Japanese Mobile Phone Usage in Sweden - Technological and Social Prerequisites

• Main Authors: Fredriksson, Susanne, Hillerdal, Ida
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Uppsala universitet, Kulturgeografiska institutionen 2010
• Subjects: Human geography; Kulturgeografi
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-114458

Japan is an advanced country when it comes to mobile phone technology. This thesis firstly investigates the mobile phone usage in Japan. Secondly it describes the prerequisites for implementation of some distinguished Japanese mobile phone functions in Sweden. This is done from a social as well as a technological aspect. The Japanese mobile phone usage is investigated on three levels; governmental, industrial and consumer. The governmental level is characterised by an ICT policy which strives to make the technology ubiquitous. On the industrial level we have found that dominant design is of great importance for the supply of mobile phones, furthermore that the operators have a strong position on the mobile phone market compared to the manufactures. Finally, on the consumer level the thesis shows that the culture of the country affects the usage of the mobile phones with the concept of kawaii as an example. The results regarding the possibility to make use of the Japanese mobile phone usage in Sweden relates to six functions. These are mobile phone Internet and e-mail, mobile phone TV, QR-code, wallet phone, GPS and mobile phone novels. The thesis shows that the prerequisites for these functions to be of use in Sweden are both social and technological.