While I agree with all the points made by Sampson-sama, in Japan SMS
does have one (small) advantage over email for very short messages.
It is free within carrier on Voda and, I think, Docomo, and, for
email from the internet (from low priority ip blocks at least) to the
Voda network, rather faster. It can also be sent for free from the
desktop (on Mac's at least).
Asiboro-sama wrote...
>But you may be right, Japan has more mobile users that do not own
(or do
>not regularly use) computer than perhaps Europe/North America.
I have heard this before - but would like to see figures for it.
Mobile email certainly "replaces" desktop email to an extent that SMS
can't. If all you have is sms, you NEED desktop email for may
applications. It is less clear cut if you have mobile email. If
people don't have desktop email it is because they don't need it, or
mibile email suits their needs better, not that they are forced to
use mobile email because they don't have a desktop - which seems to
be the western perception.
Mobile email is very, very similar to desktop email, just more
immediate. SMS is in a different category.
> As far as
> I am concerned, in Japan mobile messaging tends to be a toy for kids,
> while in Europe/North Amerika it is more of a business tool.
I am not sure this is true. We certainly HEAR less about mobile email
and business in Japan, but I think that that is because it "just
works". There is a whole industry in the UK/US around Blueberry
client/server software and the like, which is why we hear so much
more about it.
An example: in Japan it seems to be common for workmen (of both
sexes) to finish a job, take a photo of it on their keitai, then
send it back to the office immediately. No special servers required...
I would sat about 40% of my keitai mail is business related. Is this
unusual?
Nick
On 29 Nov 2005, at 11:01, Curt Sampson wrote:
> SMS use is rarer than hen's teeth in Japan for several good reasons:
Received on Tue Nov 29 04:38:33 2005