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the mobile ®evolution

Some sage advise when entering new turf; Stop, Look and Listen.. it’s also good to find a local guide to help smooth your path. Japan is the cradle of mobile civilization and WWJ has covered this story for over a decade – trust our archives here offer some useful material.

Domestic activities continue to set the pace, and increasingly sharp players are looking at global markets. We have hard-earned industry knowledge and built a trusted network of contacts with access to advanced intell. and potential deal flow. Need a lift.. Ok, buckle-up!

  • Building a Community Network in Tokyo

    Right about this time ten years ago (Ya, Ten Years!) email was flying, as it does, related to plans for a large executive tour group set to visit Tokyo. Considering the agenda of meetings expected it was obvious there was No Way we would see everyone. So an evening welcome mixer to ‘gather the tribes’ was a logical solution and then out of the blue a note from Finland suggesting we host a so-called MobileMonday event. The rest, so they *say, is history.

    At that time MoMo had been running for a few years, only in Helsinki, but the team was eager to take that friendly mobile mixer model global. Tokyo became the first ‘chapter’ location, our debut event was held Sept. 13th 2004, with San Francisco and Singapore following a few months later. By our 1st birthday there were a dozen cities on the map with now +150 groups, from Adelaide to Zurich, joining the family to-date. It has been a Great Adventure.

    Ok, with that background out of the way, what are some key lessons? Simply put, I’ve learned plenty, and not nearly enough. We’ve built an amazing network, both here and abroad, from scratch based on a simple mission of ‘Bringing the Community Together’ for the greater good of all. While that concept is widely held and often-pursued by various groups since, there was not much in the way of other existing models for us to observe in those early days.

    While I could crush 1,000 words for you to skim, then may as well do 20,000 and publish an e-book (tempting), here’s my point: essentially, if there is a single no lip-service marketing noise rule that is mission critical, it’s All About The People. From speakers and sponsors to venues and volunteers, and most importantly = attendees, making everyone happy is like magic. It takes plenty of energy, luck and patience, to deliver smiles across every channel.

    All said and done: I would not trade my experience earned, for anything. So, since now we’re grown-up and ‘mature’ enough to consider carefully, it’s time to focus on the best way forward for all stake-holders. As our industry has morphed over the years, and with scale comes fragmentation, clearly we could better serve verticals within the community. That challenge needs people, platforms and programs in place for the next cycle. Interesting times ahead.

    Regardless of how my future unfolds, the core DNA must continue to be open and neutral, without fear or favour. Meanwhile, we’ve announced MoMo Tokyo xTEN celebration plans for September and will hold a Towards 2020 event in late October to secure supporters for our continued evolution. My most sincere Thanks To Everyone who has participated over these years, as they also *say: “serendipity is difficult to measure”.. indeed, it’s priceless.

    Lars Cosh-Ishii

    Filed Under: Editors Note

  • 10th Anniversary of Mobile NFC in Japan

    On June 16th 2004 DoCoMo held a press conference at the Teikoku Hotel to introduce the world first commercial launch of NFC enabled mobile phones. While the 10th anniversary is coming up next week, we have not seen anything about it (yet), suppose that’s why you love us.. as we’ve always been ‘just slightly’ ahead of the curve.

    I’m a bit slammed for time, our client projects work is always my top priority, but I really do want to get a few thoughts out on this thread. We had covered the initial DCM trial debut, in December 2003, however July 2004 was an official four model roll-out (only 1 of them 3G!) to the public at large here. The domestic market was already well-established with card-type Tap & Go for payments, so predictable addition to handsets with screen display and internet connection had finally arrived, that iconic event marked a natural evolution of mobile in Japan. FeliCa Networks was incorporated in January of 2004 with current shareholding structure at 57% Sony, 38% DoCoMo and 5% by East Japan Railway with records stating 236 Million total aggregate “Mobile” FeliCa chips shipped to-date. The P506iC went on sale July 10th, 2004.

    For starters perhaps a good idea to clear-up some standard misconceptions; such as usual “FeliCa is not really NFC” and that’s just another “weird Japan” thing. Looking at the global industry association NFC Forum, and Yes, Tagawa-san is still Chairman, their defined spec. is noted quite clearly. Regardless of the intricate Type A/B etc. standards, with ISO awarded or otherwise, the Sony solution is certainly NFC(.) I might also add it’s comparatively superior in both speed and security while indeed that result comes with a slight premium attached. As for the ‘cultural’ aspect, and we’ve said it countless times here over the years: it’s really the Business Model that’s unique.. not the end users. There are So Many examples of ‘people are people’ (from London to New York to Tokyo), if you provide them a valuable offering they will generally respond in the same way. Obviously there are issues in other markets surrounding regulations with respect to telecoms and banking or sales channel distribution of handsets vs. Japanese operators build to order approach. Simply put: it’s proven, at scale, for a decade.

    A few more generic points we (still) see via comments from overseas:
    What if I lose my phone?
    - At least you can remotely lock it, what happens if you lose your wallet.. @_@
    What if my battery dies?
    - Transactions are powered by point of sale reader, no battery in NFC card-style.
    How do I access money?
    - In Japan there are four ways: Direct connect to bank account or credit card (requires pin), incremental amount top-ups from either of aforementioned accounts, carrier pre-approved limit with transactions settled via your monthly bill or add cash credit value at any location with point of sale reader that can debit (7-11 etc).

    So, where are we after 10 years? A typical challenge to get good numbers, best effort figures indicate +90 Million active NFC handsets in Japan with 1.8 Million point of sale locations. One well-placed source has indicated weekly active users are hovering just above the 30% ratio, of course it would be great to know those daily and monthly numbers too. Further ‘nice to have’ dark data would be: what is the annual gross, net and the average spend of all mobile NFC clients in Japan – good luck with that, a safe bet it’s worth alot of cupcakes!

    Now, 3 quick points going forward. Let’s get the gorilla in the room out of the way first: Apple. Will they pull the trigger.. of course, it’s not If but When and as usual most important – How? Lots of chatter about BLE, but many might consider that pre-Y2K tech developed by Nokia to be somewhat less than ideal for secure privacy and financial transactions. Interesting side note related, Aplix has just announced an interim solution. On the global side of getting NFC firmly established, as we’ve mentioned in the past: Boys Need Girls. While having critical mass device adoption is increasingly evident with low-cost per unit for the hardware, all those handsets need enabled POS locations at scale in order to actually engage. Finally, as we move towards a next-gen. connected world of sensors and wearables, this quick, unique and secure data exchange of 1′s and 0′s will ultimately become (cough *Camera-Phone* cough) a natural and universal part of your daily life.

    Whew, 700 words and no lunch-break for me, Yoroshiku!

    Lars Cosh-Ishii

    Filed Under: Editors Note

  • Mobile World Congress – The Beat Goes On

    Yet another exciting visit to Barcelona for the annual ‘must-do’ Mobile World Congress event, with a record 85,000 folks in attendance this year, it was classic chaos as always with more than 1,800 exhibiting companies showcasing across 98,000 square metres of hall space and 3,800+ international media covering the action.. as per this Shatters Previous Records PR.

    While you can watch the interviews at Mobile World Live** and skim the Show Daily reports, there really is nothing like being on the ground and in that mix. Of course there are tons of reviews online, and their official Event Highlights is a good starting point, a couple of quick post-show thoughts below from our perspective – likely somewhat off the usual radar.
    **DoCoMo Keynote Presentation Here

    Plenty of buzz headed into MWC this year with the FaceBook aquisition of WhatsApp, it will be interesting to see how their joint initiative with GSMA develops on connecting billions in developing markets. While the final price-tag seemed to have a extra zero, certain Rakuten and LINE folks were both smiling here, comment by Bill Gates in Rolling Stone was bang-on: “..Zuckerberg wants Facebook to be the next Facebook”. As luck would have it, we crashed their top-secret VIP shaker which was, as the kids say these days, Epic.

    Despite a hectic daily meeting schedule, managed to spend a little time focused on what Japan brought to the party for 2014; the DoCoMo booth in Hall 1 had a decent range on display – from 5G to Hitoe Wearable – through to App Planet in Hall 8.1 where Jetro was hosting a handful of energetic startups together with the Sony FeliCa team again this year. Along the way we saw Panasonic with their latest HARDware and Kyocera had a few plastic mock-ups behind glass. Sadly the locals had no part in Connected City, which pulled pretty decent traffic, and they did not earn a single Award despite multiple examples which either pre-date or excel some of those featured offerings.

    From the gut: a shame Jetro lost the front door position in App Planet from last year and smaller booth design was rather ‘closed’ to walk through traffic. Looking at their website, English and Japanese, zero mention of this important trade mission? Compared to Israel, albeit always a strong player at MWC, the difference is.. notable. That said, here’s the point generally not found in main-stream; the traditional focus with nano-attention to product, and the subtle approach on it’s delivery, is well-understood in Japan. However, the old-school players are rather more awkward when trying to play the loud splashy games found at such events. An easy example, based on above, would be: What ‘if’ Fujitsu made Really Big Noise about their haptic touch tablet with a cool demo that featured it’s ability to render Braille!

     
    Imagine making the digital world easily available to the blind, not to mention all the media attention that little stunt would have brought? To be clear, yes, there has been chatter about this concept in the past, but apparently still no actual product on the street, as Yoda(san) famously said: Try Not – Do or Do Not. Simply.. ahead much work there is..

    While the main Fira Gran Via venue had plenty candy, to us, the real story this year was actually back at the original Fira Monjuic location with WIP-Jam and Four Years From Now both Rocking daily programs! Suffice to say easily half of my 200+ business cards collected during the week came via these two gigs. Full props to all involved, Audi clearly leaned in with support for the main stage and the city of Barcelona, under Mobile World Capital, set the tone for this new additional activity to become an increasingly important part of MWC. I’m pretty bullish on the future build and combined potential – where the money meets the talent – going forward and thrilled to become increasingly involved. Up next: Mobile Asia Expo in June!

    Thanks to @GSMA, another impressive effort, we all lived happily ever-after.. The End.

    Lars Cosh-Ishii

    Filed Under: Editors Note

Earthquake to Affect iPad2 Schedule

iSuppli has identified five key components, produced in Japan, expected to impact delivery of the iPad 2 http://bit.ly/i6KmvF

As noted earlier, the impact of Japans’ earthquake and tsunami on 311 will result in production and distribution delays of critical components for a wide range of electronic devices. — Eds

The aftermath of the Japanese earthquake may cause logistical disruptions and supply shortages. The IHS iSuppli teardown analysis of the iPad 2 so far has been able to identify five parts sourced from Japanese suppliers: NAND flash from Toshiba Corp., dynamic random access memory (DRAM) made by Elpida Memory Inc., an electronic compass from AKM Semiconductor, the touch screen overlay glass likely from Asahi Glass Co. and the system battery from Apple Japan Inc.

There potentially are other components from Japan in the iPad 2, however, the teardown analysis process cannot always identify all components’ countries of origin.

While some of these suppliers reported that their facilities were undamaged, delivery of components from all of these companies is likely to be impacted at least to some degree by logistical issues. The various challenges are being compounded by interruptions in the electricity supply, which can have a major impact on delicate processes, such as semiconductor lithography.

Furthermore, semiconductor facilities in Japan that had suspended manufacturing activities following the quake cannot truly commence full production again until the aftershocks cease. “Earthquakes ranging from 4 to 7 on the Richter scale will make it impossible to really restart these fabs until the earthquakes stop happening with such frequency,” said Dale Ford of IHS. “Every time a quake tops 5, the equipment automatically shuts down.” There are 130 production semiconductor fab lines located in 53 locations in Japan.

[Nearly 300 quakes recorded at +5m over the last six days.. do the math! -- Eds]

Apple’s supply of NAND flash has come under scrutiny in light of a temporary suspension of production and the resulting scrapping of some wafers at Toshiba’s main NAND production facility. The compass and glass supply could prove to be more problematic issues for Apple. Although AKM said its fab that produces the electronic compass used in the iPad was undamaged by the quake, the company’s shipments are likely to be impacted by the same logistical issues that will plague all Japanese industries during the short term.

Compasses are available from other sources including Yamaha, Aichi Steel, Alps and STMicroelectronics. However, these components are not easily replaceable.

“The calibration of electronic compasses is tricky for a number of reasons,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS. “Compasses are sensitive to electromagnetic interference. Furthermore, the iPad 2′s compass works in close coordination with the tablet’s accelerometer and gyroscope. This makes it impossible to simply replace one manufacturer’s compass with another.”

The glass used in the iPad 2′s touch screen overlay could present another supply problem for Apple. While the supplier of this glass cannot be confirmed with certainty, the concurrent release of the iPad 2 and the new Dragontrail Glass technology from Asahi Glass of Japan has led to speculation that Asahi may be the supplier of this durable new glass, according to Kevin Keller, principal electronics analyst for IHS. Asahi Glass reported damage to two of its facilities and damage at a third.

The lithium-ion polymer battery in the iPad 2 also is manufactured in Japan, the IHS iSuppli Teardown analysis service has determined. “Typically, battery cells are made at the site of assembly but because the iPad 2′s lithium-ion polymer battery is unusually thin, it likely requires advanced battery cell manufacturing technologies that reside in Japan,” said Wayne Lam, senior analyst, competitive analysis, at IHS. Logistical disruptions may mean that Apple could have difficulties obtaining this battery, and it may not be able to secure supply from an external, non-Japanese source. Details Here.

Domo Japan Rocks at SxSW

Great post from day #4 at SxSW event in Austin featuring several famous local players in the mobile biz! http://bit.ly/i02Orj

Huge Congrats to All who carried the flag into Texas this week.. 8-)

Three hours after getting off the plane, Akihiko Kodama was celebrating the launch of his company’s iphone application in a downtown Austin bar. He wasn’t just celebrating the launch, he was sharing stories and photos from Japan’s earthquake with coworkers. “Even in this condition, we came here, to let the people know about this,” Kodama said.

Kodama is the project manager at domo, a mobile app that’s part of the Tonchidot Corporation, a large Japanese internet company. Domo is one of a few Japan-based startups at SXSW.

Osuke Honda, a partner at DCM, the venture capital firm that has invested in domo, has been in the United States for the last two weeks. He returns to Japan in two days. “It doesn’t seem real,” Honda said. “I have to see it in order for it to sink in.”

Japan’s earthquake struck the same day SXSW began. SXSW is as much a gigantic party as it is a learning and networking event – it’s not known for its philanthropy. Since the earthquake, many of the handful of Japan-based startups attending SXSW banded together to promote the Red Cross relief effort.

“My employees are still over there facing the crisis,” said Ryo Shimizu, president of the Tokyo-based Ubiquitous Entertainment and leader of the relief effort. “They are very scared.”
As of Sunday night the SXSW relief effort had raised $1,986, Shimizu said. “We don’t care how people help, but we hope that they help.”

How you can help: The quickest way you can help? Texting “Red Cross” to 9099 sends $10 to the organization. Via Denver Post.

ITU Deploys Quake Emergency Support

The International Telecom Union has dispatched vital equipment to areas most affected by the tsunami in Japan http://bit.ly/fhatam

Geneva, 16 March 2011 – ITU has deployed 78 Thuraya satellite phones equipped with GPS to facilitate search and rescue efforts along with 13 Iridium satellite phones as well as 37 Inmarsat Broadband Global Area Network terminals. An additional 30 Inmarsat terminals are also ready for dispatch. The equipment can be charged by car batteries and are also supplied with solar panels to enable operations during power outages. Full Text Here.

Japan Mobile Network Quake Repairs

Japanese operators are running full emergency mode to repair infrastructure damage and deploy mobile cell sites http://bit.ly/iebpjF

Our sincere thanks again to all for your many contacts expressing concern, we are Ok and continue to juggle increased personal and professional demands as result of the current crisis. [Eds]

Via @MichiKaifu who is doing a Fantastic Job covering the Japan Telcom Emergency Deployments

DoCoMo, whose 6720 sites damaged at the peak on 3/12, has reduced the unfunctional sites down to 2130 by 5pm on 3/15, which corresponds to 20% of total 11,000 sites, originally deployed in Tohoku area.

KDDI’s damage was down from 3800 to 1500 sites, Softbank from 3786 to 1157 sites, both compared to the peak of the damage.

Damage by the tsunami will take a long time, and the carriers are deploying mobile cell sites to the emergency shelters. As of the time of reporting, DoCoMo has brought in 30 trucks, KDDI 5, and Softbank 1.

Still, traffic restriction is in order, with DoCoMo 80% restricted and KDDI 20%, as of morning of 3/15. I suppose it is because DoCoMo has a lot more customers in the area. Source [JPN]: Nikkei Newspaper.

Japan Earthquake Affects Global Supply

The impact of 311 quake and tsunami will be felt worldwide by way of pricing and availability of key components. http://bit.ly/iddAlv

Please pardon our lack of updates here, for obvious reasons, over last few days. We will update as possible more frequently via our Twitter Feed, also suggest the NHK World News on USTREAM for breaking and balanced news from the ground. [Eds]

For every action.. as all eyes are now focused on nuclear power plant integrity at Fukushima, it seems there is now increasing reason for us to be ‘concerned’ here with latest event at #2 this morning. The post 311 quake and tsunami crisis news ranges from the steep stock exchange drop, losing 6% on Monday and down another 6% in opening hours this morning, to emerging scenes of dramatic destruction along with growing tragic loss of life.

Perhaps, understandably, one of the near-term impacts of this event has not been widely reported. We noted in the past that a significant majority of the global component market is produced by Japanese companies. Everything from flash memory and microcontrollers to LCD screens and silicon needed for semiconductors. Contrary to some reports on Japanese handset makers lack of success overseas; they are very much in the game, just below the surface. Depending on which specific parts, and via what sources reporting, somewhere in the average of HALF of these critical components are directly linked to Japan and the current situation here has already started to affect futures pricing.

While actual shortages haven’t occurred yet, the disaster is already affecting component pricing, due to the psychological impact of the disaster. Pricing for higher-density NAND flash already has climbed by as much as 10 percent on the spot market, which buyers use to procure relatively small quantities of parts.

Japan also is the world’s largest supplier of silicon used to make semiconductor chips-at about 60 percent of the global total. If this supply is disrupted due to the logistical and infrastructure challenges Japan is facing this will have an impact not only on NAND flash memory, DRAM, microcontrollers, standard logic, LCD panels and LCD parts, it will also affect other families of products such as discretes, i.e. MOSFETs, bipolar transistors and small signal transistors.

Most of country’s largest electronic component producers operate their manufacturing facilities far to the south of the epicenter of the quake and the areas most impacted by the tsunami. Consequently, damage was negligible. However, companies are facing problems shipping components, receiving raw materials and getting workers to their facilities. Power interruptions also are slowing production—and can be a major impact on the operations of manufacturing facilities—depending on the type of product being manufactured.

For example, Toshiba Corp., the world’s second-largest producer of NAND flash, said shipments of NAND from its central Japan plant could drop by up to 20 percent in January and February. However, leading NAND supplier Samsung Electronics of South Korea should be able to partially compensate for the shortfall.

Furthermore, Hitachi’s fab is closest among the small/medium display facilities to the earthquake site. Production at this Hitachi fab was halted on Monday to gauge the impact on the quake. Even if no structural damages are found, production is likely to be impacted by the ensuing interruptions in the power supply. Full details via iSuppli.

  • Mobikyo K.K. publishes Wireless Watch Japan, organizes MobileMonday Tokyo networking events and operates Mobile Intelligence study tours providing related custom research and advisory services. Mobikyo's founding directors are deeply connected with, respected by, and committed to, Japan's wireless and IT business community. Thousands of managers, planners, engineers and strategists depend on Mobikyo to learn about Japan's unique business models, technologies, contents, services, applications and hardware from the most innovative test-bed market for next-generation mobile industry. "Mobikyo" was chosen for the unique blending of Mobile and Tokyo. However, depending on the kanji character used for kyo, it could also mean association, capital, religion or today. With fantastic support from our clients, partners and affiliates in Japan and overseas, we have become the trusted source of independent market intelligence & business networking connections based in Tokyo.
  • MobileMonday Tokyo is a leading networking organization supporting Tokyo's mobile industry. We launched in September 2004, with over 70 events to-date, hosting an average 100-200 industry delegates. MobileMonday is an open platform for mobile industry visionaries, developers and industry insiders fostering cooperation and business development through live networking events to share ideas, best practices and trends from global markets. Chapters are active in over 100 cities worldwide and new locations continue to launch monthly. Founded in Helsinki, Finland, in 2000, MobileMonday is organized by a global team of 300+ volunteers and it has become the world's largest mobile community network. Details via MoMo Tokyo website
  • Mobile Intelligence offers related custom research and consulting designed specifically for industry executives working in sales, marketing, product development, strategy, venture capital and the media. From private workshops and conference presentations to trend spotting innovation and detailed analysis, our services are based on the direct experience and lessons learned in the Japanese mobile market. We also run a unique in-Japan guided tour service providing market introductions, personal connections and actionable lessons for clients overseas. Delegates take part in seminar and attend inside sessions, at individual companies, in technology showrooms, and -- most importantly -- on the fabled streets of Tokyo. Alumni return home with a competitive edge, integrated awareness and personal contacts moving them to the forefront of new business development. Full details via Mobile Intelligence website