Not really ‘news’ since ICAAN cleared the final hurtles on 3 June, yet the Web is alive today [Google News] with this story. We reported back in December 2004 on the possible approval of the .mobi domain extension; we guess the admin folks at mTLD Top Level Domain Ltd, based in Dublin, will have their hands full. Apparently their contract was signed with ICANN in Luxembourg last night and new .mobi domains will be on sale in the first half of 2006.
Motorola Inc.’s new phone for business users in Japan is just a start for the world’s second-largest mobile phone maker as it re-enters the demanding Japanese market, an executive said on Thursday. Michael Tatelman, Motorola vice president and general manager of mobile devices in North Asia, said it has the right combination of technology and design capability to meet Japanese users’ needs as they upgrade to a third-generation network based on a global standard.
The average amount of time people in Japan spend each day browsing the Internet has exceeded that spent on reading newspapers for the first time, according to survey results released Wednesday.
According to the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) report, Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2005-2009, the media and entertainment (M&E) industry will increase at a 7.3 percent compound annual growth rate to $1.8 trillion in 2009. The US remains the largest M&E market but not the fastest-growing one. It has been outpaced by Asia/Pacific where China is on track to overtake Japan as the region’s entertainment giant by 2008.
One year — almost to the day — after the dramatic power shift at Vodafone KK, we couldn’t help but wonder ‘where is Darryl Green now’..?!? So after a bit of digging it turns out that the former head of J-Phone (and then Vodafone Japan) has actually landed a new gig — in India! While speculation was rife that he would end up (like many others) moving to Softbank, it seems this next challenge — and potential reward — is even more interesting. WWJ wishes him all the best building another telco in that future mass mobile market.
NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan’s largest mobile operator, faced tough questions at its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday as unhappy investors complained about the company’s dividend level and stock performance. Some shareholders demanded the company apply more of its profits in the last business year ended March to double its dividend for the 2004/2005 year.
All doubts are now removed about who is making “Ferrari Class” handsets and the gloves are off for a bare-knuckles contest in the UK mobile data market. With O2 getting ready to roll out their i-mode portal in the next few months, Vodafone is clearly taking advantage of its relationship with Japanese OEMs and the London young turks need for speed. The GX25 (photo right) has Bluetooth and a QVGA TFT LCD bundled into its tri-band body, and the 3G-enabled 902sh touts a 2-megapixel camera with Video Out function.
Their ad copy says it all: “Jump into the seat with the Sharp 902 official Ferrari merchandise. You too can be part of the team through games, ring tones and customised menu which are all included in this unique package. Enjoy the benefits of this high-quality phone and share the excitement of the Ferrari footage with your friends. This striking Vodafone live! with 3G phone also features a 2 megapixel camera with autofocus and 2x optical zoom. After you have amazed others with your photography skills, why not explore the world of Vodafone live! with 3G to catch the latest music videos, Barclays Premiership goals, film trailers and breaking video news bulletins? All this before you have made your first face-to-face video call!“
Hey DoCoMo Pimp my handset! NTT is shrugging off some of that infamous group-think mentality promoting trendy young designs in an eye-popping line of custom jackets for the P901iS series. Skulls, pistols, snakeskin, Samba Samurai and flower camo transform mobile phones into Japanese pop culture icons — complete with matching phone straps. D-@-mo (datmo design project) is turning out some of the best P901iS covers, but P901iS manufacturer Panasonic
plus a host of licensees have Japanese strutting down urban catwalks flashing their phones like designer clutches.
The cell phones transformation into fashion statement is something Americans are slowly catching on to. Coach, Hermes and Gucci got it right away and started marketing phone straps, charms or Keitai cases for brand loving locals. Custom painted, and completely illegal, rip offs of Chanel and Dior logos decorate jewel-encrusted handsets on pretty young things but everyone knows real brands are better. Now licensed names by youth culture designers and even game-obsessed Otaku brands are spreading onto handsets like a virus – a shiny, happy moneymaking virus.
Vodafone K.K. just announced that it has enlisted two Japanese celebrities, Junichi Okada and Misaki Ito, to promote the companies services in Japan. Junichi Okada and Misaki Ito will feature in new TV advertisements, to go on air from the end of June, that are part of the current “Vodafone, beyond borders” ad campaign. Advertisements in newspapers, magazines and other media will begin from mid-June.
The wireless road warriors from Tomy have put cell phones in the drivers’ seat with these tiny remote control cars that can zip along in response to signals from infrared-equipped handsets. Licensed by Disney, Putica (petite car), comes in three classic Disney cartoon character designs from the 40s and 50s: Susie the hot rod, steam engine Casey Jr. and Pedro the plane. Overseas readers may not recognize these anthropomorphic mechanicals from the past, but these are by no means obscure for Japanese consumers. Regional marketing of secondary and even obscure characters from old Disney cartoons have become a huge spin-off industry here. Susie, the little blue hot rod, has her own line of character goods. These hot-rods are priced at a mere 1680 yen. To synch controls with most mobile phones, drivers can download a free software application from the online Tomy Putica website.
