JAPAN: Japan's mobile phone markets heats up with handsets which double as tv sets or wallets.
- 00:00:19
- ITN Source
JAPAN: Japan's mobile phone markets heats up with handsets which double as tv sets or wallets.
In Japan, mobile phones feature new technologies such as digital TV and e-money (bank transaction from a mobile phone) which most Japanese have embraced and can no longer live without. Japanese cell phone users, which number 92 million, on average upgrade their cellphones every 18 months to two years and are accustomed to using their phones for e-mail, surfing the Net and increasingly to buy goods and services with electronic money. From teenagers to seniors, people use cell phones all over the country - and use them for various reasons. "I use e-mail a lot. What's good about it is I can say things like 'I like you' without feeling embarrassed," said Chitose Fujimaki, 19, a university student in Tokyo. Hiromichi Shirakawa, chief economist at Credit Suisse Securities in Tokyo, says cell phones in Japan seem to have gained the status as the most important personal item for many Japanese. "For many young Japanese, cell phones are even more important than their wallets. If you lose your cell phone, you lose all your friend's contacts, lose your e-money, lose your camera, and lose access to your e-mail. A cell phone is now a must-have tool for one to secure a place to exist in the community." Many cell phones in Japan now also function as "wallet phones" as they feature an e-money transaction service called "Edy." (Pronounced EH-Dee.) The number of cellphones with e-money functions is currently estimated at 4 million. By using an e-money capable cell phone, one can not only shop at major shops across Japan but also buy drinks at vending machines and even ride taxis. Digital TV capability on a cell phone has become very popular as well and for the people using it the device is most convenient. Wherever Hisao Sakai goes, his cell phone is there - and right in front of his eyes. The 53-year-old managing director at an investment firm bought it so he could watch business news and follow his baseball team. And his phone is not just a TV phone but a "digital" TV phone. That means pictures that appears on his cell phone screen are crystal clear and stable even when he's driving or on a moving train. "I work in finance so I use my cell phone to check stock prices and watch baseball games at night," said Sakai, while having beer with his friends in a Japanese-style izakaya bar in central Tokyo. Sakai's friends also have digital TV phones but everyone had a different reason to buy one. "I watch TV news on my cell phone every morning while I walk twenty minutes from my house to the train station," said Mitsuo Nishizaki, a 56-year-old public servant. Some researchers predict mobile video and TV services will be adopted by at least 10 percent of wireless subscribers by 2009. Japan along with neighboring South Korea are expected to be at the forefront.
ITN Source | August 25, 2006
