Hi N. Saliba.
Still here. The hot items now in the market in Japan are the i-Mode phones. I haven't bought one yet, but I hear they're pretty neat. They have a much larger LCD, though they use the same form factor as existing phones (i.e. no "Flip Open" style form factor, like the Nokia). I don't think they use any of the Off The Shelf OSs, though I could be wrong.
The iMode phones from Panasonic and Fujitsu came out in March, and the sales pitch is that they offer a degree of internet connectivity. More like "internet-like" connectivity, it seems. Some of the things you can do with and iMODE phone:
Send "e-mail"
Do Bank transactions (with Banks who have signed up for the service)
Get concert information (and maybe book tickets, though I'm not sure)
etc
This is still a test, in that NTT is seeing what the market is ready for, and what it wants. NTT is trying to go after commisions on any transaction that is made using the iMode phone. I think it's a great business model for NTT.
I am sure we'll see a new wave of iMode phones around Late June/Early July timeframe.
Back to Geoworks, does anybody know if there's a Development kit & tools available to build those Nokia OK applications? This, to me, is the key to their success. Just like people used Metroworks to build all those apps for the PalmPilot, somebody has to use provide a developmenyt kit for the Nokia phones.
Cheers! |
