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NTT DoCoMo's
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i-mode is a mobile internet (as opposed to wireless internet) service popular in Japan. Unlike Wireless Application Protocol, i-mode encompasses a wider variety of internet standards, including web access, e-mail and thepacket-switched network that delivers the data. i-mode users have access to various services such as e-mail, sports results, weather forecast, games, financial services and ticket booking. Content is provided by specialized services, typically from the mobile carrier, which allows them to have tighter control over billing.
Like WAP, i-mode delivers only those services that are specifically converted for the service, or are converted through gateways. This has placed both systems at a disadvantage against handsets that use "real" browser software, and generally use a flat pricing structure for data. Even i-mode's creator, Takeshi Natsuno, has stated "I believe the iPhone (a phone that uses the traditional TCP/IP model) is closer to the mobile phone of the future, compared with the latest Japanese mobile phones."[1]
In contrast with the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) standard, which used Wireless Markup Language (WML) on top of a protocol stack for wireless handheld devices, i-mode borrows from fixed Internet data formats such as C-HTML based on HTML, as well as DoCoMo proprietary protocols ALP (HTTP) and TLP (TCP, UDP).
i-mode phones have a special i-mode button for the user to access the start menu. There are more than 12,000 official sites and around 100,000 or more unofficial i-mode sites, which are not linked to DoCoMo's i-mode portal page and DoCoMo's billing services. NTT DoCoMo supervises the content and operations of all official i-mode sites, most of which are commercial. These official sites are accessed through DoCoMo's i-mode menu but in many cases official sites can also be accessed from mobile phones by typing the URL or through the use of QR code (a barcode).
An i-mode user pays for both sent and received data. There are services to avoid unsolicited e-mails. The basic monthly charge is typically on the order of JPY ¥200 - ¥300 for i-mode not including the data transfer charges, with additional charges on a monthly subscription basis for premium services. A variety of discount plans exist, for example family discount and flat packet plans for unlimited transfer of data at a fixed monthly charge (on the order of ¥4,000/month).
History
i-mode was launched in Japan on 22 February 1999. The content planning and service design team was led by Mari Matsunaga, while Takeshi Natsuno was responsible for the business development. Top executive Keiichi Enoki oversaw the technical and overall development. A few months after DoCoMo launched i-mode in February 1999, DoCoMo's competitors launched very similar mobile data services: KDDI launched EZweb, and J-Phone launched J-Sky. As of June 2006, these three major mobile data services have over 80 million subscribers in Japan. Vodafone later acquired J-Phone including J-Sky, renaming the service Vodafone live!, although initially this was different from Vodafone live! in Europe and other markets. In addition, Vodafone KK was acquired by SoftBank, an operator of Yahoo! Japan in October, 2006 and changed the name to SoftBank Mobile.
The current[when?] i-mode center is called CiRCUS, which consists of 400 NEC NX7000 HP-UX servers and occupies 4,600 m² floor space in DoCoMo's Kawasakioffice. The operation support system is called CARNiVAL, which is hosted in the Sanno Park Tower.
Markets
As of 31 October 2011, i-mode (including i-mode for smartphone subscribers) has 51.6 million customers in Japan and over 5 million in the rest of the world. i-mode is being provided worldwide through DoCoMo's partners through a licensing scheme[2] involving mobile operators in the following countries:
Compatibility
i-mode websites are created with iHTML, a subset of standard HTML. Since converting existing HTML websites to i-mode format requires only minor changes to the HTML, conversion is fast and easy, and the number of i-mode sites is high and increasing rapidly.
Efficiency
NTT DOCOMO's packet-switched technology was specifically designed to provide users with "always-on" network access, eliminating the need to log on or off. In turn, i-mode − the service developed for this packet-switched technology − provides the most efficient wireless access possible as no dedicated radio channel is required. The result is lower costs for customers as they are billed according to volume of data sent and received, rather than by time spent connected.
Versatility
i-mode offers one more significant benefit: mobile voice and data service in a single convenient package. This voice/data flexibility is unprecedented: people can download information about events, restaurants, etc., and then make reservations, or place calls to numbers searched in the i-mode directory.
Open Standards
At all phases of the development of i-mode, NTT DOCOMO pursued a policy of open technology exchange and joint large system tests at our R&D center with the world's leading research organizations, mobile communications operators and equipment manufacturers. In addition, i-mode supports Java-based applications whose importance continues to increase as the move to wireless devices accelerates globally.