> The more interesting thing, though, is the level of control
> that the UK side might be trying to assert over the Japanese
> arm. Could they be holding them back?
What continually frustrates me is that Vodafone products are made by the
same people that make phones for Docomo and au, but the Vodafone equivalents
won't synch in any meaningful manner. My rapidly-ageing J-SH53 has an MP3
player, an ebook reader, a schedule, an address book and a pile of other
features that match or exceed my PDA, but I can't synch the data in any
meaningful manner. What I want is an Intellisync button or similar: click on
the thing, and the phone is updated. In reality, MP3 data has to pass
through the ludicrously bad Panasonnic software, ebooks have to come from
Sharp's pathetic website, address data can't even be backed up and restored
reliably using Sharp's own in-house software, schedules can't be added in
any reasonable manner whatsoever and so on. Vodafone Japan can't compete in
the business arena because the phones don't synch with anything, and they
can't compete in the youth arena because, well, they're way too boring.We
all know Sharp can't do user interfaces or software, for example, but we
rely on someone like Vodafone to come along with a clue-by-four. Does anyone
actually use the 3G Sanyos and Sharps in any meaningful manner? The Sharp is
a Frankenstein's Monster mis-match of phone base and lid, and the Sanyo is
just a fat mess. Since Sharp and Sanyo make good phones for other providers,
there must be someone at Vodafone screwing things up. My J-SH53 doesn't even
get a decent signal much of the time. What's the point in having dead spots
in Tokyo? If there's any city on the planet where you'd want good coverage,
Tokyo's got to be WAY up there on the list. It would be business suicide to
have bad reception in Tokyo, one would imagine.
I think number portability in Japan will give Vodafone immense pause for
thought if they don't get their act together. Even their marketing is
devious: I find myself signed up for services I'd normally avoid, so I
obviously haven't avoided them well enough. The stupid cellphone discount
plan that's only cost-effective if you change phones every 9 months or less.
I've been with J-phone for way more than a decade but it's tough to be a
customer right now. I dunno, it's hard to understand what market(s)
Vodafone Japan thinks it can succeed in.
Received on Sun Aug 15 19:44:07 2004