(keitai-l) Re: The first FOMA T bluetooth mobiles arrive

From: Benjamin Joffe <benjamin_at_newtgames.com>
Date: 06/04/04
Message-ID: <40C05224.5070809@newtgames.com>
Mike Derouin wrote:

>>-----Original Message-----
>>[mailto:keitai-l-bounce@appelsiini.net] On Behalf Of Giovanni Bertani
>>Sent: June 3, 2004 4:50 AM
>>To: keitai-l@appelsiini.net
>>Subject: (keitai-l) Re: The first FOMA T bluetooth mobiles arrive
>>Why  do you think Bluetooth as been so unpopular in Japan?
>>Is due to some kind of prejudice to western technology?
>>Giovanni
>>    
>>
>
>Headsets and computer connections never seemed to be as popular with
>Japanese users.  And cellco's have always preferred 'forcing' their network
>to be used rather than a pc to get your ringtones, photos etc.  Not that I
>am a conspiracy theorist, but perhaps there is some collusion?
>
There is some truth in what you say, Mike.
Actually it has a lot to do with a few facts :

- a lot of people in Japan had a mobile before having and the mobile 
mail is often the primary
personal e-mail address

- carriers did not split their handset line-up between 
professionals/normal users. Basically, every single
handset is mass-market, event the most advanced. there is no real " 
low-end" : you have a kind of " middle range"
and all the rest is high-end and are bought by everybody from the middle 
school girl to the middle-age contruction worker.

- carriers and makers are so afraid about the impact on public opinion 
that there has been almost no communication
about the possible effects of mobile phones on the brain, and giving the 
impression of speaking to yourself in the street
is not yet an acceptable behaviour, so no need for headsets

- as for bluetooth, makers like Toshiba are at the forefront of the 
technology and they could have put bluetooth everywhere,
but bluetooth has interest only if you have at least -two- 
bluetooth-enebled devices, and laptops are now going more to
wireless LANs than to Bluetooth, so why put bluetooth ? Sony tried their 
change 2 years ago and failed miserably.
Most people bought their handset because they liked the "straight type" 
when you started to find almost only clamshells,
and most of them did not even know there was Bluetooth inside... And 
should they have known about it, there was nothing
to connect their mobile with...
Start a communication campaign about "your mobile damages your brain" 
(or "damages your skin" may be even more efficient)
and you may see makers include bluetooth and people buy headsets...

- thanks to fastly improving handsets with good displays, mobile phone 
services took off earlier than web ones,
and it is now very comfortable and easy to buy simple stuff like 
ring-tones or games on the mobile portal.
Probably carriers refuse to open their micro-billing to non-mobile 
payment and protect their walled garden.
Interestingly, this is not the case in Korea, where web usage and 
services (games, shopping, avatars, e-payment)
is very strong, while handsets evolved only recently to the level of 
Japan (color, camera, good screen, etc.),
so in Korea you can find a lot of websites selling ring-tones and the 
connectivity mobile-PC is very strong
(and linked with PC and Internet penetration as well)

Cheers,
Benjamin
Received on Fri Jun 4 13:43:07 2004