The main draw to iMode/iAppli is the micro-payment system where the charges
appear on the customer's monthly bill automatically. Billing is also handled
for the content provider. Really more than micro-payment, it's any-size
payment. You can buy movie tickets, etc. and avoid the 'enter customer info
and credit card' routine so common in Western e-commerce. No one wants to
enter all that info with a keitai. Also, I've heard that most Japanese don't
carry credit cards, though you wouldn't think that if you've ever worked in the
tourism industry.
The user can still access plenty of free content via iMode, though still paying
out the nose for packet charges.
--jason
> What is it that is the so-called success of i-mode that could be exported. I
> have read that it is a service not a technology. The browsing on i-mode is
> limited to the point of being useless.
I don't think so.
>Email is not new.
Still useful, though.
>Signing up for
> services will not catch on very well because most services are free on the
> net
Yes, but the most compelling ones aren't. They can't be if the company is to
survive on mobile service/contents alone. c.f. imahima.com
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Received on Sat Nov 1 06:55:19 2003