,Wireless TechnologiesThe Future is Japan,April 2002,Overview,Internet Market in JapanWireless Market Trends The Success of i-modeNew and Funky i-mode sitesThe Future,The Wireless Market in Japan,Japan is alive and happeningInternet usage increasing at phenomenal ratesMobile Internet is rocketing as more and more content is made availableThe i-mode is hot!Everyone wants one“There are a few things a Japanese teenager girl doesnt leave home without : her six-inch platform shoes, some touch-up toner for her hair colour of the day, and her i-mode phone” Business Week, 1/17/00,Why the i-mode?,i-mode was launched in February 1999 by NTT DoCoMo and is proving to be a huge successHaving a Major impact on marketing and e-business in JapanDoCoMo is dominating the Mobile Internet marketi-mode allows its users instant access to the Internet via a cell phone - users are always connected, in stand by for receive data98% nationwide access i-mode uses a packet network system which enables cheaper usage feesmonthly fee of only 300 with i-mode e-mail address,i-mode users - Who are they?,User Profilealmost half of users are white collar workersthe next largest group is students, teenagersuser group split quite evenly between men and women, though there are dramatic differences in age distribution by genderfemale users are younger than male users on averagewomen in their 20s account for almost 2/3 of all female i-mode users80% of all male users are between 21 and 40 years of age,i-mode Subscriber Rate,Number of subscribers to i-modea huge 4,211,111 (2/20/00) in first 12 months and growing rapidly 250,000 new subscribers weeklyThe number of i-mode customers exceeded 5,927,764 as of April 13, 2000. NTT DoCoMo is predicting to reach a target of 10 million subscribers in 2000,Internet Access by PC & i-mode Forecast,Subscribers (mil),i-mode : A Lifestyle,Home PC penetration rates remain low in Japan - (29%)68% of Japanese households have at least one mobile phoneThe mobile Internet offers an attractive option due to ubiquity, convenience and lower access fees than a PCmore people are experiencing the Internet for the first time via the mobile phone rather than through the PCThe i-mode is fast becoming a lifestyle, a part of daily life - whether on a train, in a caf, or just walking through a park, i-mode is used everywhereThe mobile phone may gradually become more popular than the PC as an Internet access device as number and quality of sites increasesdisplays improve and speeds increaseability to send longer email increases,i-mode : ISP Site War,i-mode even seems to be competitive among ISPsAmong the three largest ISPs in Japan, i-mode has largest number of subscribers: 4,450,000 (Feb 2000),i-mode : Portal Site War,After Yahoo, i-mode has greatest number of page views per day : 40 million,Available Services,Currently, there are 400 official sites,but almost 6,000 specially formatted sitesApplications include :email, online chatcustomized news bulletinsgames (esp. BANDAI character downloads)online horoscopesfishing updates, horse racingrestaurant guidesInternet banking, insurance information, travel reservations, JAL is most popularentertainment bookings, eg. concert reservationsrent-a-carmusic downloads AND MORE.,Official Sites vs Unofficial Sites,Official sites (400)Banner advertising or linking to other sites is limited. Site links need to be approved by DoCoMo (no links to dodgy sites)All sites listed on i-mode menuUnofficial sites (5000)Banner advertising is unlimitedGreater variety of services is possibleBUT.User must know url or search on independent search engines,Applications,Applications : e-mail,E-mail is the most popular application among Japans Internet-enabled mobile phone users75% of business-oriented mobile phone users over 90% of i-mode users, report using their phones for e-mail. Nearly all users under 20 years of age use e-mail or short mail especially high school students. For example, What are you doing?Whats for lunch?E-mail based Community-type websites are very popular.Bikkuri.com - a database searchable by user name, age, city, email address. Users can search for people who meet their criteria then compose and send email and create email pals.,E-mail - the killer app,Currently E-mail is the killer appSurfing is less common and is used more by the very youngUse of i-mode for banking increases with age,Applications : News/Media,News services are the second most popular application for business-oriented mobile usersServices include : news updates (Nikkei BP updates every 30 minutes)sports updates such as sumo tournament updates, baseball, horseracingweather forecasts In December 1999, Nikkei News had more than 20,000 subscribers at 300yen per month (monthly revenues of about US$60,000),Applications : Internet Access,Within official i-mode site categories, Entertainment sites are greatest in number and most frequently accessed across all age groups,