Nexus 7: “Konnichiwa Japan”
Ronak is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) has struck the Japanese market with the splendid launch of Nexus 7. The Nexus 7 is a 7-inch tablet running on a quad-core built-in processor. There have been great reviews about it worldwide. Executive Chairman of Google, Mr. Eric Schmidt apparently said the fact that 500 plus million users have adopted Android OS in a very short span of time making Google an inevitable ruler. Arch rival Apple(NASDAQ: AAPL) , with its iPad has been dominant in Japan. Besides, Sony (another rival of Google) who has been a local player for quite some time released its second generation Sony Xperia Tablet S.
Ironically, the Japanese hardware maker, Sony, also runs its tablet on the operating system made by the world’s number one search engine. By playing a greater responsibility in the tablet arena, Google hopes to make certain that its online services stay at the forefront for patrons, as tablets more progressively are becoming gateways to the Web and Web-based substance such as music & movies. Swiftly it has turned out to be one of the chief universal platforms for digital downloading.
"Ebooks" is an area where Apple blossoms but it has been a rough journey for Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) which is soon to launch its Kindle products in Japan. Rakuten(a local player) who has been the most plausible contender, launched its "Kobo Touch”. The western approach has not gone down well in the Japanese market. A lot of other companies had also tried their luck in this market but all their efforts were in vain. Providentially Apple got accepted due to the luminosity of iOS and an incredible hardware queue.
Nexus 7’s reasonable cost is the major positive point as compared to its closest opponent Apple’s iconic iPad. Google has priced its tablet approximately at 19,800 yen ($250), which is nearly half of the value of iPad i.e. 42,800 yen ($549). Pre-orders for Nexus 7 had already started earlier and from October 2nd it is available at the major Japanese retailers- Joshin, Bic Camera & Yodobashi Camera, which is a very critical and a crucial move for their success.
The prime obstacle had been to convince local content providers to share their content. Besides offering the movies on rent, it would also sell movies from Sony & Paramount Pictures. The company would also offer Japanese language book titles on Google Play (apps store). Google earns most of its revenue from advertising and m-commerce is the sweet spot for investment for advertisers in the next few years. For Google, Youtube is helping it in driving higher numbers on the mobile frontier. In South Korea and Japan majority of the YouTube downloads are through the mobile devices.
Astonishingly, Android phones are in vogue in Japan. However, “GOOGLE” as a brand isn’t able to depend on its omnipresent status as it is otherwise. Japan is one of the rare countries in the world where Google isn't the most preferred search engine, with 'Yahoo Japan' holding the number one position for many years. Google may have entered the Japanese market with a bang, but it remains to be seen if Japan says “Irasshaimase Nexus 7”..!!
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