As of late, I like most globally aware individuals have been tuning in to the Beijing Olympics. It’s not hard to see why as the games certainly have their fair share of drama, hype, controversy and just about every other desirable emotion inducing qualities. With that, I have been drawn to the television for the latest coverage and updates. From conversations with many Japanese the timing of these Olympics were perfect in that a portion of the games fit nicely into the national holiday period. The problem now however, is that most of us living and working here in Japan have returned to work and the notion of catching one’s favorite event live is that much more difficult. That is if you don’t have a cell phone with television capabilities.
I recently came across a link at Wireless Watch Japan of a study conducted by the “Communications and Information Network Association of Japan” which releases reports on mobile usage in order to capture the latest trends within the mobile industry here in Japan. As I read through, I came across a chart packed full of statistical goodies. It showed the latest and most popular uses for keitai`s and also compared the stats from one year prior. As expected, email was still by far the most common function for users. However, what caught my attention was the percentage of users who have started to use the television functionality within their phones.
In 2007 a mere 7.5% of Japanese users watched T.V. with their keitai but fast forward to the present and we see that this figure has shot up to 28%! That is a fairly bold spike in usage. Now I am sure there are a number of reasons for this such as the manufacturers releasing more phone with television viewing functionality, Japanese users tendency to frequently upgrade their keitai`s and so on. However, I believe that the biggest factor lies in the fact the cost to watch television via your mobile is free in Japan. That’s right, it costs you nothing to tune in and watch Japan’s latest Olympic hero Koisuke Kitajima give a post race interview after winning yet another gold medal.
Providers in Japan have certainly not forgotten that mobile CRM extends to nurturing their customer base with truly desirable software, applications and in this case mobile devices supported by developed networks. Pondering this notion of free services, I was curious as to how this technology was being utilized within North America and more specifically the U.S. Upon doing some research I came across a great article posted by a Canadian newspaper publication The Globe and Mail. What it told me was that a mere 3% of American`s are regularly using their keitai`s for television viewing and those figures included people who downloaded short video clips rather than watching broadcasted T.V. As a reminder, 28% of Japanese are currently using their keitai to view television versus 3% in the U.S.. What gives?!
Apparently, the main problem lies with the technology surrounding television broadcasts and the fact that at present broadcasts are still analog. To add to this, there is only one keitai model in the U.S. made by a Chinese manufacturer which can handle analog viewing. At present American’s with this type of mobile are able to view for free however by February 17th 2009 analog will be a dinosaur in the states with digital broadcasting taking over.
It must be noted that there are other technologies available to enable viewing in America without using the Chinese manufactured device however the issue lies with the pricing and packaging. Due to the special networks created to enable viewing, the providers need to get their cash back somehow and this comes in the form of monthly packages ranging from $10 to $15 for roughly ten channels.
So as you can see the infrastructure really dictates the usage, habits and ultimately the level of offerings and all of which can drastically affect the development or hindering of mobile customer relationships for some companies. These notions echo the words of many familiar with the mobile industry. Despite technical know how or capabilities for exotic mobile services or applications, countries such as the U.S. and others appear to be playing catch up on the foundations for this technology. What this potentially means is that despite you having that next killer app idea or cannot fail business model, it might not be a bad idea to really study the base or foundation on which it lies. Is the industry sufficiently developed to the point where it can handle your idea? These words ring just as true here in Japan even with the mobile industry being relatively ahead of other countries. We are still in a state of massive flux and this development issue cannot be overlooked.
Canadian Chris
I recently came across a link at Wireless Watch Japan of a study conducted by the “Communications and Information Network Association of Japan” which releases reports on mobile usage in order to capture the latest trends within the mobile industry here in Japan. As I read through, I came across a chart packed full of statistical goodies. It showed the latest and most popular uses for keitai`s and also compared the stats from one year prior. As expected, email was still by far the most common function for users. However, what caught my attention was the percentage of users who have started to use the television functionality within their phones.
In 2007 a mere 7.5% of Japanese users watched T.V. with their keitai but fast forward to the present and we see that this figure has shot up to 28%! That is a fairly bold spike in usage. Now I am sure there are a number of reasons for this such as the manufacturers releasing more phone with television viewing functionality, Japanese users tendency to frequently upgrade their keitai`s and so on. However, I believe that the biggest factor lies in the fact the cost to watch television via your mobile is free in Japan. That’s right, it costs you nothing to tune in and watch Japan’s latest Olympic hero Koisuke Kitajima give a post race interview after winning yet another gold medal.
Providers in Japan have certainly not forgotten that mobile CRM extends to nurturing their customer base with truly desirable software, applications and in this case mobile devices supported by developed networks. Pondering this notion of free services, I was curious as to how this technology was being utilized within North America and more specifically the U.S. Upon doing some research I came across a great article posted by a Canadian newspaper publication The Globe and Mail. What it told me was that a mere 3% of American`s are regularly using their keitai`s for television viewing and those figures included people who downloaded short video clips rather than watching broadcasted T.V. As a reminder, 28% of Japanese are currently using their keitai to view television versus 3% in the U.S.. What gives?!
Apparently, the main problem lies with the technology surrounding television broadcasts and the fact that at present broadcasts are still analog. To add to this, there is only one keitai model in the U.S. made by a Chinese manufacturer which can handle analog viewing. At present American’s with this type of mobile are able to view for free however by February 17th 2009 analog will be a dinosaur in the states with digital broadcasting taking over.
It must be noted that there are other technologies available to enable viewing in America without using the Chinese manufactured device however the issue lies with the pricing and packaging. Due to the special networks created to enable viewing, the providers need to get their cash back somehow and this comes in the form of monthly packages ranging from $10 to $15 for roughly ten channels.
So as you can see the infrastructure really dictates the usage, habits and ultimately the level of offerings and all of which can drastically affect the development or hindering of mobile customer relationships for some companies. These notions echo the words of many familiar with the mobile industry. Despite technical know how or capabilities for exotic mobile services or applications, countries such as the U.S. and others appear to be playing catch up on the foundations for this technology. What this potentially means is that despite you having that next killer app idea or cannot fail business model, it might not be a bad idea to really study the base or foundation on which it lies. Is the industry sufficiently developed to the point where it can handle your idea? These words ring just as true here in Japan even with the mobile industry being relatively ahead of other countries. We are still in a state of massive flux and this development issue cannot be overlooked.
Canadian Chris
1 comment:
Hi Chris:
Glad you found & enjoyed the post with Japan mobile usage stats. Thought it might be worth pointing out that 28% watching TV, if you read fine print on top of the chart, is actually using DAILY! Should be no surprise that it's free - just like the original home TV model.. 8-)
cheers,
Lars
http://wirelesswact.jp
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