iPhone, Macs, iPod sweep 2008 customer satisfaction rankings in Japan

What mobile phone tops the list for customer satisfaction in Japan? It certainly can't be the iPhone; after all, it was just this February that WIRED Magazine declared "the Japanese hate the iPhone", right?

So who took the #1 mobile phone customer satisfaction spot in Japan last year? And just how poorly did the iPhone rank? 

Er, it looks like five words answer both questions: The iPhone was number one.

On April 15 of this year, research firm GfK Japan reported results of its Continuous Consumer Insight (CCI) survey of customer satisfaction with a range of appliances and electronic devices in 2008 (PDF abstract). (The news is a little old by now, but doesn't appear to have been widely reported outside Japan.) The survey asked consumers to rate products on four parameters - design, ease of use, functionality, and value - within one month of purchase. Below is a selection of the top-five rankings that resulted:

Digital portable audio

1. Apple iPod shuffle 2GB 2008
2. Apple iPod touch 32GB 2008
3. Apple iPod touch 32GB
4. Sony NW-S736F
5. Apple iPod nano 8GB 2008

Respondents praised the winning iPod shuffle's overall value, its high capacity at reasonable cost, and its ease of use. The iPod touch garnered praise for functionality, particularly the unique addition of the Safari browser and the App Store to what had been a simple media player. (GfK Japan notes that unique functionality was perhaps the most important factor behind high-scoring products in all categories, a point emphasized by unique features such as noise cancellation that lifted the Sony into iPod-dominated territory.) 

Desktop computers

1. Apple iMac MB323J/A
2. Apple iMac MB324J/A 
3. NEC PC-VN750RG6
4. Fujitsu FMVFA50
5. Fujitsu FMVCEA509

Notebook computers

1. Apple MacBook Air MB003J/A
2. Apple MacBook MB403J/A
3. Toshiba PATX66GLP
4. Fujitsu FMVNFB70
5. NEC PC-LL750MG

A strong Apple finish in both computer categories. As expected, respondents praised the Macs all around: great design, ease of use, functionality, and value. The #1 win for the MacBook Air may be a surprise, but again GfK Japan chalks it up to a unique feature: that world's-thinnest-notebook portability.

On to the most noteworthy item in the survey:

Mobile phones

1. Apple iPhone 3G 16GB
2. SonyEricsson SO906I
3. CASIO W61CA 
4. SHARP W61SH
5. SHARP 923SH

So much for "the Japanese hate the iPhone"! No actual iPhone owner will be the least bit surprised, but after countless (and evidence-less) pundit comments about the iPhone "failing" in Japan due to some shortcoming or other compared to the "more sophisticated" phones in Japan, actual data reveals customer satisfaction that beats all competition in the market. In addition to high marks for design and ease of use, respondents' praise touched upon expandable functionality via the App Store, and the device's "whole new way of looking at [mobile phones]".

That said, the results for other phones point out areas for improvement, or at least continued attention, by Apple. Models like the SO906I scored high on fashionable design, while the W61CA was praised for its high-spec camera and water resistance. (On the other hand, few commenters mentioned 1seg TV as a key to satisfaction, suggesting – over the wails of pundits – that Apple wasn't necessarily shooting itself in the foot by leaving out this arguably overrated feature.)

Needless to say, Apple Japan is pleased with having taken the #1 spot in every category in which Apple products appeared. Yet the GfK Japan survey is just one data point, and one several months old already. Amid never-ending assault by worthy competitors, are Macs and the iPod still claiming those top spots in customers' hearts? And how is the iPhone holding up?

The aforementioned WIRED article was torn to shreds by readers, and for very good reason: the author had twisted and even fabricated quotes by Japanese bloggers to make his case, and just as shoddily, declared that the iPhone was failing in Japan without a single piece of sales data on which to base that (or any) claim. The article was so bad that WIRED actually had to clean up the more offending parts and issue an apology (now part of the edited article).

But while the GfK survey results add another backslap to that bit of non-journalism, we can't assume that the iPhone's high customer satisfaction is translating into stellar sales. Does customer satisfaction with the iPhone remain high after the one-month period upon which the survey focused, or does that honeymoon end shortly thereafter? Are iPhone sales numbers in Japan on par with successes in other markets? Will the 3G S change anything? There's still been no actual sales data released for the device in Japan, so outside of Apple, Softbank, and other tight-lipped insiders, the iPhone's success here remains a matter of sheer speculation. 

Unless I've missed some key reports, that is. If you've got information on the iPhone's success – or lack of it – in Japan, please comment!