I-mode
- The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. The correct title is i-mode.
NTT DoCoMo's i-mode is a wireless internet service for i-mode mobile phones using HTTP, popular in Japan and increasingly also elsewhere. It was inspired by WAP developed in the United States, and was introduced to DoCoMo by McKinsey in 1997. i-mode was launched in Japan on February 22, 1999. The contents planning and service design team was led by Ms. Mari Matsunaga.
i-mode is a WAP-like service which uses domestically developed C-HTML, and DoCoMo proprietary ALP (HTTP, POP3) and TLP (TCP, UDP) protocols. It became a runaway success because of well designed services and business model. It uses C-HTML (for "Compact HTML") markup language, a subset of HTML. Later on NTT DoCoMo's collaboration with Sun Microsystem resulted in DoJa i-appli, an extension of CLDC (not compatible with J2ME/MIDP). There are some 3000 content-providing companies for i-mode.
As of September 2003, i-mode has 40 million customers in Japan, and 1 million in the rest of the world. i-mode is being used or tested in the following countries: Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Taiwan. Also, a version called m-mode is being used in the USA.
It is a global ecosystem where the operator design the compatible handsets, give strong editorial and usability rules to content providers, and propose an open business model to them. i-mode uses open standards as technologies: a light version of HTML is used for producing content, the i-mode
mail, though technically challenged and difficult to upgrade, is interoperable with Internet e-mail and images and sound formats are the ones used on the Web. i-mode users have access to various services, e.g. e-mail, sports results, weather forecast, games, financial services and ticket booking.
The current i-mode center is called CiRCUS, which consists of 400 NEC NX7000 HP-UX servers and occupies 4600 sqm floor space in DoCoMo's Kawasaki office. The operation support system is called CARNiVAL which is hosted in the Toranomon JT Building.
i-mode phones
Some typical features include so-called shell model, large displays (250x 320 pixels) and in many models, a display on either side. Additionally the phones have many extra features, e.g. a megapixel digital camera. The displays normally have 65536 colors but the newest models have as many as 262144 colors. The phones measure and weigh about the same as Nokia models. A typical i-mode phone is comparable to a Nokia 6600 model.
i-mode in use
i-mode phones have a special i-mode button for the user to access the start menu. There are thousands of official sites and tens of thousands of unofficial ones. NTT DoCoMo supervises the content on the official sites and they are often commercial. These official sites are accessed through the menus but the unofficial site addresses have to be typed manually.
An i-mode user pays for both sent and received data. Receiving costs about half as much as sending. There are different kinds of services to avoid unwanted reception of data. The basic monthly charge is ¥300 for i-mode, with additional charges for data and premium services.
See also
