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On 8 November, DoCoMo said they would start offering a new FeliCa-compatible credit card, called the 'iD card' (that's 'i' and in 'i-mode' and -- we guess -- 'D' as in 'dominant market position'), on 1 December. The iD card will allow i-moders to make credit card payments with a FeliCa eWallet phone; Big D said the payment procedure will be "as simple as waving the phone in front of dedicated reader/writers at stores." Now, it looks like their Flash-heavy, groovy, dedicated iD-card website is now open, trolling for prospective customers. When you're the dominant wireless carrier in the market, and you've invested billions in building a 3G network, but hoped-f

Vodafone K.K. have just announced completed development of the Vodafone 804SH [ .jpg image ], a new 3G model by Sharp, which will be marketed in Japan from mid-January 2006. The 804SH is the second handset which will include the Mobile Wallet ("Osaifu-Keitai")-compatible function with an embedded Mobile FeliCa smartcard to support the 'Vodafone live! FeliCa' service, which lets customers use their handsets in ways relevant to their daily lives such as for transportation ticketing, electronic money shopping and point card services. The 804SH is also Vodafone K.K.'s first 3G handset to feature a Motion Control Sensor that responds to movements, thus enabling customers to enjoy new virtual gaming experiences by moving the handset in corresponding directions.

According to the ancient Chinese calendar, 2006 is The Year of the Dog. More importantly, it's shaping up to be The Year of the eWallet. Launched last summer, DoCoMo's FeliCa-based wallet phones are a growing success and competitors Vodafone and KDDI have scrambled to launch their own FeliCa-equipped models.

A recent survey points to wide consumer satisfaction and even the BBC have started reporting on Osaifu Keitai (wallet phones). The BBC's 'Click Online' producer caught up with me last month in Tokyo; they were in town to cover CEATEC, but also wanted the tech and business-model details on DoCoMo's 'i-mode FeliCa' mobile service, as well as how people are using them. The result was a pretty good T

Convenience stores are ringing up a mountain of profit on something they don't even have to keep in stock: bill paying. In fact, so many people now use convenience stores to pay utility bills and some taxes that the volume handled approaches that of Japan's megabanks. Though the commission on each transaction is small -- about the same 50- to 60-yen profit as on an onigiri rice ball -- they add up. For example, Lawson Inc. recorded 6.77 bn yen in commissions for fiscal 2004.

Japan's top mobile carrier DoCoMo and leading online mall operator Rakuten have forged a capital alliance to expand mobile auction services. Rakuten will spin off its peer-2-peer (P2P) auction network, Rakuten Flea Market, into a separate entity, Rakuten Auction, Inc from Dec. 1st. DoCoMo will then invest 4.2 billion yen ($37 million) starting Dec. 16 for a 40 percent share of the new firm. The deal does not include Rakuten's profitable B2C (Business-2-Consumer) Super Auction site, which offers new goods from its huge listing of online mall operators. Rakuten currently has around 17.3 million users; DoCoMo 45 mi

CEATEC, otherwise known as 'Disneyland for mobi-keeners,' is possibly planet Earth's most intense concentration of mobile goodies. KDDI's "EZ Channel" system, launched together with flat-rate data billing and the high-speed 1X EV-DO "WIN" 3G network in late 2003, is one of the few content services optimised for the network's 2.4-Mbps nominal speed. WWJ went to CEATEC to grab the details on EZ Channel, which includes a unique over

Vodafone follows DoCoMo and KDDI into the brave new revenue world of Osaifu Keitai [wallet phone] introducing its first Felica-equipped handset at a press conference for the Japanese carrier's Fall/Winter 3G lineup [.PDF]. Four handsets: the 702NK II from Nokia, 703SHf and 604SH both from Sharp plus the 703N by NEC are scheduled for release in October and November. The company is counting on this lineup's smooth design esthetics, sophisticated hardware and contents to re-ignite consumer interest in the Vodafone brand. At just 47mm wide the 703SHf is Vodafone's slimmest 3G handset yet. Besides Felica it has a 1.3 megapixel camera, 2-inch ASV LCD screen and the music player supports AAC and SD-Audio MP3 music files. But who cares. I

Packed with international game and console makers out to show the press and public just what they can do, the Tokyo Game Show opened yesterday for a three-day run at Chiba's Makuhari Messe Convention Center. Eager to showcase their mobile gaming platforms, DoCoMo set up a giant booth splashed in black paint over yellow for a "street style" look. Multiple mobile play stations circling the entire are

DoCoMo has announced plans to offer an information-capture function, called ToruCa, in their new "Osaifu-Keitai" (Wallet-Phone) compatible handsets to be released this winter. ToruCa will enable users to obtain information by simply waving their phones in front of dedicated reader/writers installed at restaurants, theaters, music stores, arcades and other establishments. For example, when a user buys a CD at a store using the "Osaifu-Keitai," they can simply wave their DoCoMo phone in front of the store's reader/writer to retrieve extra information about the CD, artist, etc., and possibly even a promotional coupon offered by the artist's recording label.

Locked out of your Tokyo apartment? Forget the locksmith; call the phone company. Alpha Corp. has come up with a door locking/unlocking system that works with DoCoMo's FeliCa IC card-equipped mobile phones. Similar systems have been around for several years, but this all-in-one door handle and locking unit can be installed on any existing entry without any special wiring. Previously mobile-phone activated locks were only available on new hot-wired apartment buildings. An extra subscription service even allows owners to check over their mobile if doors are locked or not (see also: Mobile FeliCa Trial Launch: Video Report from Dec. 2003).