Japan Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Hulu available on Apple TV in Japan

by Dave Caolo (Sep 4th, 2012)

Hulu is now available to Apple TV customers in Japan. A year after Hulu launched in the region, Apple TV owners will find that Hulu has now popped up on their devices, just as those in the states did. You can try it for free for a month and then sign up after that. Enjoy, Japan! ...

Samsung wins victory over Apple in Japan court

by Kelly Hodgkins (Aug 31st, 2012)

On Friday, a Japanese court gave Samsung a small boost when it ruled that the Korean company did not infringe on an Apple patent that covers media synchronization between a device and servers. According to a New York Times report, this is one of several patent suits Apple has filed against ...

Daily Update for May 14, 2012

by Steven Sande (May 14th, 2012)

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player ...

Apple ahead of Samsung in Japanese market

by Kelly Hodgkins (May 14th, 2012)

Data vendor MM Research Institute tracked smartphone sales in Japan and discovered the iPhone is greatly outselling its competitors, says a report in Computerworld. According to the company's analysis, about 24.2 million smartphones were shipped in Japan and 30 percent were iPhones. This ...

Apple is Japan's top consumer brand for the first time

by Steven Sande (Mar 30th, 2012)

The iPad, iPhone and other Apple products have become so popular in Japan that Apple is now Japan's top consumer brand. Just three years ago, Apple was barely visible in the #64 spot in Nikkei's annual brand ranking. Last year, Apple had made it to 11th place, and this year the company ...

Japanese robot pet powered by iPhone

by Mike Schramm (Mar 26th, 2012)

Robotic pets are kind of kid stuff here in the US, but they're a big deal over in Japan, and here's one that takes advantage of the iPhone's popularity. The Smartpet is a robotic dog that "borrows" the iPhone as head unit. The body is mechanical, of course, but the head uses the iPhone's ...

Siri's Japanese performance not as good as DoCoMo's voice assistant

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 13th, 2012)

Apple added support for Japanese in iOS 5.1, but the roll out isn't going as smoothly as expected. According to a Kotaku report, Apple's voice assistant can apparently only handle simple and universal Japanese phrases. When it comes to complex phrases, Siri stumbles while its competitor Shabette ...

iPhone is top-selling cellphone in Japan

by Kelly Hodgkins (Mar 9th, 2012)

A report in the Mainichi Daily News suggests the iPhone 4S is the top-selling mobile phone in Japan. The iPhone 4S is reportedly beating out handsets from local favorites like Fujitsu-Toshiba, Sharp and Panasonic. According to IDC Japan estimates, the iPhone grabbed 26.6 percent of all mobile ...

Daily Update for February 22, 2012

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Feb 22nd, 2012)

Siri's upcoming Japanese language abilities leaked - by Siri

by Chris Rawson (Feb 14th, 2012)

We learned not too long ago that Siri is on schedule to speak a few more languages soon, specifically Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Japanese. Siri herself (itself?) has confirmed that at minimum Japanese support is coming soon, according to 9to5 Mac. I personally verified that asking Siri "What ...

Ghost Trick sneaks onto iOS tomorrow

by Mike Schramm (Feb 1st, 2012)

I'm excited about this one -- Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was one of the best mobile games on the year that didn't appear on iOS in 2011, but the wait is over: Though it's been on iOS in Japan for a little while, the game is finally coming to the App Store on this side of the world this ...

Japanese customers line up for Apple's Lucky Bags

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (Jan 2nd, 2012)

Apple Stores in Japan have continued the fukubukuro or "mystery bag" tradition, where sealed bags of merchandise are offered on New Year's Day at a hefty discount. If you're extremely lucky, you'll come away with a piece of coveted merchandise. Apple has been doing this in Japan since 2005. The ...

Steve Jobs's long and complex relationship with Japan

by Michael Rose (Dec 30th, 2011)

Japanese writer Hayashi Nobuyuki has written a thoughtful article on Steve Jobs and Japan, covering both the professional and personal influences that helped shape Jobs's path through life and with Apple. The piece has been translated into English, and it's worth a read. Jobs considered himself ...

Samsung seeks iPhone 4S sales ban in Japan, Australia

by Kelly Hodgkins (Oct 17th, 2011)

After facing setbacks in Germany and Australia, Samsung is striking back at Apple by filing an injunction request for the iPhone 4S, the iPhone 4 and the iPad in Japan. Samsung filed the injunction based on one patent the company holds for HSPA connectivity and three it holds for UI design. ...

KDDI to end Softbank's iPhone exclusivity in Japan in 2012

by Kelly Hodgkins (Sep 22nd, 2011)

A rumor from Japan's Nikkei newspaper suggests wireless carrier KDDI will begin selling the iPhone 5 early next year. This deal would end the exclusive iPhone agreement Japanese carrier Softbank has enjoyed the past few years. And enjoy it, Softbank has. In its June quarterly earnings, ...