Take a look at the tagline for Futurelooks. It reads: “Digital lifestyle and Technology for the Masses”.
It used to be that only geeks would adhere to something called a “Digital Lifestyle”, but it has very much become the mainstream thing to rock the latest mobile phone or lust after the most recent iPod. We love our tech gear and so does everyone else. However, the concept of a digital lifestyle is not exactly universal and trends vary considerably across cities, countries, and cultures.
I recently had the opportunity to take a trip through Asia and I found that the mobile phone lifestyle and trends are considerably different in each destination. For the purposes of this article, I will explore some of the cell phone trends that I observed in Tokyo, Japan and Hong Kong, R.O.C., finally contrasting them with the trends found here in my hometown of Vancouver, Canada.
TOKYO: WHO NEEDS VOICE?
If you want the latest and greatest in what cell phones have to offer, Tokyo is a great city to visit. Not only do you get bombarded with plenty of advanced mobile phones, you also get to look at (and fondle) the latest technology in other areas as well. You probably already knew that, seeing how they’ve got plenty of robot technology, sleek laptops, and all sorts of awesome gear in Japan. They take their electronics very seriously and it shows.
Even in larger American cities, electronics shops aren’t all that huge. In Tokyo, particularly in the Akihabara area (“Electric Town”), you’ll find multi-level buildings that house nothing but cool gadgets and other electronics. The Yodobashi-Akiba store in Akihabara is seven floors! The entire ground floor is taken up by nothing but laptops and cell phones. You really have to see it to believe it. The same can be said about the Yodobashi location in Shinjuku.
In terms of cell phone trends, I observed the following:
- No phone without a contract – For a while, too many people came to Tokyo and purchased their phones, only to unlock them and ship them out to other markets (like Hong Kong). I’m not sure who was the one who stepped in, but they eventually passed a rule that handsets could not be sold without service. Breaking a contract would result in a very, very heavy termination fee. Not to mention, dishonorable.
- Japanese manufacturers only – Looking around, there weren’t all that many (if any) cell phones built by companies that weren’t Japanese. It was difficult to spot a Nokia (Finnish), a Samsung (Korean), or a Motorola (American). Instead, Tokyo citizens get bombarded by handsets made by Fujitsu, Toshiba, Mitsubishi, Sharp, and so on.
- Loving the square flip – The most popular style of phone in Japan seems to be the clamshell, particularly those with square-ish form factors and large color displays. Having an external display doesn’t seem to be all that important, because so many phones have rotating top sections.
- Who needs voice? – Strangely, Bluetooth headsets don’t look to be that popular in Japan. I didn’t see that many people chatting on their phones either. This is because voice calls are very expensive there, so people instead rely on alternative methods like e-mail, text messages, and MMS. I also found that many people took advantage of other services on their phones like mobile TV, mobile web, and mobile payment.
Nearly all of the cell phones sold in Japan are exclusive to the land of the rising sun. This is quite the stinker for the rest of us, because even if we could import a hot Sharp Aquos mobile phone, it would be quite the ordeal to get it working with Telus Mobility or AT&T. But man, those large high-resolution displays are hot!
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HONG KONG: LOVING MUSIC AND STYLE
Just because Hong Kong is a few short hours away from Tokyo doesn’t mean that the two cities share the same mobile phone culture. The two cities are actually quite different in their approach to cellular technology. For starters, the variety of stores that cell phones is much more impressive in Hong Kong, because it seems like there are mobile phone stores everywhere, especially while walking around in the Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok districts. Even the computer malls are filled with corners full of accessories.
The stores themselves are a lot smaller than their Tokyo counterparts. Instead of having a huge seven-floor behemoth, you are presented with a long line of shops that are only a couple hundred feet each. And that’s being generous. They all sell the same types of mobile phones and they offer handsets for a wide range of manufacturers, including Nokia, LG, Asus, Sony Ericsson and more. That means that bartering is possible in the tight confines of some blocks of stores.
These are largely independent stores, selling unlocked handsets that can work with any SIM card. There are also provider specific locations, like this 3 Shop. 1010 and Peoples are also very popular locations for picking out a phone and a plan.
In terms of other general observations:
- New phone every month – It seems like the cellular culture in Hong Kong doesn’t rely so much on what a phone can do, but more on what the phone looks like. They just want the newest handset available and are willing to buy (and sell) new mobile phones all the time.
- Mobile music – Teens and other young people in Hong Kong seem to like using the integrated MP3 player on their phones, as evidenced by the earbuds dangling from their skulls on the MTR (Subway). Before you say that the earbuds are probably attached to an iPod, let me note that I saw many individuals holding their phones while changing tracks and such.
- Market for high-end phones – The Vertu store was pretty empty, but it seems that many Hong Kong people have no problem dumping the equivalent of $500 (Canadian) on a cell phone. This is the same price you’d pay for an unlocked phone here, I guess.
- Where are the locked phones? – Maybe I was shopping around in the wrong places, but it seemed like getting a discount for signing a contract is virtually non-existent, or quite small when compared to the “$0” phones here in North America. Am I missing something here?
- Camera phones – The cameras on mobile phones aren’t the best, but Hong Kong people love taking pictures with them. I guess North Americans aren’t all that different.
Another interesting observation was the fact that in Hong Kong, it isn’t uncommon to see busy business people pulling more than one phone out of their pockets, or getting rung a couple phones at a time. One phone would be for friends, one phone for family, and one phone for office or the boss. In North America, if you’ve got more than one phone, you’re either a drug dealer or a pimp or both.
While walking around in Hong Kong, cheaper cell phones were pretty difficult to find. You can find them, but they are usually found used in somewhat shady locations, or are off brands from mainland China. All the stores stocked the latest and greatest, trying to push out things like the Nokia N95 and LG Prada. They also have many more Bluetooth headsets readily available for sale than their Japanese counterparts. I guess that’s because voice is remarkably cheap in Hong Kong. Also, Hong Kong laid down the law for talking on the phone and driving so if you want to drive, you have to use a headset. Prepaid phone vouchers (even SIM Cards and service) are available at just about any convenience store, and they give rates of about 15 Hong Kong cents a minute. That’s less than 2 cents Canadian.
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VANCOUVER: DUAL CULTURES
Based on my experience these past few years, Vancouver has developed a dual cell phone culture. On the one hand, you have many people who stick to what is available from their favorite mobile operator. They’ll look at what phone has just come out with Rogers Wireless or Bell Mobility, basing their purchasing decision on this availability. There are very few high-end phones being sold through these operators, other than certain smartphones and BlackBerry devices.
On the other hand, there is a growing market for higher-end mobile phones imported from other countries, primarily Hong Kong. Stores like Cellworldco and Cellular Baby have built a business around the importing of mobile phones. Arguably, this emergence of interest in more “unique” phones has come with greater immigration from China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, among other areas.
Just as there are people who love the “free phone with contract” deals, there are also folks who drop hundreds of dollars on new handsets every few months. Two cultures, one city.
Other general observations:
- Music and style on the rise – Every major mobile operator is pushing their music phone range. Rogers tells us how many songs they can shove on the latest Walkman phone, whereas Telus has those ads proudly displaying attractive music phones. We love music and we want some style to go with it.
- Text messages – For whatever reason, text messages have become incredibly popular, especially among teens and other young people. Maybe you can blame this rise on devices like the Sidekick/Hiptop.
- Data is expensive – The roll-out of 3G mobile phone technology should help alleviate these costs, but wireless data is still very expensive in Canada. This is why features like mobile TV and video calling haven’t really caught on. Mobile web isn’t very popular either.
- Slider phones – People used to like the thin flip phone (RAZR), but preferences have started to shift toward slim slider phones. Samsung has a strong hold on this market, but devices like the LG Shine are certainly making headway too.
Let’s not even get started on the difference between consumer and corporate cell phones. Sticking strictly to the mainstream demographic, you can see how there are two separate but related mobile phone cultures in Vancouver. The same is likely true in other major North American cities. Yes, we like importing (and unlocking) the iPhone too.
NO BETTER, NO WORSE?
The politically correct thing to say would be that none of these three cities are superior to any other and none are inferior. Unfortunately, this isn’t really correct. With expensive data and lengthy contracts, Vancouver is definitely a step or two behind in the world of cell phones. Hong Kong has the advantage of selling a wide range of unlocked phones, but there doesn’t seem to be much in terms of added functionality or inexpensive options for more frugal individuals.
I almost want to say that Japan is the furthest ahead of the pack, especially with their focus on huge color displays and advanced functionality, but the necessity of a contract and costly early termination fees is a definite deterrent. I’m going to slide in that it is probably “dishonorable” to break a contract. The high cost of making voice calls isn’t attractive either. If more Japan phones were worldwide-friendly, I’d say that Tokyo has the most fascinating and advanced digital lifestyle and cell phone culture.
Has the iPhone changed things? Perhaps. But I still wouldn’t expect the iPhone to make it to Canada any time soon… not officially anyways. Canada still has some work to do in terms of infrastructure and pricing for data services. For most data plans, your data allotment would be decimated with the download of just one song on your iPhone and the plans aren’t exacty cheap ($40 and up for most basic plans). Even worse, carriers have been quoted in the mainstream media as saying that their plans are…get this…fair. We’ve got a long way to go baby, but we’re trying to get there.
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