Vodafone Staggers In Japan

Service problems, a botched rollout of its third-generation phone network and a skimpy lineup of new handsets have driven away Japanese Vodafone customers in droves, the NY Times reports:

"The exodus has turned into an embarrassing and costly setback for Vodafone - and one it is now struggling to overcome… Vodafone’s woes in Japan are a lesson in how global corporations can stumble if they try to push a sales agenda across many national markets without heeding local quirks… the one-size-fits-all approach backfired in Japan. Features that were acceptable in Europe or the United States appeared primitive and clunky in Japan. Consumers here are used to getting new technologies like high-resolution color screens, two-megapixel cameras and full Internet access a year or two before the rest of the world."

NY Times Article