February update: Japan mobile operator market shares

TCA published its February mobile subscriber numbers for Japan's mobile phone operators. The main points are as follows:

• Japan's mobile population grew by 0.4% from last month reaching 115,686, 400 contracts
• Among all mobile contracts, 96.4% go to cellular phones, with the rest allocated to PHS phones (Willcom)
• Overall cellular operators added 488K subscriptions with DoCoMo being slightly ahead of the pack with 148K adds
• In terms of total subscriber bases, DoCoMo grabs 50% of the market followed by KDDI au (28.3%), Softbank (19.7%) and eMobile (2%)
• Data plan subscriptions account now for 83.1% of total cellular phone market with DoCoMo being above the average with 87.5% of its subscribers using data services
• 3G penetration stands at 96.6% for overall cellular market with Softbank having 97.5% of its subscribers shifted to 3G devices
• Japan cellular market is dominantly postpaid with only 1.2% being still on prepaid; DoCoMo is left with just 0.1% of prepaid accounts

Softbank to users: switch to 3G or else

Nearly one million of Softbank users risk to wake up on April 1st next year and discover their phones gone unresponsive. That will happen if you are still using 2G phone and unwilling to switch to 3G. To give credit to Softbank, the plans of 2G cut off were made in advance last year. Now, 2G users' contracts will be automatically terminated after March 31, which means customers will lose their phone numbers and keitai email addresses.

Source: Keitai Watch

NTT DoCoMo considering Sony Ericsson Android Xperia X10

Things look bright for Android in Japan. Following the release of Japan's first Android smartphone - the HTC Magic earlier this year, NTT DoCoMo is considering to ship its second Android device. Most likely it will be the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, a 1GHz Snapdragon processor-equipped Android smartphone with a 4-inch touchscreen recently announced by vendor. During the new handset lineup introduction, the DoCoMo's CEO said the operator is evaluating the possibility of selling the X10 during next year's spring-summer season. Other Japan's major operators including KDDI au and Softbank are also said preparing Android devices for launch next year. At the last press conference Softbank shared some details about its future Android smartphone saying it would feature the Qualcomm's 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 3.7-inch OLED touchscreen and support Android's application store Marketplace. While the maker remains unknown, something tells me it might be Samsung.

iPhone 3GS tops the charts in Japan

The recent mobile phone sale figures from GfK show the rise of the iPhone 3GS 32Gb model to the top of the charts. Softbank's marketing campaign under the "iPhone for Everyone" slogan is clearly bearing the fruit. Just two weeks ago iPhone was ranked tenth...

TOP 10 (Sep. 7-13)
1(3) iPhone 3GS 32Gb	Softbank
2(2) Sharp SH-06A	NTT DoCoMo
3(1) Sharp SH001	KDDI au
4(6) Sharp SH-02A	NTT DoCoMo
5(4) SE W64S	KDDI au
6(12) iPhone 3GS 16Gb	Softbank
7(5) Panasonic 830P	Softbank
8(8) Sharp URBANO	KDDI au
9(7) Sharp SH-05A	NTT DoCoMo
10(10) iPhone 3G 8GB	Softbank

Previous Japan's top 10 mobile phone rankings:

• Top 10: Aug. 31-Sep. 6

Source: IT Media Mobile

Fans rejoice as Armani phone lands in Japan

The release of Samsung's 830SC by Softbank is going to be good news for Armani fans in Japan. It's a well-known fact that Japan is heaven for luxury brands and, no doubt this phone will find love with some followers. The question is how big is this niche market? It's also interesting to see how Samsung is trying to penetrate Japanese market. Apparently, one of Samsung's strategic moves is to lure Japanese consumers by putting large magic Emporio Armani letters on mid-range phone.

Phone Specs
Model:	Samsung Emporio Armani 830SC
Carrier:	Softbank
Display:	2.2inch QVGA AM-OLED
Packet data:	HSDPA 3.6Mbps
Bluetooth:	Yes
Browser:	Full HTML
Camera:	3MP
Bands:	WCDMA/GPS 900/1800/1900
Dimensions:	47.4 x 114.9 x 12mm
Weight:	91g
Memory card slot:	microSDHC (up to 8gb)
Colors:	black, white

Source: Softbank

Top 10: Best selling mobile phone in Japan

The first week of September witnessed a big jump of iPhone 3GS from the 10th to third ranking in top 10 selling mobile phone rankings in Japan. The big jump is attributed to solving the earlier inventory problems for iPhone 3GS. Nevertheless, the undisputed leader Sharp saw two of its models swapping the top and second positions, securing its hold on Japanese market.

TOP 10
1(2) Sharp SH001	KDDI au
2(1) Sharp SH-06A	NTT DoCoMo
3(10) iPhone 3GS	Softbank
4(6) SE W64S	KDDI au
5(5) Panasonic 810P	Softbank
6(13) Sharp SH-02A	NTT DoCoMo
7(3) Sharp SH-05A	NTT DoCoMo
8(18) Sharp URBANO	KDDI au
9(7) NEC N-08A	NTT DoCoMo
10(4) iPhone 3G 8GB	Softbank

Source: IT Media Mobile

iPhone sales in Japan estimated to hit 1 million in three months

While Apple doesn't release iPhone sales by region, there are some indicators that iPhone is doing pretty well in Japan as Softbank's agressive sales tactics and viral marketing are starting to bring new customers to Softbank shops. According to Business Media, which refers to some internal sources at Softbank, the iPhone sales should easily achieve one million devices after one year from iPhone's landing in Japan. Given that the iPhone went on sale in Japan nine months ago, the one million milestone should be reached in the mid of summer.

Source: Business Media

Japan finishes 2008 with 110 million mobile phone subscribers

The “low-baller” competition led by Softbank and eMobile is on in Japan and DoCoMo seems to be back in the game while KDDI and Willcom are out of steam. The December 2008 new adds data from TCA shows just that (see above). Overall, Japan carriers including PHS operator Willcom added 401 thousand new subscribers in December 2008 boosting the country’s total number of mobile phone users to over 110 million equal to 87% of population penetration.

As for the carrier market shares, DoCoMo is in comfortable first-class seat with over 49% of the market while the second and third contenders KDDI and Softbank are chugging behind with 27% and 18% market shares correspondently (see below).

Source: TCA

iPhone in Japan turns into TV tuner

Now you can't blame iPhone in Japan for not being capable of oneseg TV reception, a must-have feature for Japanese phones. Softbank is shipping a stand-alone oneseg & battery hardware box that will serve as a TV tuner and battery for iPhone. It can send over the TV signal to iPhone using the WiFi connection or be connected to iPhone via a cable when used as an extra battery. It sells for around 100 dollars. Additionally, users will need to download a free oneseg app from App Store in order to watch oneseg TV.

HTC aims for 5% of Japan mobile handset market

This week HTC held a press conference in Japan to share its vision and strategy of tackling Japan mobile handset market and also to mark the launch of HTC Touch Pro and HTC Touch Diamond devices along with Touch FLO 3D user interface. 

HTC's outlook for Japanese operations is positive with optimistic goal to grab 5% of domestic unit shipments in near future. HTC will need to ship about 2.6 million devices annually in order to achieve its 5% goal (annual handset shipments in Japan reached 52.3m in 2007, according to Gartner).

HTC's confidence is based on global success of HTC Touch smartphone, which sold in almost 3 million devices from its launch in 2007. The new and enhanced Touch-based models Touch Pro and Touch Diamond should drive more sales, according to HTC. Having launched HTC Diamond in May 2008, HTC reports global sales of 1 million devices with the forecast of 3 million shipments by the end of October 2008.

Along with new devices, HTC also refined its strategy in Japan, including the following moves:

• Target multiple carriers by shipping HTC Touch Diamond to DoCoMo, Softbank, and eMobile and HTC Pro to DoCoMo, KDDI au, and Softbank
• Provide a thorough localization for Japanese carriers enabling carrier-specific email, menus, text input, navigation apps in Japanese
• Bring HTC's latest handsets to Japan in timely fashion (in sync with global launch)...

Source: IT Media +D Mobile

iPhone sales go flat in Japan?

Market research company GfK has just released handset sales rankings for the first week of October in Japan. Surprisingly, Apple iPhone didn't make it to the country's top ten and even ended up third in Softbank's line up. Talking about the novelty effect evaporating...Overall, October is a slow month in Japan as the industry holds its breath for carriers' winter handset lineup announcements. But will Apple have something new to offer? I doubt that. To make it worse for Softbank, an iPhone's operator in Japan, none of its models was listed in top ten list. At the same time DoCoMo's models occupied the top list taking seven out of ten positions including the first top three. Unfortunately, GfK doesn't make public the handset sales numbers but at least you can see the top ten list below:

1. Panasonic P906i (NTT DoCoMo)
2. NEC N906iμ (NTT DoCoMo)
3. Sharp SH906i (NTT DoCoMo)
4. Sharp W62SH (KDDI au)
5. Toshiba W61T (KDDI au)
6. NEC N706iμ (NTT DoCoMo)
7. Panasonic 706iμ (NTT DoCoMo)
8. Fujitsu Raku-Raku Phone V (NTT DoCoMo)
9. Sony Ericsson W62S (KDDI au)
10. NEC N706iII (NTT DoCoMo)

Source: GfK via ITMedia

Japan handset distribution channels: over 10,000 kiosks

Japanese wireless carriers control the significant part of the handset retail distribution channels – approximately 80% belong to carrier-owned stores. According to M-Report’s estimates, top three carriers, including NTT DoCoMo, KDDI au, and Softbank own over 8,000 retail kiosks. Consumer electronics stores and general retail account for additional 2,000 POSs, making the total number of specialized mobile phone stores over 10,000.

Source: M-Report

Softbank strengthens mobile content search with Yahoo! oneSearch

Softbank, the third largest mobile operator in Japan, enhanced its mobile portal Yahoo! Keitai with mobile content search functionality. The new innovation is the addition of content recommendation category to the search results page. Prior to this, the search results page was broken down by Mobile sites, PC sites, Q&A and other categories. The newly implemented search feature is designed to increase the mobile content discovery by cell phone users. The search engine will index Yahoo! Music, Yahoo! Comics, and Yahoo! Games services to deliver suitable content, including direct download links to songs, ringtones, comics, and mobile games. Softbank, which is a shareholder in both Yahoo! and Yahoo! Japan, says the recent enhancement to its mobile search is based on Yahoo! oneSearch concept recently introduced at World Mobile Congress 2008 in Barcelona.

Source: Softbank press release (Japanese)

Related mobile search articles:

• DoCoMo-Google partnership: i-mode on Google steroids
• Google befriends with KDDI, plans global expansion from within Japan?
• Image recognition search engine fetches music results onto mobile screens

Disney Mobile reinvents itself in Japan

It seems that everything is ready for the launch of Disney Mobile service on March 1st in Japan. Softbank is going to provide its cellular network, while Sharp will ship the handset specifically tailored for Disney service. Additionally Yahoo! Japan, in part owned by Softbank, has built a portal site - Disney Web, full of Disney content and services.

Disney refuses to be called an MVNO operator, a taboo word after Disney MVNO failure in the United State last year, instead saying this is a service in collaboration with SoftBank Mobile operator. While Disney will have its branded handset and original domain for mobile email, it will leverage Softbank’s handset distribution channels and ensure compatibility with Softbank’s service plans and services. This close relationship with Softbank should reduce the risk of doing business as a stand-alone MVNO for Disney Mobile. They definitely learned their lessons from the U.S. experience. Apparently, not all. The introduction of only one handset model at the service launch, even in three color variations, raises some skepticism. The history tells that users like to have a choice and you can’t satisfy them with one-size-fits-all offering. Specs-wise, the handset is even based on Softbank’s 821SH model. In Disney’s defence, they are going after twenty something women as their main target, promising to release three handsets in a year.

Disney made several safeguards to prevent its failure in Japan and relies on its brand power among single young women who are the biggest spenders on brand products in Japan. Still, it may not be enough to pursue users to leave their existing providers and jump on Disney wagon. Japan is a mature market and the segment Disney targets at is 100% saturated. Other carriers in Japan are dead serious about customer loyalty and start implementing customer retention strategies such as free calls between family members making the job of luring customers from rivals even harder for Disney Mobile.

Phone Specs
Model:	DM001SH
Carrier:	Disney Mobile/ Softbank
Maker:	Sharp
Packet data:	W-CDMA
Form factor:	clamshel
Color variations:	silver, gold, pink
Weight:	101g
Dimensions:	49X101.5X12.9mm
Main display:	2.6" Wide QVGA mobile ASV
Talk time:	220min
Standby time:	300 hours
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	N/A
Memory card slot:	microSD
GPS / Location:	No
Bluetooth:	Yes
Infrared:	N/A
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2.0MP
Video calling:	No
One-seg TV:	Yes
Music player:	Yes (WMA/SD-Audio)
Browser:	Yes
Push-To-Talk:	No
Mobile Wallet:	Yes
QR-code:	QR code
Biometrics:	N/A

Cellphone transformers with artificial intelligence in movies and real life

I had this idea of cellphone transformer for a long time. Finally it became a reality as Softbank teamed together with Tokyo TV to release two cellphone transformers in an attempt to draw attention to an upcoming sci-fi TV drama starring… yes, two cellphone transformers called Phone Braver 07 and Phone Braver 01 with artificial intelligence inside them. The real life copies – the silver and black color variations - known as the SoftBank 815T PB are actual cellphones made by Toshiba and they even have some pieces of intelligence by themselves. Besides the ability to change its form into a robot-like, the 815 PB features a home screen application Buddy Talk, which reminds me of tamagotchi toy. The phone via Buddy Talk will attempt to nag his owner with text messages throughout the day asking questions and trying to become a real buddy by learning more about his owner’s daily routine. Besides the communication part Buddy Talk can express its emotions with different “face” impressions. Additionally, Softbank and Tokyo TV pre-installed an RPG game closely related to TV drama’s plot to increase drama’s stickiness. Nonetheless, this is an innovative example of mobile marketing bringing together television and mobile worlds. However, I would expect mobisodes of the drama made available for download onto these phones but no information was provided. And the phone doesn’t even spot a one-seg TV tuner.

Phone Specs
Model:	815T PB
Carrier:	Softbank
Maker:	Toshiba
Cellular radio:	W-CDMA
Form factor:	flip/ transformer
Color variations:	silver, black
Weight:	107g
Dimensions:	50 X 102 X 16mm
Main display:	2.4" QVGA (240x320) TFT LCD
Talk time:	160min
Standby time:	420 hours
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	14MB
Memory card slot:	microSD (up to 2GB)
GPS / Location:	No
Bluetooth:	No
Infrared:	Yes
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2.0MP (autofocus)
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	No
Music player:	Yes (Chaku-uta Full)
WAP / Web browser:	PC site browser
Other apps:	e-comics, S! Town
Mobile Wallet:	S! FeliCa
QR-code:	N/A
Biometrics:	No

Source: Softbank press release (Japanese)

Softbank Spring Collection: Sharp Internet Machine 922SH

With the launch of Internet-optimized mobile terminals like Sharp’s 922SH Softbank is betting on Japanese users’ desire to pick Softbank’s mobile devices over personal computers to stay connected and productive. Softbank’s reasoning is based on modern handsets’ improved characteristics: 1) HSDPA speeds; 2) Terminal’s processing power; and 3) Screen size. The combination of all three features will make mobile handsets more attractive than personal computers for users in Japan. The 922SH is the first such device in Softbank’s lineup with others to follow.

922SH Specs
Model:	922SH
Carrier:	Softbank
Maker:	Sharp
Price:	TBD
Form factor:	clamshell
Color variations:	black, white, pink, golden
Weight:	132g
Dimensions:	56 X 116 X 17mm
Main display:	3.5" Full WVGA (854x480), New Mobile ASV (260K colors)
Sub display:	1.18" (128x64) OLED
Battery:	N/A
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	N/A
Memory card:	microSDHC (up to 4GB)
GPS:	Not supported
Bluetooth:	Yes
Infrared:	Yes
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	N/A
Camera:	2.0MP (main), VGA (sub)
Video calling:	N/A
One-seg TV:	Yes
Music player:	Yes (WMA compatible; Music Connect service)
Browser:	Full Web browser
FM radio:	N/A
Mobile Wallet:	Not supported
Biometrics:	Face recognition
Other features:	Copy & Paste keys, QWERTY keyboard, touch sensor to answer calls when closed, HSDPA radio,

Sharp handsets do magic and spur mobile web usage in Japan

CNet Japan reported Be Trend’s research results about the mobile internet usage in Japan in January 2007. First, they show the breakdown of mobile internet access shares by carrier. The trend here reflects the recent turn around at Softbank, with carrier’s share surpassing 9% in January and gradually heading to a 10% milestone. Nevertheless, NTT DoCoMo still holds the lion’s share of mobile phone users accessing mobile web.

What is more interesting is that Be Trend was able to track down the mobile web access statistics to a single handset model, publishing top five models for each carrier. First come DoCoMo handsets with the top five ranking being occupied with spring and summer models of 2007. However, the latest models of 905i series also start penetrate the ranks, with Be Trend reporting that the P905i has made the Top 10 list with a 2.7% share.

Sharp entered KDDI au’s Top 5 list the W52SH model for the first time. Considering Sharp’s leading positions with other carriers, this success with KDDI au tells that Sharp has found a winning formula to manufacture both the CDMA and WCDMA handsets with appealing design and user friendly interface.

Softbank’s Top 5 list of devices used to access mobile web is dominated by Sharp model – only Toshiba handset prevents Sharp from taking all five positions.

Source: CNet Japan (Japanese)

Panasonic 822P at 8.9mm thick hits Softbank’s shelves

Panasonic made a name for excelling in production of ultra-thin mobile phones. It doesn’t matter if it is a clamshell or candy bar form factor, Panasonic will make them really thin. This time Softbank is shipping Panasonic’s 822P candy bar phone at only 8.9mm thick. Besides the ultra-thin appeal, Softbank praises the 822P for simple, elegant design and ability to put into this slim body the high-end specs, including 3G, 2MP camera with auto focus, microSD memory card slot, video recording feature, music player, Internet browser, Bluetooth radio and other.

Phone Specs
Model:	822P
Carrier:	Softbank
Maker:	Panasonic
Cellular radios:	GSM (900/1800/1900)/WCDMA
Form factor:	candy bar
Color variations:	Red, White, Black, Golden Pink
Weight:	96g
Dimensions:	51 X 127 X 8.9mm
Main display:	2.2inch (240 X 320) QVGA TFT, 260K colors
Talk time:	200min
Standby time:	400hrs
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	37MB
Memory card slot:	microSD (up to 2GB)
GPS / Location:	Some Maps service
Bluetooth:	Yes (ver. 1.2)
Infrared:	Yes (IrMC 1.1)
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2MP with auto focus
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	No
Music player:	Yes
Browser:	PC website viewing
FM radio:	No
Mobile Wallet:	No
Barcode:	Yes (QR-code)
Biometrics:	Face recognition

Signs of LTE becoming a 4G technology of choice emerge in Japan

It is no wonder that WCDMA carriers like NTT DoCoMo and Softbank in Japan might pick LTE (Long Term Evolution) cellular technology for the upgrade of their current 3G networks. After all, LTE is considered to be a more optimal path for them than alternative 4G technologies, such as WiMAX. As a matter of fact, DoCoMo is already moving into that direction as it just announced the selection of Ericsson for its LTE base station development project. The two companies have a long history. Since 1992, Ericsson has delivered PDC base stations to NTT DoCoMo and, more recently, W-CDMA base stations for the operator's FOMA network. However, there are signs that even carriers from opposite to UMTS camp – CDMA, are hesitant about upgrading from their CDMA EV-DO networks to the Qualcomm’s proposed UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband). CDMA carriers worldwide, Verizon Wireless, Vivo, KFT and SKT in Korea, made a pledge for the WCDMA upgrade path. What’s more interesting is that Japan’s CDMA carrier KDDI also seems to be evaluating its options about 4G. upgrade. According to Jean-Pierre Bienamé, chairman of the UMTS Forum, he senses a change of direction in the KDDI boardroom. “They have frozen development on EV-DO Rev A and are now assessing Rev B and Rev C alongside all the other options, including WiMAX and LTE. The decision criteria will be on cost reduction per bit and it is here where LTE has an advantage,” he said in an interview to Telecommunications Magazine.

iPhone balancing act: DoCoMo or SoftBank?

Apple is reported to conduct talks with Japan's two UMTS carriers on a subject of who will launch iPhone in Japan. KDDI au the second biggest carrier is missing from the talks due to its CDMA network standard, which is not supported by iPhone. Japan is poised to become a first country to enjoy 3G version of iPhone. However, it is not clear who will get the "right of first night" with iPhone. DoCoMo variant is more attractive for Apple as the carrier controls more than 50% of market in Japan. However, DoCoMo is notoriously known for its tight control of the handset ecosystem in Japan and is not willing to cede it to anybody else. Maybe, that is the reason why Apple is bringing SoftBank to the negotiation table - to make DoCoMo play by Apple's rules over the fear that the iPhone deal may be snatched by SoftBank. It looks like Apple needs to stand firm with its conditions of revenue sharing with operators. If it shows weakness now, operators in other countries will demand the same deal. The possible solution is a compromise between Apple and DoCoMo - Apple still get the revenue-sharing but with a smaller margin than it got in the US or Europe (and other operators won't necessarily know about the terms of the deal). Below are some headlines from today's news sources discussing the matter:

• Apple Mulls Options for iPhone Japan
• Apple plays DoCoMo against Softbank over iPhone
• Apple in Talks with DoCoMo in Japan
• Apple Meets With DoCoMo, Softbank On Launching iPhone in Japan

SoftBank's top ten selling phone models

GfK, a market research company, published ranks of top selling mobile phones with each operator in Japan during the last week of November. This post will cover SoftBank. See table below for the top 10 sellers with SoftBank brand.

SoftBank Top Ten
1 (3)	Sharp 920SH
2 (1)	Sharp 911SH
3 (2)	Panasonic 705Px
4 (5)	Toshiba fanfan. 815T
5 (7)	Panasonic 810P
6 (6)	Sharp 910SH
7 (8)	Toshiba 911T
8 (10)	Toshiba 814T
9 (4)	Sharp Fullface 913SH
10 (11)	Sharp 812SH

Source: GfK via ITMedia

Google Japan intros new single portal for domestic mobile operators

Now mobile phone users of NTT DoCoMo’s iMode, KDDI au’s EZ Web, and Softbank’s Yahoo! Keitai data services have one uniform URL they should use to get to Google Mobile - google.jp. Google Japan redesigned the mobile search method by getting rid of radio buttons with Web, Mobile and Images search options, leaving it to just a simple universal search. Google also report they optimized the local search and display of maps on mobile handsets. While this announcement is a step ahead for Google Mobile in Japan, it looks like the Japan’s team has a lot of localization work to do when comparing the array of mobile services available in the U.S. with those few offered in Japan (see image above).

Source: Google Japan Blog

Cyber education comes to mobile phones

Japan's Cyber University has become the first college to offer an online course to mobile-phone users. It was opened in April with government approval to grant bachelor's degrees and so far it has enrolled 1,850 students. The virtual campus is 71% owned by Softbank, which also decided to expand the education to the mobile phones planning to offer 100 something courses, including ancient Chinese culture, online journalism and English literature over the time.

Source: Boston.com

Softbank launches Panasonic Mirror

Feature-wise Panasonic’s Mirror 821P handset for SoftBank would’ve had problems to differentiate itself from others if not for a couple of innovative design solutions. First of all, it is called Mirror for a reason as its front panel is polished to the level of being capable to reflect objects. Besides, if you look at the handset’s mirror panel at different angle it will change its color. Play of light if you wish. Another unusual but very useful solution is to place a clamshell open button into the hinge that will open the clamshell for you when pushed. It’s very convenient for one hand opening. However, other than that, it is a slim phone with quite a standard set of features, spotting 2MP camera with auto-focus and 10X digital zoom, 2.8 inch Wide QVGA screen and Full HTML browser.

Source: Nikkei (Japanese)

Phone Specs
Model:	Mirror 821P
Carrier:	SoftBank
Maker:	Panasonic
Price:	N/A
Form factor:	Clamshell
Color variations:	Black, White, Silver, Red, Purple
Weight:	113 g
Dimensions:	50 X 104 X 15.9 mm
Main display:	2.8 inch WQVGA TFT, 260K colors
Talk time:	200 min
Standby time:	400 hours
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	37MB
Memory card slot:	microSD (up to 2GB)
GPS / Location:	No
Bluetooth:	Yes (Ver. 1.2)
Infrared:	Yes
USB:	Yes
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2MP
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	No
Music player:	Yes
Browser:	Full HTML browser
FM radio:	No
Mobile Wallet:	No
QR-code:	Yes
Biometrics:	No

Mobile social network myMTV selects Japan for debut

Viacom decided to test mobile social networking waters in Japan with a bang - claiming to be the "first in the world to offer simultaneous video and page-browsing on mobile." I'm not sure how it works in reality but can suggest it splits the screen in two parts.

Among other perks users will be allowed to use artwork by Japanese designers to decorate their personal pages and provided with access to the feature programming from "MTV's library, such as Pimp My Ride, and Japanese productions such as Usavich."

"The service is ad-supported and free to consumers, and is available on all three of Japan's mobile operators, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank Mobile," according to C21Media.

Japanese users think iPhone is fat

When asked what additional features they would like to see in iPhone if it was offered in Japan, majority of Japanese users (44.6%) pointed out to the lack of built-in TV tuner, according to online survey results published by research company iShare (1,341 respondents). The wish list for iPhone continues with the upgrade to 3G speeds (37.1%) followed with the inclusion of GPS (36.2%). Surprisingly, a lot of respondents (34.6%) think iPhone is not slim enough, while a rightful number of them want higher resolution camera (33.1%) and removable memory (33.1%).

DoCoMo is perceived as the least likeable carrier to offer iPhone in Japan (17.1%) among the three national cell phone operators, while SoftBank’s chances are the highest (53%) followed with KDDI au (19.6%).

Source: iShare (Japanese)

Toshiba 814T: First titanium handset debuts in Japan

Toshiba is bringing the handset differentiation game to the new level by adding titanium elements to its new ultra-slim 814T model. Softbank is happy to pitch the titanium handset's benefits, if any, to the Japanese end-users. The main message is that this is the first handset in Japan to have titanium inside. Japanese handset makers have a long way to go in this direction if they take Mendeleev's periodic table as a guide.

Phone Specs
Model:	814T
Carrier:	Softbank
Maker:	Toshiba
Bands:	W-CDMA
Form factor:	Clamshell
Color variations:	light silver, titanium silver, rose pink, navy, brown
Weight:	97g
Dimensions:	50X101X14mm
Main display:	2.4 inches, QVGA, 240X320
Talk time:	160 minutes
Battery type:	N/A
Platform / OS:	N/A
Memory:	14MB
Memory card slot:	microSD
GPS / Location:	N/A
Bluetooth:	No
Infrared:	Yes
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	2MP
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	No
Music player:	Yes
Web browser:	browser
FM radio:	Yes
Mobile Wallet:	N/A
QR-code:	N/A
Biometrics:	Face recognition

DoCoMo in talks with Apple to bring iPhone to Japan

When asked about iPhone at NTT DoCoMo’s shareholder meeting held on June 19, the company’s management confirmed that DoCoMo was interested in bringing iPhone to Japan and intended to have discussions with Steve Jobs about this possibility. However, DoCoMo is likely to face a competition from Softbank, third largest operator in Japan, who is rumored for a long time to carry iPhone on its network in Japan. Both operators run 3G networks based on WCDMA standard, meaning that the current 2G version of iPhone is not compatible with Japanese networks. It seems that it will take another year to have iPhone optimized for Japan’s market. The willingness with what Japanese operators are ready to embrace iPhone contradicts with their traditional approach to handset vendors when the game is played by operators’ rules. For the first time in Japan, operators may agree to bend these rules and accept Apple’s conditions such as to sell unsubsidized handset and pay a portion of service revenue to handset vendor. Judging by the size of market shares, the chances of DoCoMo to snatch iPhone are more promising than Softbank’s.

Source: ITmedia

Softbank last to hit 50% milestone with 3G subs in Japan

Having added 560,100 subscribers to its 3G service in April, Softbank finally passed a 50% 3G penetration milestone for its subscriber base. The leader in conversion cell phone users from 2G to 3G camps remains KDDI au, which has managed to get 97.9% of its total subscriber base to be equipped with 3G phones. DoCoMo so far persuaded only 69.1% of its customers to switch to 3G.

Softbank and Samsung promote phones in Second Life

A while ago marketing teams at every self-respecting company were rushing in to create a MySpace profile to launch viral marketing campaigns. Then came YouTube. It seems that the next destination for audience-hungry marketers will be a virtual community website Second Life. Japanese companies are no different and they also want to follow the trend. The latest example is the creation of Softbank Slim island as a result of a partnership between Japanese third biggest wireless carrier Softbank and Korean handset maker Samsung. The goal of this is to promote Samsung's handsets offered by Softbank in Japan. To attract Second Life users the companies are offering some Second Life-related perks, quizzes and the ability to play with the phones in a show room and even take them back with you...unfortunately not into the real life. Commercialization is killing the beauty of such ideas as Second Life or Google search for instance, - after a while they just become flooded with ads and marketing hoaxes.

Source: IT Media

Softbank in cash spending spree paying Cameron Diaz $138 a second

Forgive me for such a speculative headline, but the story reported by Financial Times (FT) yesterday about Softbank’s spending habits made me wonder if the company went too far or just set a new standard. Cameron Diaz reportedly received $3 million for six hours’ work starring in an advertisement for Softbank. If you make the calculation it will translate into $138 a second. The newspaper goes further, stating it is not an exclusive occurrence of such cash burning for Softbank – the telecoms and internet conglomerate is spending at a rate of about $60 a second for more than a decade. The newspaper also refers to some analysts’ concerns about Softbank’s “propensity to burn through cash and its penchant for re-jigging accounting and other methodologies.” Meanwhile, Softbank is Tokyo’s most active stock, with tens of millions of shares trading a day, and one of the volatile, according to FT. Of the 14 analysts covering the stock, just one has a buy recommendation, according to Bloomberg.

Disruptive technologies and competition to undermine the hegemony of NTT DoCoMo

Financial Times reports (January 25, 2007) that “DoCoMo is forecasting a small drop in operating profit this fiscal year.” There are several directions from which the giant feels uneasiness. First comes the number portability that sparkled a price war initiated by Softbank (ex-Vodafone). It also became clear that another DoCoMo’s rival – KDDI au was the biggest winner so far from number portability. Number portability combined with Japan’s traditional fat handset subsidies, of about $300-$350 a piece, alone could affect the profitability. To continue the list of disruptions, FT lists:

• Arrival of fixed/mobile convergence (meaning more bundling);
• Small operators bringing in Skype-type services; and
• Further regulatory changes.

The question remains whether operators such as NTT DoCoMo accept their utility-like (dumb pipe) status or successfully fight off the trend with counter measures. So far, the indications are that they are going for a big fight.

Can Goliath MySpace defeat David Mixi?

As MySpace seeks to penetrate Japan's market by teaming up with Softbank, Mixi is confident it won't be affected much by this move. According to Financial Times' article (Dec.6, 2006), Mixi starts targeting Japan's baby boomers to expand its user base, whose 80% is now constituted of subscribers aged between 20 and 34. The invitation only social networking site Mixi is a dominant player in Japan recruiting under its banner more than 6.5 million users who have created 900,000 online communities. It ranks only second after Yahoo in popularity in Japan.

The confidence of Mixi management is based on the fact that "about 6.8m Japanese will celebrate their 60th birthdays over the next three years." Based on market researches and survey data, Mixi thinks newly retired people will become active members of its network by uploading travel pictures and writing "blog-style" diaries and participating or organizing online communities that can range from "sky watching" to "love of sleep" interests.

Besides being "demographically removed from the average user of MySpace", Mixi has other unique features that make it very attractive to Japanese users. First of all, it is mobile-friendly, with 2bn hits coming from cell phones and only 750m from PC users. For comparison, about 1.4 million mobile customers logged onto MySpace using the wireless Web in September 2006, according to Telephia. Obviously, to succeed, MySpace needs to address the mobile internet and has a fully-functional mobile version available to members of all Japanese mobile operators. Instead, MySpace announced the launch of localized PC version in March 2007, while it is not clear whether the mobile version will also be operational at that time. Additionally, the partnership with Softbank assumes the exclusivity of the offering to Softbank's mobile users, while Mixi is open to all cellphone users with Internet access. Among other lacking features of MySpace is the invitation only nature of Mixi that appeals to Japanese users who cherish the sense of privacy and exclusivity. It is yet to be seen but there is a big chance that MySpace will repeat the negative experience of eBay and other many global brands of entering Japan market if it won't learn about the local market.

"Dead souls" help Softbank to look good in investors' eyes

Financial Times reports that "a change in the way Softbank counts its subscriber numbers saved it from having to declare a net reduction in October, raising doubts whether the Japanese group can turn round the ailing mobile business it bought from Vodafone Japan in March."

Apparently, what executives at Softbank did was to extend the period for which they counted inactive users from six months to a year. As a result, the October numbers were increased by 30,000-35,000. According to Financial Times, "without the change, Softbank's reported net additions of 23,800 subscribers to 15,330,800 in October would have been replaced by a net loss of at lest 5,000 subscribers, the first since May 2005, when Vodafone still owned the business."

Generally, the industry practice in Japan is to use three months as the cut-off period for inactive users.

G-Guide hits 10 million milestone

The TV programming guide for mobiles, G-Guide announced a new milestone – its subscriber base reached 10 million users. In March, Japan’s Cellphone Edge reported 5 million subscribers for G-Guide Mobile service. G-Guide Mobile is a Java application loaded onto the majority of DoCoMo's phones. The guide provides airing schedule of all major Japanese TV channels and serves as a remote interface for scheduling the TV program recordings on some DVD players with the DVR functionality. G-Guide also became available to Softbank customers from October this year. Since that, the subscribership rate jumped to achieve one million subscribers in one month totaling in 10 million subscribers at the end of October.

Mobile social networks are coming to Japan

Japan is experiencing the hype of mobile social networking. This week, MySpace and Softbank announced plans for a 50-50 joint venture to bring the popular Internet social networking site to Japan.

Next, on the wave of this news, another US company - Gemini Mobile Technologies - announced it would power 3D mobile communities of Softbank's service S! TOWN. The Gemini platform, called eXplo, will enable 3D chatting, shopping, and other S! TOWN community features via cell phones. Gemini also announced that its multimedia messaging software, the HyperScale Messaging Center, and its HyperScale core technology are the engines behind an additional new Softbank Mobile service, Arrange Mail.

On the domestic front, KDDI is about to launch EZ GREE mobile social network, the deployment of which is scheduled for November 17. While the subscription to EZ GREE is free, users will need to have a data plan with KDDI. EZ GREE is a mobile version of the GREE social network site that has been popular for some time in Japan. The mobile version will be linked with other services and applications from KDDI's portal such as EZ News Flash, au My Page, horoscopes and game scores or various test results. Users will also be able to decorate their profiles, messages and mobile diaries with pictures, smilies and frames.

Only NTT DoCoMo remains silent about its mobile social network plans. While it is not too late, they should snap a partnership deal with mixi - the most popular social network site in Japan in order to not be left behind. Once, they have already lost a leadership in mobile music services to KDDI au.

Analysis of price war declaration by Softbank

Just hours before the introduction of the number portability in Japan, Softbank declared a price-cutting that can potentially trigger a price competition in the mobile phone market. Financial Times did some analysis of this move by Softbank and outlined the following reasons why this strategy might not work in Softbank’s case:

• Softbank has the least resources to sustain in a declared price-war if other operators participate in it
• When Softbank entered the mobile market by buying Vodafone this year, Vodafone was already the cheapest carrier in the market. However, it did not help Vodafone to gain a lot of customers.
• While Softbank introduced 13 new phone models in 53 different colors in order to resolve the problem of poor handset portfolio that Vodafone notoriously had before, another infamous problem may require more time to resolve. And that problem is the network coverage, which is much worse than its rivals.

To summarize – the price-cutting is not the only weapon in the mobile price war and Softbank should have prepared better for it.

Japan wireless subscribers: September 2006 data

TCA's mobile phone market data for September revealed that Japan's wireless user base has increased by 315,000 users since August, totaling in 93,812,400 wireless subscribers. On the wireless carrier front there were winners and losers, with KDDI au getting 312,500 subscribers while KDDI's another brand - 2G carrier TU-KA - lost 151,700. But TU-KA can be hardly called a loser as KDDI's goal is to transform TU-KA's 2G user base to au's 3G services. Meanwhile DoCoMo managed to sign up 126,300 new users and Softbank continued Vodafone's tradition of adding the fewest of customers among three carriers (I exlude TU-KA from this competition) - it recorded only 23,400 net additions in September.

Source: TCA

Vodafone Live! is dead, long live Y! Keitai

The sad story of Vodafone’s mobile phone failure in Japan will be officially closed in October 1st when the remaining services with Vodafone branding to be changed to Softbank’s name. For example, the mobile portal, previously known as Vodafone Live!, will be re-branded to Y! Keitai, while other services’ brands will be stripped out of Vodafone brand and substituted with S!, standing for Softbank!

This is not the first time the struggling mobile operator changes its name. Previously known as J-Phone, it was bought out by Vodafone, which rushed to change its name to Vodafone K.K. Now it is Softbank’s turn to introduce the new name for the company – Softbank Mobile.

It remains to be seen whether the new leadership can change the course of Japan’s third largest mobile operator toward success, but merely changing the name of the company will not help if not even making it worse by confusing users.

So far, Softbank’s president Mr. Son outlined the four-point strategy for the carrier, including the following:

1. Continuous enhancement of 3G coverage
2. Strong build-up of 3G phone portfolio
3. Beefing-up mobile content offerings
4. Reinforcing company’s management and brand

Japan's wireless market week wrap-up

Japan's eMobile picks Ericsson for 3G network build-up
eMobile, a new entrant to the Japanese 3G market, has selected Ericsson as the prime supplier of its new WCDMA/HSDPA network.

DoCoMo rival calls for wireless giant's breakup
Sachio Senmoto, CEO of Japan's eMobile, said NTT DoCoMo should be broken up to make the country's wireless market more competitive.

Carlyle prepares for Willcom IPO
The Carlyle Group, which owns 60% of Willcom, Japan's largest operator of PHS (personal handyphone system) services, reportedly is planning an IPO for Willcom. Willcom added 64,900 subscribers in February for a total of 3.8 million -- an increase of 25 percent since March last year when it introduced the flat-rate voice plan.

Equity companies want to outbid Softbank to get Vodafone
Cerberus Partners and Providence Equity Partners Inc. reportedly are putting together a $15 billion offer to buy Vodafone K.K. Japanese Internet provider Softbank already is in talks with Vodafone Group about buying K.K.

Vodafone finally sells Japanese operations to Softbank for $15.4bn
Vodafone Group plc confirmed that it will sell its struggling Japanese operation to Japanese Internet conglomerate Softbank in a deal valued at about $15.4 billion.

Japan's wireless market week wrap-up

Vodafone inks deal to unload Japanese unit
Vodafone Group reportedly has reached a deal to sell a 98% stake in Vodafone K.K. to Softbank. Softbank may pay as much as 2 trillion yen ($17.2 billion) for 98 percent of Vodafone K.K.

Japanese 3G mobile phone users exceed 50 percent
According to the Telecommunications Carriers Association, more than half of Japan's 90.8 million mobile phone users are on high-speed 3G networks.

DoCoMo unveil basic 3G FOMA SIMPURE series
NTT DoCoMo announced that they have developed the 3G FOMA SIMPURE series of basic and compact handsets for people who do not require highly sophisticated functions.

Openwave reports 20m KDDI users
Openwave Systems announced that more than 20 million of EZweb subscribers are using Openwave products and solutions to power KDDI mobile phone services using the WAP2.0 and TCP/HTTP standard protocols.

Japan's wireless market week wrap-up

Vodafone Japan intros first 3G handset with VGA display
In a spotlight is the launch of Vodafone 904SH by Sharp, the first mobile handset to feature a VGA (Video Graphics Array) liquid crystal display. Besides, the handset supports Bluetooth communication, applications for newly-developedMotion Control Sensor, and Vodafone K.K.’s first Face Recognition application.

Mitsubishi to scale back mobile phone business in China
Mitsubishi joins Panasonic and Toshiba among the big-name companies that have withdrawn from the booming Chinese wireless market.

Vodafone K.K. upbeat on prospects
Vodafone K.K. President Bill Morrow said parent company Vodafone Group's announcement of an impairment charge totaling at least $40 billion would not affect the Japanese unit. Although Vodafone KK has struggled, Morrow said things are improving, both in terms of subscriber churn and 3G subscriber growth.

Vodafone to sell its Japan unit to Vodafone?
Despite Vodafone K.K. president Bill Morrow's early comments that Vodafone's Japanese operations would not affected by the impairment charge, Vodafone confirmed it was in talks to sell a controlling stake in its Japanese subsidiary, Vodafone KK, to Japanese Internet firm Softbank.