给中国的启示：日本手机巨头的崛起和衰落
The rise & fall of Japanese phone giants
译文简介
曾几何时，日本手机和电子产品风靡全球，如今却消失匿迹，到底发生了什么...
正文翻译
2007年苹果公司在乔布斯的带领下推出第一代iPhone手机，由此功能机的时代落下帷幕，智能手机登上舞台。从2007年开始的这十几年，对于索尼、夏普等日本手机厂商而言，就像20世纪90年代的日本经济一样，是“失去的岁月”。日本手机，到底怎么了.....
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I remember when i went to Hong Kong in the early 2000s and I bought a Japanese camcorder. It was super thin and it has the capability to take still pictures as well. Folded up it looked like a thick cellphone. When I brought it back to the USA, everyone was in awe at that tech. I miss those days when you can be at awe by technology, especially Japanese technology.
我还记得，我在2000年代初去香港的时候，买了一台日本相机，它超薄，而且还能拍摄静态照片。折叠起来就像一部厚厚的手机。当我把它带回美国时，所有人都对它的技术感到惊叹。我怀念那些对技术感到惊叹的日子（尤其是对日本技术）。
Most Japanese manufacturers switched into the components business precisely because those high quality components are still in high demand
大多数日本制造商之所以转向零部件业务，正是因为这些高质量的零部件仍然有很高的需求。
I meant was how, for example, many Japanese firms switched into making components that Korean, Chinese and American phones now use, instead of trying to compete in the phone business themselves.
我的意思是，比如，很多日本公司转向制造韩国、中国和美国手机现在使用的组件，而不是试图自己在手机业务中竞争。
It is quite sad. For decades, I've been interested in Japan. From 2001-2002, I studied abroad there and was blown away by the phones. They seemed at least a decade, if not more, ahead of what was in the West. they had flip-phones that allowed for much larger, full-color screens with at least a version of the internet, songs, and many other features. I went back to Japan in 2005 to teach English and again saw their amazing phones, while we languished. (Finnish) Nokia, which was among the most popular Western brands, was no match against Japanese phones. Then, I came home for vacation in the winter of 2007, and I went to a Barnes & Noble with my friend, and they were selling the iPhone. I was shocked, as this phone with an even bigger screen seemed like a leap over the Japanese competition, but it still looked like it could be a fight, as all the 3rd-party apps and such were not yet available. But soon, it became clear that the iPhone and Android Phones were going to dominate. In the year 2010, I finally got my first smartphone in Japan. I was a rebel. It wasn't an iPhone or a Japanese phone (which were mostly still feature phones at the time). It was a Taiwanese HTC Desire HD. And although HTC met the same fate as many of the Japanese companies, I currently (in America) use an Android phone...now the Chinese OnePlus 5, which gives me a good value for the price. That's another reason I have never owned an Apple product, and instead use Android. I have more freedom and options. But I do miss Japan being at the cutting edge of technology.
这很让人难过！几十年来，我一直对日本很感兴趣。从2001年到2002年，我在那儿留学，被（当时日本的）电话迷住了。它们似乎比西方领先至少十年，甚至更多。他们有翻盖手机，使用更大的全彩屏幕。2005年，我回到日本教英语，再次看到他们令人惊叹的手机，而当时我们（西方在手机方面）却还卡在那里....那时候（芬兰的）诺基亚是最受欢迎的西方品牌之一，根本比不上日本手机。然后，2007年冬天，我休假回家，和朋友一起去巴诺书店（注：美国最大的实体书店，同时销售电子产品），他们在卖iPhone。我很震惊，因为这款屏幕更大的手机，相比日本的竞争产品似乎有了飞跃（一样的提升），但（日本手机）看起来仍然有可能竞争，因为当时所有第3方应用等等都还用不了...但很快，结果很明显了，iPhone和Android手机将占据主导地位了.... 2010年，我终于在日本买了第一部智能手机。我有点叛逆，（我买的手机）不是iPhone或者日本手机（当时大部分日本手机仍然是功能手机），而是台湾（地区）的HTC。尽管HTC与很多日本公司有着相同的命运，但我目前（在美国）使用的是Android手机……现在是中国的OnePlus 5，对我而言物超所值。这也是我从来没买过苹果产品，而是使用Android的另一个原因。我有更多的自由和选择。但我确实怀念日本处于技术前沿（的那些日子）。
It's the nature of business in Japan, they aim to survive, they don't compete.
这是日本商业的本质，他们的目标是生存，他们不竞争。
Japan's strong entrepreneurial spirit died a long time ago, while America is able to consistently produce legendary entrepreneurs. The number of strong entrepreneurs is what fundamentally determines the strength of your empire.
日本强大的企业家精神早已消亡，而美国却能源源不断地产生传奇企业家。 强大企业家的数量从根本上决定了你们帝国的实力。
@char Why do you think it died?
楼上，为什么你认为（日本的企业家精神）已经死了？
Lived there a few years during pre iPhone era and was baffled by the tech in their flipphones at the time. Was so sad seeing they gave up their head start while visiting last year.
在iPhone之前的时代，在那里住了几年，当时对他们翻盖手机中的技术感到（惊讶）。去年访问那里时，看到他们放弃了起步优势，我感到非常难过。
@char It's not even close to death. For example Toyota is the #1 best selling car brand in the world, and there's a reason for that: every other car companies are competing, they tune engines to produce more power year after year, they change engines, they change transmission, and they try to produce a lot of cars in a short time, and at the end, their chance of failure is high. However, Toyota doesn't do that, a 2020 Toyota Hilux uses the same engine that was designed in 2004, Toyota doesn't play with the rest of the kids. Now this Japanese strategy works well if you sell cars to 30-40 year old men who smart and reason, but if you sell smartphones in this way to 7-16 year old kids, you would end up like Sony...
（日本的企业家精神）离死还远着呢。例如，丰田是世界上销量第一的汽车品牌，这是有原因的：其他所有汽车公司都在竞争，他们年复一年地调整发动机以产生更大的功率，他们更换发动机，更换变速箱，然后他们尝试在短时间内生产大量汽车，但最终的结果是，他们失败的几率很高。然而，丰田并没有这样做，2020年的丰田Hilux，使用的是2004年设计的相同发动机，丰田不和其他人一起玩。如果你把汽车卖给30到40岁的聪明、理性的男人，这种日本策略很有效，但如果你以这种方式向7到16岁的孩子卖智能手机，你最终会像索尼一样...
@Abhishek Pathak to be honest it didnt die.. its just that the japanese do not really do business the way americans do it.. americans create hype, and try to sustain it for as long as they can.. whereas japanese do business with long term strategies (better suited to older people).. another reason is because japanese refuse to outsouce their tech to China, unlike major tech companies like apple who do business in china.. this strategy of japan will pay off in the long run, unlike apple who willingly exposed their "magic" to china, who is now their major tech competitor
老实说，（日本的企业家精神）并没有死....只是日本人并不像美国人那样做生意....美国人炒作，并尽可能长时间地维持（炒作）.....而日本人做生意，关注长期战略（这种战略更适合老年人）......另一个原因是，不像苹果这样在中国开展业务的大型科技公司，日本人拒绝将他们的技术外包给中国。日本的这种战略，从长远来看，将得到回报，（因为它们）不像苹果那样愿意向中国展示他们的“魔法”，中国现在是（苹果）的主要技术竞争对手了....
Nokia did have quite advanced smartphones in the 2000s. For example Nokia 6600 from 2003 which is still one of the most sold smartphones of all time. Some of my favorites are Nokia N93, N93i, N95 and E90.
诺基亚在2000年代确实拥有相当先进的智能手机。例如2003年的诺基亚6600，它仍然是有史以来最畅销的智能手机之一。我最喜欢的一些（诺基亚手机）是诺基亚N93、N93i、N95 和E90。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
I remember back in early 2000s, I met some Japanese exchange students and they are looking down American's cell phone technologies to a point that they showed off their (unusable in the US) Japanese "advance" phone to me. I was excited excited with their phone.
我记得在2000年代初，我遇到了一些日本交换生，他们看不起美国的手机技术，甚至向我展示了他们日本的“先进”手机（在美国无法使用）。我对他们的手机感到非常的兴奋。
I was in Japan in the 90's and saw people holding a marker against their face and talking. Upon walking closer and I found out that it was a cell phone with a tiny lcd screen. I have never seen those phone sold outside of Japan. Moreover, I also saw cell phone vending machines at that time. WOW ���
90 年代的时候我在日本，看到人们拿着一个记号笔贴着脸说话。走近一看，原来是一部液晶屏很小的手机。 我从未见过在日本以外销售的那些手机。而且，当时我还看到了手机自动售卖机....哇！
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
I remember when I came back to japan in 2009, the new iphone 3gs had launched and we could only get it by softbank, it was quite difficult for a foreigner to get it because in 2008 many got the iphone and left for their home country without paying for it.
我记得2009年我回日本的时候，新的iphone 3GS上市了，我们只能通过软银才能买到，外国人很难买到，因为2008年，很多（外国）人拿到iphone不付钱就直接回国。
When I went to japan 12 years ago, I was fascinated by Japanese mobile phones so much. Eventhough back then I used Nokia 6600 but when I compare it to Japanese 3G FOMA phone, I felt that my Nokia is just a toy.
The other problems of Japanese phone maker is software. After iPhone became mainstream in Japan. The other carriers that still had not started selling iPhone back then tried to market their own Android phone as an alternative. A problem was that they try to build in all the custom services on top of Android and it became bloated. It makes Japanese people assume that Android is worse than iPhone and Android reputation in the country is quite worse, compare to the other country.
12年前去日本的时候，我对日本的手机非常着迷。尽管当时我用的是诺基亚6600，但是当我将它与日本的3G FOMA手机进行比较时，我觉得我的诺基亚只是一个玩具。
日本手机制造商的另一个问题是软件。iPhone在日本成为主流后，当时还没有开始销售 iPhone的其他运营商试图推销自己的Android手机作为替代品，（出现的）一个问题是，他们试图在Android上构建所有的服务，然后手机变得臃肿，这让日本人认为Android比iPhone差，与其他国家相比，Android在日本这个国家的名声要差得多。
Funny thing that the iPhone, or at least I feel that way, is more Japanese than Japanese cellphones
有趣的是，（至少我是这样认为的），iPhone，比日本手机更日本化。
I went to Japan when i was still 10/12 years old, it was the 1995s and I remembered going into Akihabara like a literal kid in a candy store. It was so surreal, Japan had the most advance technology at the time. I am from Indonesia and when I saw that they can do video call over their mobile phone I was literally floored. It was sooooooo advance at the time, I remembered vividly thinking that why is this not in every other countries!?!?
They just missed out on the software revolution.
当我还只有10岁/12岁的时候我去过日本，那是1995年代，我还记得，走进秋叶原（的我），就像一个进到糖果店里的孩子一样......太超现实了，日本拥有当时最先进的技术。我来自印度尼西亚，当我看到他们可以通过手机进行视频通话时，我简直惊呆了。当时太先进了，我清楚地记得当时在想为什么其他国家不这样做？
他们只是错过了软件革命。
Hope you cover the success story of Korea as well
希望你也能报道韩国的成功故事..
Man, I used to love Sony smartphones, their design was super simple and refined, sadly I never coul afford one because other manufacturers had cheaper phones with comparable specs.
伙计，我曾经很喜欢索尼的智能手机，它们的设计超级简单和精致，遗憾的是我永远买不起，因为其他制造商的手机更便宜，规格也差不多。
It's sad to see that diversity of smartphone companies is decreasing.
USA, China and Korea are the only three countries that sell phones.
Europe, India, Japan and others have died
看到智能手机公司的多样性正在减少，令人遗憾。
美国、中国和韩国，是仅有的三个销售手机的国家。
欧洲、印度、日本和其他国家已经死亡..
Indian brands are coming back eg micromax
印度品牌正在回归，比如micromax品牌...
@Devashish Bhavsar never heard of them
从没听说过（印度品牌）...
USA doesnt sell anything, all iphones are made in China ���
美国啥东西都不卖，所有iphone都是在中国制造的..
@lolcat You've never heard before is because Micromax is a local brand in India, once it was the most selling smartphone brand in India, now is completely irrelevant after the coming of Chinese smartphone wave in India
你以前没听说过，是因为Micromax是印度本土品牌，曾经是印度最畅销的智能手机品牌，现在随着中国智能手机浪潮在印度的到来，它们变得无足轻重了....
@lolcat because they went out of businessfrom 2014 when mi enter the Indian market and now they are coming back by making value for money products
（你没听说过它们）是因为它们在2014年小米进入印度市场后就倒闭了，现在，它们通过生产超值的产品，又回归了...
@mourgos1234 The location of assembly does not determine where the company or the product of the company is originated from.
iPhones are still American, designed and components designed by Americans, just assembled in China.
Samsung assembles their phones in Vietnam, India, China AND South Korea FYI but that does not mean South Korea does not sell Samsung cuz the country of origin of the company, designing of the components (the thing that matters the most) are still, from South Korea.
组装的地点，并不能决定公司或公司产品的来源。
iPhone仍然是美国产品，由美国人设计，只是在中国组装而已。
供你参考，三星在越南、印度、中国和韩国组装手机，但这并不意味着韩国不卖三星手机，因为公司的来源地、组件设计（这是最重要的）仍然是韩国。
India's brands are mainly focused on their local market and low budget phone.
印度的品牌主要专注于（印度）当地市场，以及低价手机。
@Arkhalis Do you mean the other way around? iPhone components made in China, but then assembled in the US?
你的意思是反过来吗？iPhone部件在中国制造，然后在美国组装？
@Root No. I meant that they are just assembled specifically in China. The product, along with its component, and all the R&D is done in USA. Just the parts are “put together/held together” in China.
不，我的意思是，它们只是组装专门在中国进行，这个产品以及它的组件，以及所有研发，均在美国完成。在中国，只是零件被“放在一起/固定在一起”。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
@Root major components (mainly microprocessor) are made in either taiwan or s korea And talking about other components like display, memory chips, camera sensor are might be manufactured in mainland china but not by Chinese companies at all. Again s.korean, Taiwanese and Japanese firms have biggest market share in such cutting edge technologies and so does maximum profit is go along with them to their homeland. Meanwhile china is just act like a service provider which provides cheaper labour, lower taxes and better infrastructure
（iphone）的主要组件是在台湾（地区）或者韩国制造的，至于其他组件，如显示屏、存储芯片、相机传感器等，它们可能是在中国大陆制造的，但是，根本不是由中国公司制造的。 同样，韩国、台湾（地区）和日本公司，在这类尖端技术中拥有最大的市场份额，因此最大利润也随之流向了他们。与此同时，中国就像一个服务提供者，提供更便宜的劳动力、更低的税收和更好的基础设施...
All of the components are sourced, manufactured and assembled in Asia
所有组件都是在亚洲采购、制造和组装的....
Micromax's phones are manufactured entirely in China and then labeled in India. Do you think Chinese industries will ever let a puny, incompetent brand like Micromax take away the biggest market from Xiaomi and Oppo? Chinese industries can simply cancel the contract with Micromax and bring the entire brand to their knees.
Even with special privileges from the government, Indian companies have been uninnovative, dull and absolutely useless.
Micromax的手机是完全在中国制造的，然后在印度贴上标签。你认为中国（手机）行业会让像 Micromax这样微不足道、无能的品牌，从小米和Oppo手中夺走最大的市场吗？中国（手机）行业可以简单地取消与Micromax的合同，让（Micromax）整个品牌屈服。
即使有政府的特权，印度公司也一直缺乏创新、（产品）乏味且毫无用处。
@franklingoodwin
I simply meant the designing. The designing, research and development of those components, are done in USA. Keyword. Designing of those parts and all the research and development that goes into each component like the chipset. I never implied that they are all made in USA…
我只是指设计。这些部件的设计、研发均在美国完成....这才是关键词。这些部件的设计，以及芯片组等每个组件的所有研发...（都是在美国完成）....我从来没有暗示它们都是美国制造的……
I lived in Tokyo from 2000-2004 and had engineering friends who worked NTT Docomo at the time, and they having come from Italy at the time were completely blown away by the technology available at the time to average consumer.
我2000年到2004年住在东京，有当时在日本电报公司工作的工程师朋友，他们来自意大利，对当时（日本）普通消费者能够用到的技术感到非常的震惊。
When I first went to Japan in 2000, I was amazed how far in the future everything was, but it pretty much stagnated since.
当我 2000 年第一次去日本时，我很惊讶那里的一切，（相比其他地方）是遥远的未来了，但从那以后它（的发展）几乎就停滞了。
When I visited Japan in 2017, it blew my mind 90% of people had the same-looking iPhone 6/6S/7.
当我在2017年访问日本时，令我震惊的是，90%的人都拥有外观相同的iPhone 6、6S、7了。
Canada we once dominated the global smartphone market remember when blackberry was a must have phone just over a decade ago?? ���
加拿大，我们曾经统治过全球智能手机市场，还记得十多年前，黑莓手机是人们必买的手机吗？
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
Japanese company don't bother doing business in the outside world so they never get to adapt to the change in technology. I'm not only sad that these cool technology died by the time but in that differentiate also decreased.
People like big screen we make screen big we make cheap people buy.
More competition is good but for the last two years there aren't any noticeable wow tech in mobile.
日本公司不愿意在外面的世界做生意，所以他们永远无法适应技术的变化。我不仅为这些随着时间流逝而消亡的很酷的技术感到难过，而且为（技术）差异化的减少（而感到难过）。
人们喜欢大屏幕，我们就让屏幕变大，我们搞得便宜，然后人们就买...
更多的竞争是好事，但在过去的两年里，移动（手机）领域没有任何值得人注目的、会令人惊叹的技术出现。
I love Xperia phones since Xperia S was introduced. I'd love to own Xperia 5 II but sadly they no more sell in India.
自从Xperia S推出来以后，我就喜欢Xperia手机。我很想拥有Xperia 5 II，但遗憾的是，它们在印度没有卖的了。
During the late 90s to 2000s i always envy Japanese phones that I see on magazine and tv. It was way ahead of its time.
I always wished that they offered something similar outside of Japan.
Although I miss the time when companies can really go crazy and innovate on hardware and software, I'm glad that the age of smartphones came.
在90年代后期到2000年代，我总是羡慕在杂志和电视上看到的日本手机....它远远领先于它的时代。
我一直希望（日本手机公司）他们能在日本以外提供类似的东西。
然而，尽管我很怀念那个（公司们可以在硬件和软件上疯狂创新的）时代，但我很高兴智能手机时代的到来。
I've seen plenty of videos mentioning the rise of smartphones, but they all make it seem like they took over the market overnight. That is not at all how I remember it happening. I don't know if it was different here in Sweden compared to the rest of the world, but I remember it taking like 5 or 6 years before smartphones were more common than the old-style cell phones. I got my first real smartphone in 2012, and even then I remember old cell phones still being most of what you saw. I think 2013 or 2014 was the year most people I knew had moved to an Android phone or iPhone.
我看过很多提到智能手机兴起的视频，但（那些视频）都给人一种感觉，那就是（智能手机）一夜之间就占领了市场...但这根本不是我记忆中发生的事情。我不知道瑞典与世界其他地方相比是否有所不同，但我记得，大约过了5或6年，智能手机才比老式手机更普遍。我在2012年得到了我的第一部真正的智能手机，即使是那个时候，我仍然记得，旧式手机仍然是你所看到（人们使用的）大部分手机。我认为2013年或2014年，是我认识的大多数人转向使用安卓手机或苹果手机的年份。
Thanks for the video. Now I know why they're not as popular as before. Here in Indonesia, you can buy secondhand phones from Japan*. Every people I've asked about those phone always had good impression with it. It's a good phone, in which I mean solid hardware, in cheap price
Japan smartphone industry has a big potential for rebound with that example. Wish they can comeback one day
感谢你的视频。现在我知道为什么它们不像以前那么受欢迎了。在印度尼西亚，你可以购买来自日本的二手手机。关于这些（二手手机），我问过的所有人，都对它们有很好的印象。这是一部好手机，我的意思是硬件很坚固，价格便宜...
日本的智能手机行业有很大的反弹潜力....希望他们有一天能回归....
I believe that, after the 2008 economic crisis, another issue for Japan's industries was the 2010 earthquake, the tech industry, specially Sony had major difficulties with that.
我相信，在2008年经济危机之后，日本工业遇到的另一个问题，是2010年的地震，科技行业，特别是索尼，（因此）遇到了很大的困难。
Same thing happened to also most other consumer tech. TV's are mostly Korean branded and computers and laptops are made in China/Taiwan. only cameras are still mostly Japanese brands.
大多数其他的消费技术，也发生了同样的事情。电视品牌大多是韩国品牌，电脑和笔记本电脑是中国大陆/台湾（省）制造的。只有相机仍然以日本品牌居多。
I saw Japanese phones at their peak. They looked cool from the outside. But what made them horrible is that the cell service provider pretty much had control over what you could and could not do with the phone. Release of the iPhone pretty much freed Japanese consumers from provider’s chokehold.
我看到过日本手机的巅峰时期...它们外形看起来很酷....但让（人们）感到恐怖的是，手机服务提供商，几乎可以控制你可以用手机做什么和不能做什么。iPhone的发布，基本上让日本消费者摆脱了供应商的束缚。
I had a Sony Xperia in 2013,14 and it was such a great phone.
2013、2014年，我有一部索尼的Xperia手机，它是一部非常棒的手机。
Basically, once a brand falls out of popularity, even if they make some really nice devices most carriers won’t pick them up
基本上，一旦一个品牌不再受欢迎，即使他们制造了一些非常好的设备，大多数运营商也不会（再次）选择它们...
It is extremely sad. Everyone (of my generation and older; 80s) knows just how good the quality of Japanese products used to be and still is.
I wish they could boom again in this industry; however I agree it seems it's never going to happen.
这是非常让人难过的的。所有人（我这一代、以及比我年长的、80年代的人）都知道以前日本产品的质量有多好，现在仍然如此。
我希望他们在这个行业再次起来，但是我也同意，这似乎永远不会发生。
Io be fair, no one rules forever see Nokia and HTC.
老实说，没有人可以永远统治，看看诺基亚和 HTC...
I think one reason why these companies fell is because they did not cater to the global market. They did make technological strides with their products but it was limited to a domestic audience mainly. It probably would be different tody if they made these technologies widely accessible to the global market during its peak popularity.
我认为这些公司倒下的原因之一，是因为他们没有迎合全球市场。他们确实在产品上取得了技术进步，但主要限于（日本的）国内用户。如果他们在这些技术最流行的时候，让全球市场广泛使用这些技术，今天可能会有所不同。
My first Sony smartphone was Sony Xperia Z, I still think that phone has the best music player . I couldn't buy any Sony phones after that since Sony phased out in my country..
我的第一部索尼智能手机是索尼 Xperia Z，我仍然认为这款手机拥有的最好的音乐播放器。在那之后我再也买不到任何索尼手机了，因为索尼在我的国家被淘汰了。
古賀惣仁
xperia 是我最喜欢的手机品牌，我很遗憾它不再像以前那样受欢迎。
people in Japan are really loyal for Apple so it is more likely to buy a iphone .
日本人对苹果非常忠诚，因此更有可能购买iphone。
Japanese smartphone environment has already been dominated by Apple
Bureaucracy and the work culture itself blocks them from doing massive innovations. It's sad to see how a country with a great tech innovation wave from the early 2000s had gone to become so isolated.
日本智能手机环境已经被苹果主导了...
官僚主义以及工作文化本身，仍然在阻碍他们进行大规模创新...看到一个从2000年代初就掀起科技创新浪潮的国家变得如此“孤立”，真的很令人难过。