InfoPlant performed a survey of mobile phone users, carried out through the main menus of internet-enabled phones from DoCoMo, au and Vodafone which was at least somewhat focused on flat-rate data trends [.pdf in Japanese]. 16,833 people replied during the survey, 67.4% of respondents were female, and iMode users, Ezweb users and Vodafone Live! users were 57.4%, 20.9% and 21.7% respectively. WWJ subscribers login for the English translation.
Hong Kong-based Artificial Life, Inc., a provider of mobile 3G technology and applications, have just announced that its flagship and award-winning 3G product: V-Girl – "Your Virtual Girlfriend" – will launch with 3 in Hong Kong today. WWJ has been following the roll-out of Artificial Life products over the last few months and we expect to see them in Japan very soon as the company is in negotiations with the major carriers here.
Japan’s KDDI is promoting three new handsets coming out later this month that they believe mix fun with functionality for a package of business and entertainment features.
The W33SA from Sanyo, W32T by Toshiba and Kyocera’s A5515K each pack a push-to-talk style function. The trio of handsets comes equipped with Hello Messenger, a live audio-chat style service for up to five people that supports voice, image and text simultaneously. Twelve original cartoon-style avatars by well-known Japanese illustrator Kohei Yamashita will frolic on screen as stand-ins for chat members who can type or talk through the conversation over the handsets.
Targeted at young, female users, chat members register each other’s number in their handset to get started. Prices for the service of course vary depending on if subscribers have a flat rate package or not. If not then there is a charge incurred for sending photos or data. A special introductory rate for the audio portion of Hello Messenger until April, for example, will be 1.05 yen per 20 seconds. Scheduled to start service in late November.
Yahoo Japan announced it will launch a mobile content distribution service in which cell-phone users can buy games, ring tones, news and other services in 17 categories from 59 content providers including Cybird and game-maker Taito Corp. A full breakdown of their new offerings after the jump.
NEC Australia has announced the launch of their first i-mode 3G mobile phone – the NEC N600i – for those down under. Available now in Telstra stores, the dual-mode N600i is equipped with the Access NetFront 3.2 browser, a QVGA 2-in colour LCD screen, Bluetooth, TransFlash memory card and a 1.3-megapixel auto-focus camera. The new unit is also available to order via Telstra’s i-mode online shop.
Hong Kong-based Artificial Life, Inc., creator of hit 3G mobile games and environments, has come to terms with Sony BMG Music Entertainment in a licensing deal to provide music from the Sony play list to its 3G mobile V-disco product. V-Disco is a wireless subscription site combining chat, music streaming and music downloading to mobile phones with interactive 3D graphics and animated virtual avatars. Users and visitors to V-Disco select an avatar for themselves and join the fun. Club-goers choose genres and songs from the club list, listening to their tunes while their avatar strolls along chatting with other party people in real time.
In an e-mail to WWJ, Eberhard Schoeneburg, CEO of Artificial Life, said the company is already in testing with operators in Japan and he thought they were not too long away from launch in this market. V-disco users select songs and 3D animated avatars, watching them funk it up on any of several virtual dance floors. “It is a completely new and very entertaining way of presenting and delivering high-quality music to 3G mobile phones,” Schoeneburg commented in a prepared statement.
ADSL Broadband firm and mobile carrier wannabe eAccess is in discussion with American’s Goldman Sachs Group regarding significant investment in the firm. eAccess issued a Japanese press release in response to an article in the Nihon Keizai Daily. The article reported that the company plans to partner with Goldman Sachs with an investment by the American corporate giant of 25 billion yen through GS Capital Partners. Goldman Sachs has ties with Universal Studios Japan and could smooth plans for eAccess to distribute Universal video games over Japanese 3G cell phones. The article went on to say that they may also develop phone-based travel content including golf and hotel reservations for properties with Goldman Sachs ties.
DoCoMo has developed their first mobile handset to receive terrestrial digital broadcasting and analog TV in one 3G Foma package. The P901iTV handset, by Panasonic, targets the start of mobile digital broadcasting in April, 2006 and will make its public debut at the upcoming CEATEC Japan 2005 trade show October 4 to 8 at Makuhari Messe convention center in Chiba. (WWJ will be on-hand to get photos and video!)
The twist-style handset comes with a 2.5-inch, wide-view main LCD screen plus a sub-display, antenna-embedded earphone for enhanced TV reception, and 2.2-megapixel camera. The handset can only handle around 2.5 hours of continuous digital TV viewing; 1.5 hours of analog — ruling out Lord of the Rings style 3-hour viewing marathons. DoCoMo’s Osaifu-Keitai mobile wallet is part of the package as well, enabling the phone to be used as electronic money.
Vodafone and KDDI have had demonstration models of terrestrial digital TV receiver/handsets for some time. Last may their latest versions were up and running at the NHK Science and Technical Research Laboratories open house. Vodafone displayed the 801SH Sharp CDMA Qualcomm handset with a hybrid split-screen displaying TV images on the upper half with the bottom reserved for scrolling data feeds. KDDI showed off a similar au prototype handset by Sanyo. Check-out our video report from that event here.
The Guardian has posted a short article saying that “Mobile phone company O2 will today announce the long-awaited launch of its Internet service, i-mode, with content partners including the BBC, BSkyB and online bank Egg.” Of course, WWJ has been covering this story since the first rumor in mid-November 2004 and the official announcement from the companies involved later that same month.
Cramming for exams is never fun, but it’s a fact of life for students everywhere, especially in Japan. But forget using flash cards or using a textbook to learn all the needed information. Mobile-phone companies are now getting into the game and allowing people to go online and test their knowledge on the go. KDDI, one of the country’s biggest wireless carriers, launched a service under its AU label to offer the “Manabi” program. Literally meaning “to study,” Manabi allows subscribers to get access to study kits and test themselves on multiple-choice questions that flash on-screen.
