Embracing technophobes and technophiles: customer-centred product innovation in Japanese mobile phones 2003-2007

Ageing populations may be regarded in some developed regions as problematic and burdensome, but in Japan, a rapidly expanding older market has been regarded by the manufacturing and service sectors as an opportunity for product innovation leading to benefits across diverse market sectors. Similarly, providing new products for a very young and technologically sophisticated generation has driven innovation aimed at reassuring parents of their children's safety. This paper discusses customer-centred approaches in Japan that have begun to address the needs of previously excluded or ill-considered market sectors through a field survey in Japan of recent product innovation in mobile phones in the older person's, children's, and mainstream markets from 2003 to 2007. These are discussed from a number of perspectives - technological innovation, interaction design, ergonomics, aesthetics and marketing.