Japan Market
Japan Market

Japan Market

Vodafone's 256K Java: Pricey Eye Candy

It’s been long argued that Japan’s mobile Internet can be divided into two eras: pre- and post-Java. Despite the 100K (or lower) limit imposed on Java applications by all three operators and a low cost of just a couple of hundred yen per download, the mobile application environment has been crucial in boosting usage, packets and profits, particularly at NTT DoCoMo. Java has been cheap for the public – and a moneymaker for the carriers. But a richer Java experience, introduced by Vodafone Japan, is what a high-end segment of the Japanese crowd is looking for.

DoCoMo Starts FeliCa i–mode Trial Service

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it will launch a trial, called the “i-modeｮ FeliCa preview service,” using mobile phones equipped with FeliCa contactless IC chip technology developed by Sony Corporation. The phones will be used for public transport tolls, electronic money, personal identification and other trial services between December 17, 2003 and the summer of 2004.

Gasp! DoCoMo I-mode Subs DOWN!

NTT DoCoMo Inc. has admitted its first-ever weekly slip in i-mode subscriptions. According to DoCoMo records, it had 40,132,000 subscriptions to i-mode on Dec. 7, a drop of 12,000 compared to the total on Nov. 30, according to data published on its Web site.

EAccess to Join TD-CDMA 3G Services

EAccess Ltd applied on Dec 3 to Japan’s Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications (MPHPT) for a license to build test stations for a mobile telecommunications service adopting TD-CDMA. EAccess, an asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) operator, aims to launch a wireless ADSL service specializing in data communications. The company has applied for several base stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Vodafone K.K. Introduces Billing Service for V-applis

Vodafone K.K. announced today it will expand its open content charge service to allow for the billing of V-applis starting late January 2004. The open content charge service is a system where Vodafone live! customers can view open content and have information charges billed directly to their Vodafone account. To coincide with the system’s service expansion for V-applis, Vodafone K.K. will begin accepting applications from interested content providers from December 10.

Japan's Nov. Subs Growth Lowest Since '96

Japan’s Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA) has just announced that November’s growth in mobile phone subscribers was the lowest since records started in 1996. According to the TCA’s figures, the net increase in subs (minus cancellations) was 332,900. Again, KDDI took the lion’s share: KDDI took 239,000 or SEVENTY PERCENT of the total! Remember, in October, for the first time ever, KDDI took 50 percent. Merry Christmas to KDDI!

Vodafone K.K. Plans 3G Recovery

Vodafone KK has renewed the design and concept of its outlets called Vodafone Shops. Now that its “Sha-mail” service lost its overwhelming power to attract customers, the company is poised to start new mobile information distribution services. The company had a bitter experience in losing subscribers after it reduced the number of the types of the handsets used for its service. handsets. Also see WWJ articles on this from Oct. 8th and Nov. 21st.

Japan Mobile Phone Internet Marketing (Part 2)

Last December, professor Philip Sidel of the International University of Japan served up some nasty lessons for believers in location-based marketing strategies (WWJ video here). Last week, Sidel and professor Glenn E. Mayhew presented their latest findings on mobile Internet (MobileNet) usage in Japan, and have come up with a new set of surprises, some nasty… and some nice. At a lecture at the American Chamber of Commerce Japan’s e-Business forum, the Sidel/ Mayhew team again cut swaths through several layers of hype and slashed up several misconceptions marketers might have. In our recent Viewpoint article, we noted how surprised some European consultants were about the lack of business apps in Japan’s MobileNet. Now prepare for some more; data gleaned in their most recent study shows that less than half of Japan’s MobileNet users plug in to keitai Internet for more for more than 5 minutes a day, and, perhaps, only a quarter of users are willing to pay for content and this is just the beginning.

DoCoMo Set to Launch 3G Compact Flash Card

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it will market P2402, the first FOMA CompactFlash card that will enable 3G videophone and other wireless data communications via PCs and PDAs such as DoCoMo’s sigmarion III, beginning November 28, 2003. The new flash card will enable PDA users to begin enjoying FOMA services, as DoCoMo presently provides the PC typed FOMA card that is only applicable to PCs with PC card slots.