i was on the German cebit fair yesterday and checked out the German i-m=
ode that=20
was presented on the e-plus stand.
pretty impressing, they have a good share of great content.=20
the business model is pretty much the same as in japan; limited subscri=
ption=20
fees of 0.50 - 2 euros and e-plus is taking a share of I think 15 or 16=
% of=20
these rates for billing (i am wondering why they are taking more than t=
he 9% in=20
japan).=20
the content lineup is good, they have ebay, some of the most important =
German=20
newspapers and magazines, etc etc.
they also have adult content which is kind of surprising since docomo w=
as very=20
strict about this kind of content in japan.
in germany you can now download sex pix.=20
i am very curious how imode will be accepted by the public.
for one, e-plus has a much lower market share than docomo had in japan =
when=20
they started, also the internet penetration was much lower in japan bac=
k in 99=20
than it is today in Germany. So a similar landslide victory is unlikely=
, but=20
after comparing all the products of the other telcos i think that only =
i-mode=20
is really sexy, attractive, mass market compatible.
other news: O2 (formerly viag intercom) and german telekom are both int=
roducing=20
a new PDA-type handset. both models are essentially the same, it's manu=
factured=20
by an Asian company (ATC? ADC?) which also produces the ipaqs for compa=
q.
it's basically a smart phone concept, full internet capability which wo=
rked=20
pretty well when i tried it out.
cheers
burkhard=
Received on Thu Mar 14 15:43:21 2002