At 15:06 2000-12-19 +0800, you wrote:
>if this is true, then japanese handset makers are little more than R&D
>centers and OEMs for DoCoMo. their job then becomes one of adding new
>features and then making the commercial product and then delivering it
>to DoCoMo. they don't have to worry about product cycles, marketing, or
>sales since DoCoMo does all that for them. i suspect the case is quite
>different for someone like Ericsson and Nokia
I agree with some parts of your reasoning. It is clear that the development
looks quite different. DoCoMo has had a central role in leading the
development together with companies like Access in specifying the handsets.
The situation is quite the opposite in the Western World, where there is a
fairly cemented and uninnovative alliance between the operators and the
telecom giants. It is the latter who leads the development, though, even
though lead is not really the right word to use...
Anyway, it seems that DoCoMo have missed this when they go outside Japan.
They should have joined with some strong operators and other players and
made a specification for GSM/GPRS together with them. We have tried to
convince them to do this, but without result so far. In general DoCoMo have
become less responsive and positive towards co-operation with companies in
Europe, except for those they invest in. This is really a pity, since a lot
could be done if momentum could be built around i-mode, with handsets and
underlying formats.
/gustaf
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Received on Tue Dec 19 13:08:32 2000