i-mode

Tokyo Startup Leverages Mobile Mail

April 23, 2003 October 20, 2023

Tokyo Startup Leverages Mobile Mail Nooper.com is an unlikely name for a technology that aims to turbocharge mobile mail. The system lets users specify events – “Noopies” – and then receive notification (as well as content) via keitai; Noopies can be anything – a Mail Checker Noopie alerts you when your corporate account gets a new mail, a Reminder Noopie tells you when rain is more than 40% likely (Remember your kasa!), and a List Noopie keeps you in touch with multiple buddies on a mailing list. The jury’s still out on whether Nooper can succeed in Japan’s roiling mobile market, but if they can succeed here, they can probably succeed anywhere. Full Program Run-time 16:48

Euro Feedback and the Future of WWJ

April 22, 2003 October 13, 2023

WWJ subscribers did a great job of summarizing and opinion-izing on the state of the mobile Internet in Europe, and I would venture that the information contained below in today’s newsletter probably couldn’t be purchased anywhere – or if it could, the cost would be substantial. My overall take after reading, editing (slightly), and collating the responses is that – Wow! – Europe’s come a long way in the past two years. It strikes me that Europe 2003 is akin to Japan 2000, with new networks, data services, and innovative business models all being trialed, proven, and – in some cases (Did someone say “KPN i-mode?”) disproven.

Credit Companies Trial IR Payment via i-Mode

April 14, 2003 September 30, 2023

Visa International, Nippon Shinpan, Aeon Credit Service, OMC Card, and NTT DoCoMo announced that they have agreed to commercialize credit card settlements using mobile phones, and that they will start a trial service soon. The mobile phones designated for the trial service are NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode-supporting 504i series and 504iS series that have the infrared communication function to download Java applications.

Japan Handsets Technology Isn't Everything

April 11, 2003 September 30, 2023

Japanese companies have a technology edge derived from digital media expertise, and particularly long experience with displays and cameras; experience in multimedia applications, from i-mode in the domestic market, has led to software and application expertise. Japanese companies have a technology edge derived from digital media expertise, and particularly long experience with displays and cameras; experience in multimedia applications, from i-mode in the domestic market, has led to software and application expertise.

Mobile Healthcare Inc. Launches 'Lifewatcher'

April 11, 2003 September 30, 2023

Mobile Healthcare Inc. today announced the launch of Lifewatcher, a world first in integrated mobile disease management. The new service, which operates over a mobile phone or other handheld device, is the first comprehensive mobile disease self-management system for diabetes or obesity sufferers or individuals with restricted dietary and health needs.

Natsuno and Ai Kato Launch 505i; and WWJ – Facing a Transition

April 9, 2003 September 30, 2023

Herewith, I’d like to query you, the loyal and keen WWJ readers (some 30% of whom are in Europe, according to last fall’s subscriber survey), on what an outsider needs to know about Europe’s mobile Internet. What are the companies, technologies, business models, and content services serving to boost the future? What – and who – matters most? Which will triumph: i-mode or Vodafone Live? Can Japanese terminal makers kick their way into the market? And will the Open Mobile Alliance boost Europe’s wireless industry far ahead of Japan’s – given sufficient buy-in from content providers and software creators?