I was pretty surprised to see so many iPhones in use by people on the train and walking around Japan. I was under the impression that while Apple had done a lot to make their products into a desirable fashion brand here, market penetration was still pretty low. But just informally surveying the people I see, it looks like 33 to 50%.

Our photography tour guide yesterday said much the same thing when I mentioned it. German-born but living in Japan for nine years, he agreed with my guesses about the amount and the brand desirability. He also mentioned that despite what I thought, smartphones in Japan before the iPhone weren’t all that sophisticated and didn’t work that well.

Admittedly, just two data points, but I found it interesting.