(keitai-l) Re: New member/i-mode stumbles?

There seems to be commonly-held believe in Europe at the moment that the
imminent introduction of high-speed GPRS packet networks will miraculously
solve all the teething problems associated with WAP 1.0 and beyond.  I'm not
100% convinced.

Accessing content over CSD is a problem (reliability, cost, convenience,
etc.) and packet will make this a more attractive proposition...However, the
success of i-mode has got nothing to do with bandwidth. In Japan, it's
already possible for users to have access to EZ Web's WAP service on a 64K
packet-link, but it's still i-mode's 9.6K service which has build up a 10M+
user-base. What's the point of increased data-speeds if you can only get 10K
of memory on the handset with limited CPU capability?

The success of i-mode comes down to NTT Docomo choosing (perhaps by
accident) to replicate the internet experience for a mobile device rather
than build something again from scratch a la WAP Forum. The choice of cHTML
as a mark-up language and open access has allowed a huge community of
unofficial content sites to grow in Japan (about 18,000 the last time I
looked which account for 40% of total i-mode traffic). It's pretty easy to
develop a site in cHTML...but how many developers out there are going to
learn WML or rely on pretty unreliable content convertors? cHTML enabled
handsets support (or will support very soon) colour screens, gifs,
animation, MIDI, SSL, Java...etc., etc. ... If you want to introduce these
types of rich content features on WAP then you're going to have to wait for
the WAP Forum to debate, agree and then define them. It just doesn't make
sense.

re: Business Models ... People concentrate on the fact that Docomo makes 9%
on the 5-600 content sites. Big deal ... I doubt if the revenue raised from
that channel would be enough to cover their monthly stationery costs. The
success comes down to the fact that there is content out there which people
want to access (which isn't happening on WAP) and the content is in a format
which closely resembles the internet (rather than black and white minitel in
WAP's case) ... This in turn generates more data traffic and voice calls
which is where Docomo make their money.

The way the European operator and vendor community have seized upon the
recent i-mode network failures as a sign that it somehow "doesn't work" may
just be a case of sour grapes on their part ... and perhaps insecurity from
those who have staked their careers and future on WAP.  I'm sure the
boardrooms of Detroit in the 1970s were full of similarly desperate
sentiment about the success of compact Japanese cars in the American market.
"It's a cultural thing ... will never take-off here ... nothing to worry
about ..."

-----Original Message-----
·ol : Peter Roxburgh <peter.roxburgh@securetrading.com>
ˆ¶æ : keitai-l@appelsiini.net <keitai-l@appelsiini.net>
“úŽž : 2000”N8ŒŽ14“ú 19:22
Œ–¼ : (keitai-l) Re: New member/i-mode stumbles?


>Susan
>
>Europe is perched on the edge of packet networks; we may then see an
>explosion of I-mode type services. There is nothing stopping operators
using
>the same billing models and 'content-alliances' as NTT - other then shear
>greed. Most European operators have tried to keep control (and the revenue
>streams) with WAP; the I-mode model would require a massive paradigm shift.
>
>Could you please explain how WAP plays into this? If what's important about
>i-mode is the business model
>(and I agree), isn't it the same for the European carriers? Or does WAP
>somehow
>allow them to limit users' access to
>sites? My apologies if this is a ridiculously uninformed question.
>
>
>European carriers have the same options available to them as any other
>operator. Yes, the important thing about i-mode is the business model. And
>yes, the European operators could have adopted this model with WAP, but
they
>choose not to.
>
>
>Limiting user's access if fairly simple with WAP. You can block your site
to
>any user that has not come through your WAP gateway (or any other choosen
>gateway). However, by 'keeping control' operators do not have to block
users
>visiting other sites.
>
>
>Peter Roxburgh
>Mobile Solutions Developer
>peter.roxburgh@securetrading.com
>http://www.securetrading.com
>Tel: +44 (0) 1248 672007
>Fax: +44 (0) 1248 672017
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net
>[mailto:keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net]On Behalf Of
>susank@mbizcentral.com
>Sent: 11 August 2000 17:45
>To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
>Subject: (keitai-l) Re: New member/i-mode stumbles?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>