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Habbo Hotel Coming to Japan Mobile

Habbo Hotel Coming to Japan MobileFrom the Tokyo Game Show, in which long-time Tokyo mobile entrepreneur Neeraj Jhanji, builder of the first (and probably only) IM i-mode client for AOL, provides WWJ subscribers with an exclusisve look at his Until Now Very Quiet Plans (indeed, a working demo) to create a mobile version of the globally überpopular Habbo Hotel community service… er… site… or whatever it is. OK — it’s a networking community for digierati burnt out on traditional RPG shooters. In any event, Habbo’s mobile potential is huge (we think) and Neeraj is likely one of the few who can make it happen.

Nissan Wings Mobile Navigation

Nissan Wings Mobile NavigationNTT 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.

i-mode Takes Flash Lite Global

Macromedia and NTT DoCoMo, Inc. just announced that members of the DoCoMo-led global alliance of i-mode® licensing companies will be offered Macromedia Flash Lite. “NTT DoCoMo demonstrated their vision and leadership by adopting Flash Lite more than a year ago,” said Juha Christensen, president of mobile and devices for Macromedia. “Based on their success with the technology, they’ve chosen to expand its use throughout their partner community. As a result, Flash Lite will reach a greater audience much more quickly than could have been done without their support.”

ACCESS Announces Mobile Professional Version of NetFront Internet Browser

ACCESS, a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced the availability of NetFront v3.2 for the Nokia 6670 smartphone and other Series 60 smartphones. NetFront v3.2 for Nokia Series 60, the latest version of the world’s most widely deployed and actively used embedded browser, provides an optimum browser solution for Series 60 mobile professionals. NetFront v3.2 for Nokia Series 60 will be available as a preinstalled application on the MMC (MultiMedia Card) included with the new Nokia 6670 phone and will also be available from Nokia Software Market (www.softwaremarket.nokia.com) and Handango (www.handango.com) later this month.

Nissan, DoCoMo Offer i-mode for CARWINGS

Nissan Motor and NTT DoCoMo today announced that they would offer a new service that enables drivers to receive i-mode content on their mobile phones using their Nissan’s CARWINGS navigation system. This is the first time an automaker has connected its telematics services to DoCoMo’s i-mode. The new service, called Okutto-Keitai, allows drivers to receive i-mode digital maps and restaurant information corresponding to the area in which their car is located or destined. The service was made available for the first time on Nissan’s Tiida compact hatchback which went on sale on September 30.

Mobile TV Rocks!

In his 14 September WWJ Viewpoint, Philip Sugai raised some valid criticisms of the new TV cell phones and points to both technological and end-user behavior limitations that he believes doom TV phones to “DOA” status. Of these, the behavioral problems appear to be the most difficult to overcome. These criticisms, however, seriously underestimate both the technological developments that the devices will undergo in the next 18-24 months as well as the imagination and creativity that Japan’s end-users and broadcasters will apply to receiving and delivering, respectively, useful content via mobile TV (and FM radio).

Part 2 of a two-part series. Previously: MobileTV: Hype or Reality?, by Professor Philip Sugai.)