98 3G phones were launched in Japan in fiscal year 2006.
-68 were with 2.4 to 3.0-inch screens; 92 were with QVGA or higher resolution. The large displays are for multimedia, rich-content surfing, and multitasking on phones.
-Operators strived to generate revenue by providing large-size-attachment emailing and integrated mobile Internet-music player interfaces to push mobile data services based on camera and music functions.
-49 phones were mobile wallet phones and 45 were GPS phones. The convenience and usefulness of mobile wallet payment and navigation services are gaining acceptance among customers and providing substantial business opportunities for operators, device makers, content providers, and others participating in the value system.
-19 models supported “1Seg” mobile TV broadcasting in Japan. The limited models available are not due to the higher cost, but because of an unclear business model for operators to make significant revenue from the free-to-air TV broadcasting service.
Getting to know all of the enticing features of the latest Japanese phones and how their business works will be useful in creating or duplicating the same success in other markets.
Based on an analysis of the 3G phones introduced in fiscal year 2006 into the Japanese cellular phone market, and research of the leading edge service offerings of DoCoMo, KDDI, and Softbank, this report provides data to understand the successes and issues in the world's leading 3G country.