Thanks for your comments, Nick, I was not expecting such efforts.
Actually, I was simply giving my perception of the situation in Japan,
which is actually quite different from what I believe is best for me
or the average consumer.
I do not like much carriers overcontrolling that TIMP ("thing in my
pocket"),
and the situation in Korea with phones where you can load your MP3s
is probably closer to what I would expect as a customer.
One point supporting operators' position is that they are currently paying
between 30.000~40.000 JPY to have their mobiles get in people's pocket.
Probably something could be done to put pressure on carriers to open
their system, but Japan is not well known for its consumer associations...
About the "music experience" and "business models", the fact is that
carriers and labels fear so much to make a bad move and not be able to
come back that they would rather not do anthing.
As for the KDDI droid, their current offer is only a pay-per-song model
not different from web offers.
KDDI's prices are expensive compared to iTunes, but in line with current
web services (Mora, OnGen, etc.), and chaku-uta prices, so probably
suited to the market...
Also, it is often easier to reduce a price than increase it.
Also, the price is not related to any 3G cost as the target are likely
data flat-rate subscribers.
So the price is probably linked to :
>the retentive attitude to licensing of the Labels in
>Japan
>
>
>
>>Last, frankly, I think the argument of "high speed network" is nothing
>>more than marketing.
>>Even on fixed internet you do not need 40Mbps to browse the web
>>and for P2P, you are mostly limited by your counterpart anyway...
>>
>>
>
>Are you talking from a position of having had regular access to a
>40mbps? (If your main broadband is 256 K, 3G may look all G-whizzy
>rather than the sorry limping wimp that it is...)
>
>
I used to have 8Mbps in Japan and the same in Korea (and a measured 5Mbps),
but I did not use Bittorrent so you probably make a point here.
However, I think that the only point users want is to get what they are
looking for
in a reasonable time with a reasonable quality. If users could find it
for a reasonable price,
they would go for it, this is the demonstration of iTunes with music.
The model for video
should follow some day (when a large number of users will have
high-speed internet).
I am not that familiar with it, but TV channels in Korea already make
good money with
video services over the internet. Keys are network speed, price and
payment method
(very flexible in Korea).
Anyhow, I will probably have to check Bittorren and Supernova ^ ^;;
>>On mobile and for files of a few MB, 3G is just fine.
>>
>>
>It's MY pocket space. (rinse, repeat).
>
>Again we disagree - for a few small files at a time, 3G is fine. But
>for the mobile device I carry with me, I want BIG files - last nights
>telly in Japan AND the US, as big as the tech will allow - and lots of
>them, transferred cheaply - and 3G just does not hack it except for
>phone calls. How is it suddenly for the CARRIERS to tell me that the
>device I carry in my pocket can only download a few small files - and
>that it must use their slow, expensive 3G system when wifi or whatever
>else is available?!
>
>
Carriers have a louder voice than others, trials for establishing
commercial WiFi
coverage have not met with real success yet (despite efforts for at
least the last 2 years).
I would also love to have whatever video or music or free video-phone
over IP
(as you can achieve on PC) but at the moment, nothing offers acceptable
coverage
but mobile phones.
For videos, the next evolutions of networks (EV-DV for CDMA and the other
one for W-CDMA) may allow video file transfers over the air in an
acceptable time,
or may be we will be (finally) able to transfer files from a PC freely...
Though you are not alone, there is very little action from the users
side and it is likely
that in Japan the carriers diktat will continue for some time, unless
our good Softbank's
Masayoshi Son comes up with a reliable solution...
In any case, thanks for your views on this "pocket share" topic.
Cheers,
-- Benjamins
Received on Wed Dec 8 15:43:31 2004