(keitai-l) Re: DoCoMo rates in the US

From: Jani PATOKALLIO <jpatokal_at_iki.fi>
Date: 03/26/01
Message-ID: <3ABEDAA2.A87A2D0C@iki.fi>
Hubert Hung-Hsien Chang wrote:
> On Fri, 23 Mar 2001, Jani PATOKALLIO wrote:
> > It'll be interesting to see how i-mode works out elsewhere in the
> > world.  I'm not very optimistic about Docomo's chances in the US,
> > but in Europe the model may very well be workable...
> 
> That is funny becuase I have exactly the other thinking.
> In Europe, I was told and read from article, there are 60% of pre-paid
> users. So they don't have to care about the wireless voice and data.

Huh?  60% pre-paid?  I thought that only the UK is big on pre-paid plans,
and even there they're in a minority.

> Also, Europe is a bit more than just EU, I mean, after all, it is a big
> continent with a lot of countries speaking many different languages. So I
> would be more interested in seeing how i-mode works there.

Sure, I just say Europe when I mean Finland...  8)  but seriously,
I still think that Europeans as a whole are more used to cellphones,
effortless roaming, SMS messaging, etc, compared to the notoriously
fragmented mobile markets of the US.  Should an i-mode style service
offering real e-mail and decent access to all the "lifestyle" services
(chat sites, message boards, dating, etc) so prevalent in Japan
suddenly materialize in Finland, I'm sure all the teenybopper hordes
who currently live and breathe IRC and SMS would gladly migrate.

Just my e0.02...

Cheers,
-- 
Jani PATOKALLIO / jpatokal@iki.fi / +81 90 7722 3557
Sanpo Laboratory, Mechano-Informatics Dept., University of Tokyo
ヤニ・パトカリオ / jani@sanpo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp / 090 7722 3557
東京大学、工学系研究科、機械情報工学科、算法設計研究室

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Received on Mon Mar 26 08:36:28 2001