Year: <span>2006</span>
Year: 2006

Year: 2006

DoCoMo's Mobile Credit Card Launch

DoCoMo's Mobile Credit Card LaunchDCMX: Is it a phone that can buy stuff or a credit card that can make calls? NTT DoCoMo is hoping that millions of spend-free consumers won’t know or care about the distinction and will simply use the new ‘DCMX’ credit-card phone for, well, pretty much everything. For small, daily purchases — like a six-pack and a take-out bento lunch — use the phone’s e-money FeliCa chip with no authentication required; for larger buys (a cool Louis Vuitton bag from the Omotesando boutique), use the DCMX credit-card function with a swipe and a PIN code; later, the phone will eyeball you for biometric authorization. “We wish to combine telecoms with financial services,” says DoCoMo’s Mr i-mode, Takeshi Natsuno, in today’s video program — and if there’s a cellco anywhere in the world that can afford the value-chain coordination costs to deploy a workable phone/credit card combo, it has to be NTT DoCoMo.DCMX is a logical progression from the carrier’s popular ‘o-saifu keitai’ IC-chip handsets that can store value onboard for small, daily purchases, and the launch announcement confirms DoCoMo’s strategic course aiming squarely at making the network-connected phone the payment method of choice for millions of Japanese. Maybe one day something this useful will be offered by carriers elsewhere?

Vodafone Releases Two New Handsets

Vodafone K.K. has announced that on 22 April 2006 it will commence sales of the Vodafone 804N, a new 3G handset by NEC, in the Kanto-Koshin region. The 804N model [ .jpg image ] will be rolled out in other regions when preparations are in place. The handset touts approximately 450MB of handset memory capable of saving approximately 100 songs. Also available starting this weekend, the V604T [ .jpg image ], manufactured by Toshiba, is a new PDC (2G) handset that features a terrestrial analogue TV tuner and a separate, dedicated FM radio tuner.

Softbank to Improve Network

According to a report by the Nikkei, carried on Reuters, Softbank Corp. will spend about 250 billion yen this business year on improving the Japan mobile phone business it has agreed to buy from Vodafone Group Plc. The investment would be more than the 215 billion yen Vodafone Japan spent a year earlier, the newspaper said.

3G Lessons Learnt – Buyer Beware

BusinessWire has a press release from the folks at Analysys stating that 3G in Japan has hit 40 percent penetration. While we agree that “Mobile operators in Japan and South Korea have consistently led the world in the development of innovative mobile services and technology” and “They have unrivalled track records of introducing new handset capabilities and services, and they are currently the only markets to achieve mainstream adoption of services delivered by 3G networks,” that “40” number is way too low. According to a TCA offical report, the 50 percent mark was actually reached here back in February.

Intel Buys into Bitwallet

Intel Capital, Intel Corp.’s investment division, announced at a press conference held in Tokyo that it has invested in Bitwallet, Inc., a service provider of e-money EDY. Intel Capital has bought convertible bonds worth 5 billion jpy. According to the announcement Intel plans to contribute to the penetration of electronic money services not only in Japan but also throughout the world. Bitwallet plans to allocate the investment to procure reader/writer terminals to be used at Edy affiliated stores, and terminals to be used for payment business and by major distributors.

This is significant — Bitwallet is the joint venture established by DoCoMo, Sony and more than 35 banks, travel agencies, technology companies, etc. Bitwallet now has a banking license in Japan and serves as the e-money cash issuer and payment settlement operator. This investment from Intel VC — one of the first from an outside pure-VC-capital-growth-seeking partner into the JV — means that someone outside Japan also sees the huge potential in Felica/IC cash payments that DoCoMo and KDDI also see — Eds

Inside Update on SoftBank Takeover

In addition to my comments in yesterday’s WWJ email newsletter, additional details have been provided by a Tokyo-based industry analyst. In a note to investors sent earlier today, CLSA’s Kieran Calder provided a wealth of data on the implications of the impending Vodafone KK takeover. These include SoftBank moving very quickly to integrate Vodafone (a hallmark of Masayoshi Son’s style), aggressive new sales targets and a looming retail price war (WWJ subscribers log-in for details).