Japan Market
Japan Market

Japan Market

Upgrading to a New Cell Phone in Japan Might Depend on Who You Are

Taking a break from the summer heat, this humble reporter was bribed with promises of nomi-hodai, all you can drink at usually unbeatable prices, to tag along as ‘the mobile phone expert’ recently in Shinjuku. So with ice tea-laden backpacks, we embarked on an blistering hot afternoon ketai safari in search of the elusive new V602sh handset from Sharp through Vodafone Japan, only to discover that this ultra-cool model was already sold out at the monster electronic consumer super-store of choice. Or was it? Thus unfolds an interesting look at how the subsidy-driven handset marketplace deals with existing vs. new customers.

KDDI's Chaku-Uta Hits 100M Downloads

KDDI has announced that their EZ “Chaku-Uta” service achieved the one hundred million song download plateau on July 5, 2004. Since its introduction, EZ “Chaku-Uta” has continued to improve, adding an AAC codec for improved sound quality and stereo playback. Also, with the cooperation of record companies, au has been able to provide more and more new songs from artists, even before they are released on CD. As a result, EZ “Chaku-Uta” is becoming established as a way to enjoy the latest releases first.

Vodafone Holdings 1Q Op. Revenue Dives

Vodafone Holdings today said its 1QFY04 consolidated operating revenue plunged 21.4 percent compared with the same quarter last year; the figure feel to 356.0 billion yen due mainly to the exclusion of the fixed-line telecommunication business in the second half of fiscal 2003. Total revenue for the mobile business declined by 6 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Interactive Posters for Mobile Phones

Mobile phone solution provider K Laboratory has announced that it has developed FeliPo, an interactive advertising system designed for use with FeliCa-enabled public posters. Users of FeliCa mobile phones will be able to receive detailed information and special discount coupons online from a FeliPo-enabled advertising poster by simply holding their handsets against the ad.

Vodafone Completes Share Offer

Further to the announcement made by Vodafone Group Plc (“Vodafone”) on 25 May 2004, Vodafone announces that the offer made by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vodafone International Holdings B.V. (“Vodafone International”), for the shares which Vodafone and its subsidiaries (“Vodafone Group”) did not already own in Vodafone K.K. (the “Vodafone K.K. Offer”) closed for acceptances on 21 July 2004.

Yamaha Offers MTV for i-mode Users

Launched on 20 July by Yamaha, MTV Movies features mobile content that is closely tied to movie programs broadcast by MTV Japan. The i-mode site offers ring tunes, i-Motion movies, and movie trailers for titles including both old and new. The content service initially features 2,000 ring tunes and 200 songs, and Yamaha adds 40 titles every month. It costs 315 yen/month; the company is aiming for first-year sales of 100 mn with a total of 50,000 subscribers.

Vodafone's FM Handset Launched

Wireless watchers will be aware that the number of FM radio keitai seems to be proliferating. Just this week, KDDI announced that its latest batch of new offerings offer the FM option. Now Vodafone K.K. is tuning into the possibilities with the the V401SA, the carrier’s first handset with a dedicated FM tuner. But does this mean FM will be an optional extra — a bit like having fins on your PDC Cadillac — or will FM become an indispensible, must-have feature for keitai in Japan?

KDDI ''Flash:'' Slashes Prices, Debuts 3 Models

A year ago, WWJ predicted the end of packet-based pricing. A year later, KDDI/au, and Japan, would seem to be entering a new price war. Today, KDDI threw down the gauntlet to DoCoMo by slashing its fixed packet charge from 4,200 yen to 2,000 yen (Yes! You read that right…) on August 1, while flaunting three cool new mobile models armed with what will rapidly become de rigeur in Japan: flash! We’ll have an exclusive video program with Anup Murarka, Macromedia’s senior director of mobile marketing and devices coming in a few weeks, and — of course — breathtaking visuals of KDDI’s newest and sexiest phones and menus. But first, let’s take a look at the No. 2 carriers’s latest strategy to keep pummeling DoCoMo and Vodafone for new adds in a maturing market.

Nation-Wide VoIP Network by Stealth?

My discussion with Steven Graff, who recently joined WWJ as marketing guru and maker-of-all-things-happen, suddenly turned technical. “Imagine being able to throw the switch on a network of several million WiFi hotspots located all over Japan. What if Yahoo’s modems permitted Yahoo to pass traffic through the user’s DSL connection and WiFi air interface independent of the home network? Today’s Viewpoint is a fable which, were it true, would shake Japan’s mobile market to the core.

3G Finally Dawneth in Japan

The latest haul of subscriber figures from Japan’s Telecommunications Carriers Association told their usual tale of victory and triumph for most, and misery for some. Three guesses for who did what! Vodafone Japan added a paltry 64,100 subscribers to raise its subscriber base to 15.1 million. But in the hot-house-, typhoon-yielding-, and subscriber-base-wilting-month of June, DoCoMo and KDDI/au managed to pull in 166,000 and 157,000, respectively. Better still, FOMA’s 3G ascendancy seems secure and the pace of uptake is accelerating, while CDMA 1X continues to do rather well, thank you very much. Key message: if you ain’t got 3G in Japan, you’re nowhere (or Roppongi Hills).