Steve
It will not be possible to type Japanese with the DoCoMo Blackberry from many reports.
Reuters states "The 8707 will have Japanese language read support although it may not initially support Japanese write capabilities." http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060608/wl_canada_nm/canada_rim_japan_col_1 <http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060608/wl_canada_nm/canada_rim_japan_col_1> .
Below is an article from WSJ
TECHNOLOGY
Report on Business: International
DoCoMo to launch BlackBerry in Japan; Operating language will be English
YUKARI IWATANI KANE
Wall Street Journal
459 words
9 June 2006
B6
English
TOKYO -- Mobile-phone giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. will sell an English-language BlackBerry smartphone in Japan beginning in the fall, giving BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. a foothold in the country's $80-billion (U.S.) mobile-communications market.
The wireless e-mail-phone devices will be aimed at foreign businesses for employees in Japan and won't use Japanese as an operating language. Initial sales expectations are modest - a total of about 100,000 units at most.
The BlackBerry is used in more than 60 countries, and in the past month, RIM of Waterloo, Ont., has announced plans to enter China, South Korea and Singapore.
It will add more than 10 mobile-communication carriers in several different countries in the region this year.
The BlackBerry to be launched in Japan will be usable in other countries under roaming agreements, DoCoMo said. BlackBerrys from other countries already can be used in Japan, depending on the type of technology they use and their roaming agreements.
Smartphones have a poor record in Japan, making mobile-phone operators there reluctant to introduce them. Standard Japanese phones already let users send and receive e-mail with picture and video attachments - though the smaller keypads mean users tend to operate them with just one thumb, rather than two as many BlackBerry users do.
Most Japanese mobile phones also download music, games and ring tones from hundreds of thousands of specially designed websites. A Motorola Inc. smartphone introduced through DoCoMo last year flopped because it didn't include DoCoMo's popular mobile Internet service or a standard kind of Japanese quick-typing software.
That may change. A smartphone made by Sharp Corp. and sold by mobile carrier Willcom Inc. was a huge success when it was launched in December. Buyers, attracted by the sleek design, affordable service price and Microsoft's Windows operating system, flooded Willcom's website, and crashed its server. Some turned to auction sites, and paid more than double the smartphone's normal retail price of ¥40,000 ($353 U.S.). Willcom, which is owned by U.S. investment fund Carlyle Group and Japanese electronics conglomerate Kyocera Corp., sold 150,000 of the phones in total. It plans an updated version this month for about $400.
DoCoMo said the BlackBerry in Japan would be in line with suggested retail prices in other markets. The newest line of BlackBerrys in the U.S. costs $350 to $400, though operators there offer big
-----Original Message-----
From: keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net [mailto:keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net] On Behalf Of Steven_Nagata@capgroup.com
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2006 9:51 AM
To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
Subject: (keitai-l) Blackberry in Japan. Need info!
Hi,
It would seem that the holy grail of holy grails has finally made an
appearance. RIM and DoCoMo have both announced that a Blackberry device
will be available this fall for corporate customers.
http://www.nttdocomo.com/pr/2006/001271.html
I've been waiting for this for about 5 years now, so this is absolutely
huge to me. Still contact with anyone who knows anything about this
project is a bit elusive. I'm wondering if anyone on this list can help
get me in contact with a DoCoMo or RIM representative in Japan regarding a
local implementation in Japan (My company has numerous BES servers placed
globally). I'd be particularly interested if there is a monitor program
for the new service.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
-Steve Nagata
ssn@capgroup.com
This mail was sent to address dmckellin@visto.com
Need archives? How to unsubscribe? http://www.appelsiini.net/keitai-l/
Received on Mon Jun 12 09:08:01 2006