DoCoMo, KPN target 1m i-mode subs in Europe by end of 2003 - The Pulse - Brief Article

Japan, Inc., Sept, 2002

NTT DoCoMo aims to increase the number of European i-mode subscribers to 1 million by the end of next year. DoCoMo will operate through associate KPN Mobile NV of the Netherlands and KPN's subsidiaries, releasing handset models with built-in digital cameras. It started the i-mode service in the Netherlands in April this year and its German subsidiary, E-Plus, began offering the service in March. Base, its Belgian unit, plans to Offer the service this autumn. Only one i-mode-compatible model is now available in the Netherlands and Germany. A model With built-in game-enabling software will be launched at the end of the year and a model with a built-in camera will be rolled out in early January.

Source: www.ananova.com/business/story/sm_627243.html?menu=business.latesthea dlines

COMMENTARY: There were some 60,000 i-mode users in Germany and Holland as of the end of June and the service appears to be unfolding nicely, if a little slow. The most important metric is the 200-plus content, application and service providers, indicating that a solid base of third parties believes they can make money on the i-mode brand. Further, the proven success of camera-equipped phones and the fact that the current NEC i-mode hand-sets are pretty attractive (great color screens, good tones) should attract even more subscribers.

E-Plus, the German KPN partner, for one, is not forgetting about the marketing, either -- data costs are modest. One E-Plus brochure states that it costs about 0.07 euros to access a sports news story with a picture, 0.14 euros to download an image, 0.03 euros to receive a mail and 0.22 euros to send. A final challenge will be persuading the market to go for more lively games.

One Europe-based Java developer said, "Europeans are not accustomed to mobile gaming." Carriers are starting with simple stuff, like Tic Tac Toe. We think folks will learn real fast once Java is available on i-mode (next year?).