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)

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Japan's wireless market week wrap-up

DoCoMo buys two carriers in Guam
NTT DoCoMo is buying Guam Wireless Telephone Co. and Guam Cellular & Paging for $71.8 million. DoCoMo plans to merge the two carriers and invest in network upgrades.

In other DoCoMo news, the Japanese operator launched two new FOMA handsets on Friday that operate on the Symbian OS. The FOMA D702i and the FOMA NM850iG bring the total number of Symbian OS model handsets being offered in Japan to 26.

Japan's mobile operators see kids as new market
Mobile operators in Japan have created a new category of phones for grade-school children, equipped with a range of anti-crime safety features, educational content and censored mobile Internet access. NTT DoCoMo estimates that only about 10% to 20% of grade school children currently own phones. Mobile phone usage among children in terms of communication costs has been increasing steadily every year to about a 32 billion yen ($275 million) market in 2005, according to data compiled by Yano Research Institute.

NTT DoCoMo invests in convenience store chain
NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest wireless carrier, said it will buy a 2% stake in the nation's No. 2 convenience store chain, Lawson Inc., for $76.9 million. The move is aimed at expanding a DoCoMo service that allows subscribers to pay for goods with their mobile phones.

Yahoo! to emerge as a mobile content provider in Japan
Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang said he believes Softbank's deal to buy Vodafone Group's Japan business could be an opportunity for the U.S. Internet company. Softbank is the largest shareholder in Yahoo Japan Corp., and Yang said the Vodafone K.K. deal represents a chance for Yahoo to expand its mobile phone offerings.