Haven't 3G handset costs (quite a bit higher, I've heard)
also been figured into these projections? That would tamp
down the exuberance considerably.
I mean, putting a 9600baud modem into a handset isn't really
straining belief - hey, that doesn't even have to be a chip,
that's, like, a *small corner* of a chip, these days, albeit
a warmer corner. Data over keitai is probably more a product
of good rechargeable battery technology than anything else.
3G speeds seem like a whole different category, one that might
render the "free handset, make it up later in service charges"
marketing model a nonstarter. Maybe Japanese are used to
paying for use, but they aren't used to paying much for the
phone itself. And maybe that's what's behind DoCoMo's
"prohibitively high" 3G rates - making sure all that fancy
silicon gets paid for, in case 3G doesn't fly with the Japanese
public.
And 3G might not fly, after all.
On the other hand, I remember PC industry pundits, mulling
the imminent introduction of 386-based machines, asking
if there would really be any serious demand for computers
that were so ridiculously *fast*.
I guess we'll just have to see.
-m
leap@gol.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Renfield Kuroda" <Renfield.Kuroda@msdw.com>
To: <keitai-l@appelsiini.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 08, 2000 5:53 PM
Subject: (keitai-l) Re: i-mode business model & content providers [was RE:
I-mode site problems]
>
>
> Masi Yamada wrote:
>
> > The numbers they gave me for projected subscribers were so low in fact
that
> > it suggested to me that they were going to price the 3G services quite
> > prohibitively to limit subscriber growth while they beefed up their
> > networks. .....
>
> However, DoCoMo traditionally is VERY conservative in its estimates, even
after
> i-mode's explosive growth.
>
>
> r e n
>
>
> [ Did you check the archives? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/ ]
>
>
[ Did you check the archives? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/ ]
Received on Sat Nov 11 10:03:29 2000