Japanese second largest mobile phone maker Panasonic plans to promote VS82 in China in September.

Previously, Sharp Corporation has marched into the Chinese market by launching SH9010, signaling that Japan's mobile phone makers are trying to squeeze into the luring, as well as bitter market, after an unwilling retreat in 2006.

Defeated in the 2G era, Japanese companies hope to get back when China is welcoming its 3G evolution. To Japan, a large maker of consumer electronics that has reputed brands including Toshiba, Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu, and NEC, it is torturing to look on, while rivals like Nokia Corporation (NYSE: NOK), Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT), Samsung, and LG are sharing the large pie.

A top multinational executive points out that a company will not be regarded as a global runner, if it has no presence in China, the world's largest consumer market of electronic products.

However, in the first and second rounds of TD-SCDMA terminal procurement kicked off by China Mobile Ltd. (SEHK: 0941 and NYSE: CHL), winners were Samsung, Motorola, ZTE Corporation (SEHK: 0763 and SZSE: 000063), and CoolPad maker Yulong Computer Telecommunication Scientific (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. (Yulong Telecommunication).

In a short term, it is impossible for Japanese mobile phones to rebuild brand image in the Chinese market. Consumers have many choices if they what to buy high-end products. Besides foreign brands such as Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, there are more than 100 strong homemade brands, for example, CoolPad, and Dopod made by Dopod Communication Corporation. Also survived are large amounts of counterfeit mobile phones. In each fields, there are rivals.

In terms of technology, SH9010C has no obvious advantage. Its reiterated high-definition LCD screen has become popular in China. Moreover, its price, more than CNY 4,000, is much higher than that of other foreign brands, showing that Sharp's decision makers are not familiar with the Chinese market.

Weak distribution has been a shortcoming of Japanese mobile phone companies. It is still uncertain whether Chinese distributors are willing to cooperate again with partners in former days.

In addition, quick response is what a player must have in the Chinese market, where a new model may earn money in the first month following its debut, keep ends meet in the next month, and then quit when the third comes. So, Japanese companies need to be well prepared before entering China.

(USD 1 = CNY 6.84)

Source:SinoCast