What is an Appliance?

A few decades ago a fellow who was brilliant in design worked for me and taught me a simple lesson. Don't build an integrated toaster and blender, no matter how much counter space it may save. Something along the line of form and function. As an engineer I could envision building a toaster, how large, how much power, what type of controls, and the like. I could not envision its form. I also had the common sense of knowing that if one integrated it with a blender then some user would pour something into the toasting side, and well...

Thus the form and function of appliances developed. Kitchen counters are a marvel of this type of display. All sorts of appliances. Waffle makers, blenders, choppers, toaster ovens, big toasters and the like.

Now take a look at the evolution of the mobile phone. For some of us we look at it as an appliance. I have a phone and I have a pad. One is for talking and one is for reading and writing. I like a big pad, not one of those small Apple things which always seem to have cracked screens. Half the people I know have had a cracked screen.

But I was interested in reading about the Japanese, often trend setters, going back to a phone qua phone. In Reuters they state:

Japanese shipments of traditional flip-phones rose in 2014 for the first time in seven years while smartphone shipments fell, highlighting Japanese consumers' tenacious attachment to the familiar and typically less expensive older models.Dubbed "Galapagos" phones because they have evolved to meet unique Japanese standards and tastes, flip-phone shipments rose 5.7 percent to 10.58 million in 2014, data from market researcher MM Research Institute Ltd shows. Smartphone shipments fell 5.3 percent to 27.70 million, down for a second year.

Is this a cost issue or is it a trend in appliance theory?