> > I think Tsutaya's site is incredible. It's got the latest info
> on top music and
> > rental videos/dvds, including the ability to sample top songs, save as
> > ringtones, get e-coupons for rentals, check official tour info...a very
> > comprehensive video/music entertainment site.
I don't know all that much about content on current wap sites [been in Japan
so long], but surely this sort of content and more is available on US web
sites - and I've certainly seen this kind of detail in business plans. I
can't think of any reason why foreign providers haven't come up with similar
content/functionality (?)
> Definitely agree with Ren. Another example is the weather site:
> you can pin-point
> weather at precise location, check out the ski resort conditions
> (which worked
> great last Sunday when we went to Yuzawa), you can look at the satellite
> weather picture, get a week's forecast, get typhoon maps and projections,
> find out what the weather in Stockholm and New York is, see where to surf,
> check how much the ski pass costs and when the ski lifts open and close,
> etc etc
This isn't being done in the US? I know there are any number of ski related
portals with very detailed information about conditions, etc. As for
whether they are available through WAP don't know.
<A-Tangent>
One might conclude that the US and other countries have concentrated most of
their content and functionalty on the web and not deployed much on mobile
phones. Of course in Japan, the mobile phone has been for many their first
exposure to the "web" and thus we see much more entrepreneurial activity
around it.
I don't believe the mobile market will supplant that of PCs or other devices
in the US and eventually will be part of a continuum of venues even in
Japan. Mobile is a trend that will continue to evolve and mature but can
only address a certain segement of the size,mobility,bandwidth "continuum".
In that sense is mobile right for every market? For cultural, economic, and
infrastructural reasons I think the degree of mobile use and the types of
applications which succeed will differ substancially from market to market.
Japan right now IMO has an imbalance on the mobile side - I think this will
flatten out over time.
Aside from the "mobile angle" and what that brings to a content/retail
concept, I don't believe the content we're seeing is fundamentally
different. Rather the content market here has put its effort into
developing around mobile rather than the traditional web.
</A-Tangent>
JS
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Received on Tue Jan 16 09:22:32 2001