iPhone Claims 46% of Japanese Smartphone Market

MobileCrunch details a research report [Google translation] released last week by Japanese market research firm Impress R&D showing that the iPhone commands 46.1% of the smartphone market there.

For this year, Impress sees the 3G commanding 24.6% in this segment, while the 3GS contributes another 21.5%. The 3G was introduced in Japan in summer 2008 (the 3GS followed earlier this year). Sources in Japan say that the iPhone user base in Japan now stands at 3 million, which is an impressive 10% of the global userbase.

MobileCrunch points to very aggressive advertising, including widespread print and TV ads and competitive pricing, by wireless carrier SoftBank as being key to the iPhone's success in the market.

The Impress report also reveals unsurprisingly high data usage for iPhone customers, with 66.8% of iPhone 3G and 77.3% of iPhone 3GS users spending more than 30 minutes per day on data communications, well ahead of the 55.3% figure for the entire smartphone market.