Japan Market
Japan Market

Japan Market

MobileTV: Hype or Reality?

With KDDI’s May 2004 announcement that they had developed handsets with embedded digital TV tuners and ample battery life, and with NHK, Mobile Broadcasting Corp., and others promising direct-to-mobile broadcasts, TV is again being widely touted as the “next big thing” for the mobile platform — and not just in Japan. But before we truly see an era of television-keitai convergence, several critical issues must be understood and addressed. Many of these are fundamental flaws in the concept of mobile phone-TV convergence, and suggest that we are simply witnessing the introduction of the “next big hype” for the mobile platform.

(Part 1 of a two-part series. Next week: Mobile TV Rocks!, by WWJ chief editor Daniel Scuka.)

Softbank Blocked from 3G Spectrum

Softbank Corp., Japan’s largest Internet provider, complained that its plan to offer a new mobile phone service could be thwarted by the government’s refusal to provide the necessary bandwidth. Masayoshi Son, the billionaire founder and chief executive of Softbank, told a news conference Monday that the company wanted to begin offering 3G service utilizing CDMA2000 technology. But he said the telecommunications ministry’s decision to allocate the key 800mhz band exclusively to NTT DoCoMo Inc. and to KDDI Corp., is blocking Softbank from launching the service.

DDI Pocket's New 128k PC Card

The new AH-H407P PC card [.jpg image] made for DDI Pocket by Honda Electron [Press Release] is set to start selling in Japan on September 10. It appears they will offer a flat-rate monthly fee for the 128-kbps PHS connection, which (if true) would mean we’ll be lining up to get one for ourselves. It could well provide a real challenge to the existing carriers’ 3G data-card pricing strategy.

KDDI Breaks Ground for Mega-Store

The golden shovels are turning sod in Harajuku today as Japan’s No. 2 carrier plans to open a Flagship store (like Vodafone Shibuya) in March 2005. Dubbed a Communication Institution for the purpose of helping visitors “understand our company, services, and products”.” Sounds like a mega-store to us! Designed by a twenty-something with Tokyo youth culture in mind, it looks like KDDI is pushing hard to market share.

Bluetooth Driving Hands Free

The (enforced) Road Traffic Law comes into effect Nov. 1 banning mobile phone usage while driving. With stiff fines, and even prison terms, announced people will be shopping for alternatives like this new Handzu-Free Bluetooth product. Tested to run on over 40 different DoCoMo Mova handsets these handy little devices will likely see critical mass adoption in Japan during the next year, then again it’s always a good idea to read the fine print..

Mobile Phone for Seniors

While thousands of workers were laid off at the “big” mobile phone companies, a small swiss company dares to start their own mobile phone: Mobi-Click – the mobile phone with “only” three buttons to dial, but with many other surprises, which can’t be found in any other phone: Mobi-Click “Compact” is not only the easiest to use mobile phone, but it also has a emergency call, babyphone and alarm-system integrated. Japan would seem like a natural target for this type of handset..!!!