First introduced in 1999, i-mode was the world's first smart phone for Web browsing. The i-mode wireless data service offers color and video over a variety of handsets. Its mobile computing service enables users to do telephone banking, make airline reservations, conduct stock transactions, send and receive e-mail, play games, access weather reports and have access to the Internet. It can offer a wide array of websites from internationally known companies such as CNN to very local information. In Japan, the number of i-mode users is close to a sensational 13 million. This means that 10 per cent of Japan's total population are using i- mode after not even 2 years of its existence. i-mode Strategy authored by one of the main architects behind i-mode: Discusses the success story of i-mode to date Offers highly probable future projections for the technology Written by the most highly respected expert in the field, i-mode Strategy is an absolute must for everyone wanting to know more about NTT DoCoMo's sustainable business model and i-mode strategy

Table of Contents

About the Author. Foreword to the Japanese Edition. Foreword to the English language Edition. Color Plates. 1 Success. IT Businesses Grow far More Than Expected or do not Grow at All. i mode: Born with a Sense of Crisis. Evolution of a Text Based e Mail Culture. Beyond Talk. New Services Emerge. A Business Model the Wired Internet Cannot Support. All Eyes on DoCoMo. 2 Concepts. Why Has Our Success in the IT Business Been so Overwhelming? Differences in Platform are Meaningless. Why is the Win so Overwhelming? Life Today: Complex Systems. 3 Practice. Most People are Conservative; They Reject What Seems too New. DoCoMo's Role: Two Points Only. Sharing the Revenues Matters. Keep Service Providers Motivated. What is Internet Style Marketing? Finding i mode Champions. 4 Alliances. Win Win Relationships. Different Industries, Different Types of Alliances. Alliances with Broadcasters. Seamless Links between Mobile and Fixed Line Networks. Future Plans Call for Adding PC Internet Users. Point & Mobile Strategy and Convenience Store Alliances. Printing: Our Next Project. Alliances to Strengthen Electronic Settlement. 5 Effects. A Team of Individuals Working with the Same Ideas, Hand in Hand, is Stronger Than One Following a Single Boss. The Information Convenience Store and Gemlike Specialty Sites. More Corporate Subscribers than We Had Expected. Motorcycle Couriers and Exit Interviews. Self Organization in Off the Shelf Software. Another Effect of Adopting HTML. A Fast Conversion from a Telecom to an Internet Company. An Organization of Empowered Individuals is a Far More Powerful Organization. Accelerated Mobile Phone Evolution. Like the Auto Industry in the 1980s. The Media Rush. Word of Mouth: Self Organization among Individuals. 6 TheFuture. Emergence and Self Organization on a Global Scale Gives Rise to Greater Positive Feedback. The IMT 2000 Age is Drawing Near. Seconds of Real Enjoyment. Striking a Balance between Subscribers and Service Providers. e Money from Mobile Phones. Alliances with Home Appliance Manufacturers: Another Possibility. For Export: Our Business Model. Appendix 1: History of i mode. Appendix 2: Proposal for the Basic i mode Concept. Appendix 3: The i mode Menu List. Further Reading. Afterword to the Japanese Edition. Index.