The Japanese Mobile Landscape according to App Annie

This is a summation of a report released earlier today by App Analytics firm App Annie.  For the first time in history of the app industry, the United States is not the leading revenue generating country on Google Play. As of last October is was surpassed by Japan. A country whose gone through tremendous change in their ‘app economy’ and looks to be continue growing as a global app powerhouse. Once dominated by feature phones, Japan’s mobile culture is shifting towards smartphones. At the end of 2011, only 23% of handsets being used in Japan were smartphones.  Today, Japan’s mobile environment is rapidly evolving. Industry experts believe that feature phones will be extinct in Japan in the next five years as consumers switch over to iPhones and Android smartphones. The iOS app store ecosystem is disrupting the Japanese mobile industry by removing the ability for carriers to control content which weakens their ability to influence phone manufacturers.  Since they cannot control the manufacture and sale of the iPhone, nor can they control the...