Now that all three major telecoms carriers are selling the Apple iPhone, industry observers say Japanese handset makers are in for tough times.
"In the short term, it will be a blow to the Japanese makers. The winter marketing season is coming up and I think the iPhones will be taking center stage," said Tsutsumu Ishikawa, a journalist who watches the cellphone industry.
Armed with the new iPhone 5S and 5C, which hit store shelves Friday, industry leader NTT DoCoMo Inc. is mixing it up with rivals KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp.