DoCoMo announced today that a new 3G FOMA handset developed with award-winning designer Stefano Giovannoni will be globally premiered during Design Week from April 18 to 23 in Milan, Italy. Giovannoni, creator of highly acclaimed designs for world-famous companies such as Alessi, Fiat and Siemens, designed the new handset in collaboration with handset manufacturer NEC Corporation and DoCoMo.
DoCoMo just announced they will begin marketing the F903iBSC, by Fujitsu, business-use to enable companies to address security issues such as information leaks and non-work-related use of corporate phones. Security is enhanced by a tool that automatically locks all functions when the handset is shut. Unlocking can be handled with biometric fingerprint authorization or a password. DoCoMo will market this new 3G FOMA handset in Japan from March 19 exclusively through corporate business divisions, and will not be available at DoCoMo shops.
According to this report on Reuters, DoCoMo has said that as many as 240,000 users may not be able to use their phones overseas because of a software glitch. Faulty SIM cards on certain models are apparently preventing connections for messages and voice calls on networks outside Japan. DoCoMo said the glitch and it will replace faulty SIM cards for free.
According to an article on eMarketer, “What stands out in the Japanese mobile market is the fact that innovation is shifting toward business models and marketing tactics as opposed to technical features and functions … the explosion of non-official mobile content Web sites is causing the sun to set on the i-mode business model of a dominant mobile carrier selling incremental content and services to its user base,” says John du Pre Gauntt, eMarketer senior analyst.
There are several ‘gee-whiz’ statements in this summary, starting with “Marketers are looking to the Japanese mobile market as a model of the converged media future,” which are clearly designed to help sell their research report. However, we really must challenge outright some of the assurances offered. For example, the eMarketer quote above which states that “Innovation is shifting toward business models and marketing tactics as opposed to technical features and functions” is off-base on both counts.
The continued innovations from DoCoMo and the other carriers in network speed, handset design and content & service offerings speak volumes about the Japanese mobile market and the continued utterly fundamental role of the carrier in driving innovation. Granted, the increase in non-official content sites was obvious and predictable, given how easy the continuing carrier-led innovations make getting onto the mobile web for both providers and surfers. And the carriers have known this from Day 1 of i-mode.
A recent article via the Yomiuri Shimbun re-states that services offering the GPS location of callers will be required on all new 3G cell phones in Japan starting April 1st in an effort to aid emergency callers. With the increased use of mobile phones has come an increased number of emergency calls placed on them. Among the 9.39 million emergency calls police received in 2005, 59 percent were made from cell phones. However, callers were often unable to explain their exact location when calling from mobile phones.
DoCoMo has announced the newest model in their so-called ‘easy phone’ series, the Raku-Raku Basic, targeted at seniors who require user-friendly handsets equipped with special functions. Specific features include “Slow Voice”, which improves comprehensibility through embedded software that slows the other person’s voice speed, and “Clear Voice” noise-detection, which automatically adjusts voice and ringtone volume according to surrounding noise level. Enhanced “Read Aloud” audibly announces the name of the caller or e-mail sender and provides audio readouts of i-mode pages, while “Simple Mail Generation” offers preset messages for quick replies to e-mails.
