From Asiajin:
BCN Ranking counted the carriers share only within iPhone 4S [J], Softbank took 51.7%, whilst KDDI au gained 48.3%.
BCN Ranking collected the number of sold units from shops, which it claims to cover 40% of Japanese retails. The retail shops do not include Apple Stores and carriers stores.
The metrics could surely use a little more accuracy, considering a great deal of phone purchases are done at carrier stores here in Japan.
Either way, this is an interesting picture being painted. au/KDDI did not have run-away sales like some thought they would. SoftBank does appear to be holding its own until the au/KDDI assault - for now.
I wonder how the landscape will change throughout year. SoftBank’s network, for better or worse, is already proven with the iPhone. The au/KDDI network, while offering far better coverage throughout Japan, has not had to deal with a huge amount of smartphone-based traffic. It will be important for au/KDDI’s network to withstand the exponential resource utilization they will see from iPhone users if the company expects to remain a player in the smartphone arena.
