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

Year: 2006

EU Presses Japan on Galileo GPS

In just four years, Europe will bring about a sea change in the world of car and man navigation, which has long depended on a single service source, the American global positioning system. As the continent prepares for the full operational launch of Galileo, its own version of GPS, the European Union and industry are watching with keen interest to see how Japan, a heavy GPS user, eventually positions itself. “Japan would be a very good test market for Galileo because there are many people using mobile phones and people who like gadgets,” Paul Flament, administrator of the Galileo Program at the European Commission Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, said.

Strategic Planning for Successful International Expansion

Strategic Planning for Successful International ExpansionA long-time friend of WWJ, Walter Adamson, founder and principal at Digital Investor, sat down with us to share his latest presentation, “Strategic Planning for Successful International Expansion: Lessons Learned from Asia’s Failed Experiences,” a primer on the mistakes that mobile content companies have made while trying to expand across borders, with a focus on Japan and Australia. In the Japanese case, some have succeeded, but many others have not and Walter has provided a clear outline of common mistakes.

Walter attributes failure in many cases to unsophisticated management approaches and suggests that a solution can be found from addressing what he calls the ‘Top Six Sins’ — Strategic Intent, Underestimated Risk, Lack of Linkage (between strategy and action), Poor Balance, Poor Project Reviews and Poor Alignment (between strategy and structure). WWJ thinks Walter’s view may just be valuable to mobile companies anywhere considering a leap into someone else’s market.

Continuation of Customer First Approach

SOFTBANK CORP. and Vodafone K.K. today announce they have made decisions regarding current services based on customer feedback, following the announcement that Vodafone K.K. will enter the SoftBank Group, after completion of the ongoing tender offer bid launched by the SoftBank Group. Customer centers and Vodafone shops received a high number of customer inquiries after this announcement.

KDDI Seeks Banking JV

KDDI said on Thursday it was in talks with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to set up a new bank that would allow shoppers to pay for their purchases electronically using their mobile phones. Among the possible options, KDDI’s “au” brand mobile phone customers would be able to have bank accounts linked to their phones and use the devices to spend money up to the account balance, a KDDI spokesman said.

NEC Telecom China Plans

NEC Telecom, one of the only really active Japanese handset makers in China, regards China as its most important overseas market amid personnel changes and the retreat of other Japanese firms. So says Ken Lu, the new president of NEC Telecom China. “Global expansion is a focus for NEC Telecom in the world and China is a priority in that expansion,” said Lu yesterday.

Vodafone Launching Sharp 904

Vodafone K.K. has announced that it will commence nationwide sales this weekend of the Vodafone 904SH. This 3G handset by Sharp features the industry’s first VGA liquid crystal display, four times the resolution of current QVGA, making it possible to reproduce visuals and render small characters with more vividness and clarity than before. The model will also support new services and features, such as Face Recognition for enhanced privacy protection, Bluetooth and their Motion Control Sensor capable of measuring handset posture in all directions in 3D a popular function for mobile gaming.