Just So You Know Why This Phone Sucks...

from the buyer-beware dept

Tue, Apr 18th 2006 1:08pm — Carlo Longino

Foreign mobile-phone manufacturers have had little success cracking Japan, as they've pushed models that are decidedly behind the times in the advanced market. Following this trend, Nokia said a few months ago that they would start selling what was basically a year-old handset through NTT DoCoMo, though just two days before the device was due to go on sale, the operator delayed its launch due to software problems. Now, apparently, when somebody buys one of the Nokia devices, they're given a list of its software bugs. According to one salesperson, "Japanese phones don't have bugs so we have to give out this list so that our customers are not surprised." With things like this, it's little wonder the Japanese are hesitant to buy foreign brands' devices.

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25 Comments

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dani, 18 Apr 2006 @ 1:24pm

Nokia
anyone should expect bugs from a company that began making paper, then decided the mobile business was a good idea
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Flash, 18 Apr 2006 @ 2:40pm

Sharing?
Why can't they share those amazing, bug-free, high-tech cell phones that all the Japanese people are using with the rest of the world? Do they think Americans aren't ready for bug-free products?
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Rikko, 18 Apr 2006 @ 2:42pm

Re: Sharing?
I dunno.. What kinda market share does Microsoft have in Japan?
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AlphaOmega, 18 Apr 2006 @ 3:19pm

U.S. - #1 in Crap
The phones in the U.S. are generally for the imbeciles and feint of heart. If I had 1 penny for everytime my crappy phone crapped out I'd crap myself into crapdom.
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ASHLEY, 18 Apr 2006 @ 3:35pm

Re: Sharing?
It's not that they don't want to share. It's that we as United States Idiots do not have the cell phone towers to support the mass cell phones they utilize. Did you know they were running barcode scanners off their cell phones over two years ago? So they were able to hop in a store, swipe their cell phone and wa-lah... I wish we were able to get some Japan phones here. The Akihabara district sells phones better than what we have here in the U.S. and they are used, but they are like $5.00
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scf, 18 Apr 2006 @ 3:43pm

Nokian made (still makes) rubber products, not paper.
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Marge, 18 Apr 2006 @ 3:47pm

Nokia OR DoCoMo OR Vodafone KK?
The links in this story refer to Vodafone KK - not DoCoMo.

Further, this is probably a decision of the telco rather than Nokia - as you correcly identify in the linked articles, but not in this follow up piece.

Nokia probably couldn't give a rats - they have plenty of other, well performing and modern handset choices that compensate for VODAFONE's choice to release this crippled thing at a low price point.
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Xpyder, 18 Apr 2006 @ 3:56pm

Re: Nokia
Actually, going a little further back they made boots. I never liked their phones and always thought they were junk. I never understood why anyone would buy one.
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Xpyder, 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:00pm

Actually, it is the entire infrstructure in Japan that is superior to the US mobile infrustructure. The only reason why Nokia does as well as they do in the US is because the US customers are so acostomed to legacy, crappy technology that they really don't know the difference. Most people in the US have no idea what is happening in the rest of the world and are perfectly content to delude themselves into believing they are ahead of everyone else.
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Carlo, 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:14pm

Re: Nokia OR DoCoMo OR Vodafone KK?
Thanks for pointing that out -- the link on the year-old phone was indeed wrong. Not really sure how you think I inferred this was Nokia's decision, though.
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wtf?, 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:16pm

Hey #4...you boss has a lead lining under his desk.....of course your phone is going to crap out there......stfu
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:36pm

decent US made phones
if you get a phone made by a decent US company such as Motorola, it should be ok, my Motorola phone aint exactly a RAZR, but its about a step just under it... would be nice if it was a RAZR

still I gotta admit that it would be even nicer if it was a decent Japanese made phone from a company like DoCoMo or NEC

btw: wasnt DoCoMo the ones first to come out with decent phone browsing capability? wasnt it called iMode or something of the sort?
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Autonomous Coward, 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:52pm

Re: Sharing?
I took a networking class a couple semesters ago, and the teacher had made some comment about this. I don't remember the details, because I'm not a big tech guy, but I think it has something to do with the frequency the phones work at? Something about th FCC giving some of the choice bandwidths to really stupid services, and then giving shit bandwidth to the US Cell Phone market.
I'm sure there are others here who can correct me, as I'm not one hundred percent certain on all of this.
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dani, 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:52pm

Re: Re: Nokia
Nokia began as a paper making company...forestry, then later began making rubber products. From their expanding to various different products with no connection to one another.

Find this on their site under history:

"The roots of Nokia go back to the year 1865 with the establishment of a forest industry enterprise in South-Western Finland by mining engineer Fredrik Idestam. Elsewhere, the year 1898 witnessed the foundation of Finnish Rubber Works Ltd, and in 1912 Finnish Cable Works began operations."

I never have any probs with my Sanyo
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Mike (profile), 18 Apr 2006 @ 4:57pm

Re: Nokia
anyone should expect bugs from a company that began making paper, then decided the mobile business was a good idea

Um. I think the point has nothing to do with whether or not the phones are actually buggy, but the way the carrier is "notifying" users.

And, to be honest, I'm not sure what Nokia's ancient history has to do with any of this.
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Moe, 18 Apr 2006 @ 6:55pm

Currently available in Japan
Vodafone is currently offering the Toshiba 904T. It displays a high quality gps moving map on its screen
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Detractorminator, 18 Apr 2006 @ 7:28pm

Nokia phones are fine
I have used Nokia for years in Colorado and have had no problems...and this is in a state with crappy cell tower coverage. Essentially it is the quality of the network more than the phone itself. Yes some phones suck but the quality of the handset takes a backseat to the quality of the network. If the network is faulty then the nicest phone is gonna sound like shit.
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Don Gray, 18 Apr 2006 @ 7:44pm

Nokian Tyres Rock...
Seriously they are da bomb...

When you need to drive very fast on very snowy roads you cen't beat Nokian WRXes.

'Course they cost a fair piece, but they make blizzaks look like slicks.
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Jono, 18 Apr 2006 @ 8:59pm

Re: decent US made phones
You see the problem is that you think the RAZR is cutting edge technology, when it really isn't.

Japan's technology industry has always been take a product and make it better, little by little. USA's approach has been to make huge technological leaps.
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A Funny Guy / The Poison Pen, 18 Apr 2006 @ 10:28pm

Re: Re: decent US made phones
The USA's approach has been to make huge technological leaps?

When

The most innovative concept i have seen in 20 years is the debit card.....
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Anonymous Coward, 18 Apr 2006 @ 11:04pm

what phones could be
Is this because we let ourselves be overcharged for everything? Because we laugh at the fact that our government is a corrupt? That we are mostly a nation of sheople? Sure is a nice phone. ehh. Im an idiot.
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Scott, 18 Apr 2006 @ 11:21pm

Cell Phone coverage
A year ago I moved from New York to Finland. In NY I commuted daily to the city about two hours. During the commute I would lose the cell signal at least three times within the 70 mile commute. In Finland, I have yet to lose a single signal. Even 100 feet under ground I an able to continuously talk on my cell phone. The Finnish place cell towers no farther that 60KM apart and the country is relatively flat.
In the states, service providers have to go to great lengths to get a tower errected in any part of the United States,no one wants a cell tower in their back yard and the greens do not want cell towers in national parks. If you want a decent infrastructure, you have to pay for it.
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nb109, 19 Apr 2006 @ 12:34am

To #20
"The most innovative concept i have seen in 20 years is the debit card....."

It's good to know that YOU haven't noticed any technological leaps lately. After all, you're clearly the expert on such matters.
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Anonymous Coward, 19 Apr 2006 @ 8:43am

Re: Cell Phone coverage
Thats a very good point. Tower coverage is a very big part of people complaints on lost calls. I live in an erea in which there is only one cell phone carrier(US Cellular) and its service is so so at best. While I'm sure its true in other countries Americans tend to want everything of the highest quality without giving up anything in return. Like Scoot said, "If you want a decent infrastructure, you have to pay the price."
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Kat, 30 Jul 2006 @ 12:51am

Phones
Switch off all those mobile phoneys and chuck'em in the sea. I think it's bad enough we have to have phones in the house whether we want them or not, let alone in the restaurant, library and up our noses.
Who decided for us they were necessary?
Turn that imbecility-engendering toy off!
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