Hi all,
I strongly agree with Ren here. It was not so much the technology that makes
iMode a runaway success. It is the business model and all the components
that make it works (ex:payment settlement service, directory listing, and
etc.) that makes iMode successful. More specifically, it is the content and
services on iMode that add tremendous value. The technology with always-on
packet mode, ease of use, and etc. helped iMode gained early acceptance.
However, WAP on CDMAOne can do most of what iMode can do now and has always
been faster than iMode`s 9.6kpbs and technically, you can take advantage of
WAP`s card/deck concept. But the KEY differentiator is that DoCoMo realized
from the beginning that it is the content and services that will drive
consumer demand, not so much on the technology. They did a lot of educating
and providing assistant to content providers (ex: publishers) and service
providers (ex: banks) to create iMode sites even before the official launch
of iMode service. As a result, from day one consumer sees value in iMode.
IDO/DDI and same with most operators around the World have focused too much
of their effort on optimizing the technology while have done poorly in
creating an effective business model to support the technology. For example,
it took IDO/DDI until recently to have payment settlement service in place
and charges that are based-on packet. There has been hardly any efforts from
IDO/DDI to make WAP easier to use or create content/services with. DoCoMo on
the other hand is now talking to companies like Digital Hollywood to further
extend the knowledge and reduce the learning curve on iMode technology.
In conclusion, WAP can also thrived if mobile operators put all the
components in place to create compelling business cases for both business
(content/service provider) and mobile subscribers.
Punnamas
>
>I am always facinated by blanket quotes like "technically superior" --
>as an engineer I ponder what that phrase means.
>
>But what nobody seems to understand is the that the success of I-Mode
>has NOTHING to do with technical standards; it's the business model that
>was successful, and it's the business model that DoCoMo will export out
>of Japan and it's the business model that is killing the current WAP
>business model.
>I-Mode business model on WAP or 2-way pagers or cHTML...it doesn't
>matter how the bits flow, people want a pricing structure, contents, and
>a settlement system.
>
>And the more European/US wireless fanatics ignore this truth, the more
>likely they are to be crushed, regardless of technology.
>
>r e n
>
>
>
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
Received on Tue Jun 20 07:02:13 2000