mobile phones.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#37

Post by bane »

Studying the history of Japan's consumer electronics industry is absolutely fascinating. It's an equivalent, but absolutely evolutionary different path.

The different approaches to similar problems, how different factors have put different evolutionary pressures on the industry (e.g. language) is endlessly interesting.

Better yet, now with South Korea a major electronics player, and India and China up and coming very quickly....I have a feeling it'll be possible for a serious study of the history of consumer electronics to be a valid academic area of study.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#38

Post by bane »

smackay wrote: post #3

As far as I recall, Japan's Fifth Generation program, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_generation_computer , which had the West running around in a panic, was primarily software driven. It was seen as an attempt the break the European and American dominance of software and microprocessors but was unsuccessful. It is interesting that many of the companies mentioned in the article are small rather than the usual set…

Thanks for this. I had never heard of this, but it's yet another fascinating footnote in the parallel history of Japanese consumer electronics. The amount of money invested is simply staggering...well over a billion dollars in 2010 money.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#39

Post by felipemnoa »

w1ntermute wrote: post #6
regomodo wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as i'd like to have a universal device sometimes a well-crafted, well-designed, dedicated device is hard to give up once you are used to it. Would you rather use a TI-calc emulator on android or the actual device?

The emulator, hands down. And that's being a long-time TI calculator user.

The user experience is many times better on a real TI then in an Android emulator or even in a computer. For some quick math calculations a computer or Android calculator is find. If I'm doing a lot of math problems I rather use a TI. The usability is just way better.

Re: Japan's preference for hardware over software is fading

#40

Post by bitwize »

w1ntermute wrote: post #2

One of the things that really shocked me is how everyone still carries around electronic dictionaries when their cell phones should be able to fulfill that capability. The idea of one-function hardware is still deeply ingrained in the Japanese psyche in a way that it hasn't been for years in the West. As an American I always find it preferable to consolidate all my devices into one (which has turned out to be the cel…

No it's not. Japanese cellphones probably have had Japanese-English dictionaries in them even before smartphones took hold here. I saw them being used to look up English words all the time.

What Japanese are attached to is the 12-key flip phone form factor. So much so that Sharp released a 12-key flip phone running Android a year or two ago. My guess is that the dictionaries fill a high-end niche that cellphones historically could not: when you need a more extensive dictionary, have to look up a lot of words or translate entire sentences, and need to type quickly. As smartphones (iPhone, Android) become dominant, I think those dictionaries will disappear.

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