Nissan Wings Mobile Navigation
NTT DoCoMo and Nissan Motor are flying in tandem through a new tie-up between i-mode and the carmaker’s Carwings navigation system. The new service, Okutto-Keitai, allows drivers to receive destination-based i-mode digital maps and restaurant data via their NTT DoCoMo mobile handset. Drivers can also request information from Carwings’ live operator or by selecting information manually through the navigation system. Digital maps are provided by Zenrin; restaurant information through Gourmet Navigator, Inc.
Given the GPS technology on many wireless handsets these days plus the rich variety of navigation content sites, the main offering navigation systems have going for them is bigger screens. DoCoMo competitor KDDI would have you just lose the navigation console completely and rely on their increasingly micro-comprehensive 3G “Navi” systems. Nevertheless, automotive electronic devices continue to show strong growth here. A recent survey of auto parts makers by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) estimates sales of auto electronic devices — including car navigation systems — will hit 2.79 trillion yen for the fiscal year ending March 2005.
President Nakamura faced the Tokyo press on September 30 and did… not too bad a job. In a wide-ranging presentation followed by Q&A, he covered fuel cell R&D (commercialization after FY 2006), Softbank’s moves to obtain 3G spectrum (vacating the spectrum tomorrow “cannot be done”), and Big D’s global strategy (with a dual-mode GSM/W-CDMA handset, you can access both). Nakamura also talked about churn, competition with KDDI/au, and the possibility of abandoning pre-paid services. A post-fall IR Roadshow program that’s not to be missed.