Java Phones Set to Take Off in Japan
Jul 21, 2000
Yaeko Mitsumori, Contributing Writer -- Japan
LG Telephone, a Korean carrier, is scheduled to beta test its Java-based services on July 20. Cybird, a Japanese major content provider for i-Mode services, is going to provide some game software for the Java services (by LG Telephone) called "EG-I" from July 20.
LG Telephone, a Korean carrier under financial backers Lucky Golden Group, is scheduled to launch the commercial-based (Java) services in September 2000.
The terminals will be developed by LG Electronics, another Lucky Golden Group firm. The vender is planning to market 20,000 units of terminals by the official launcher of the services (in September 2000).
The Java service is winning attention in the market because unlike the conventional browser phone services, the Java based services will allow end-users to download software over their cellular terminals and let the software run on the CPU. Users can save on communications charges, and content providers can do more with their content.
Nobuo Kawakami, a leading game creator in Japan, said that the Java implementation will give game creators an important tool. "Using the technology, we can produce much more interesting, attractive game content," Kawakami said.
Cybird is ready to provide three games for the EG-I service --a picture-drawing game, a puzzle game, and an actio game. K-Laboratory, an R&D division of Cybird, has worked with LG Telephone to develop these three games. The Kilobit Virtual Machine (KVM) for EG-I was jointly developed by the LG Telephone and Sun Micosystems.
K-Laboratory director Yoshitake Hatada said that development of content for Java-enabled cellular phones is difficult. Since both the CPU and memory of a cellular handset is strictly limited, the code has to start small and remain small. Content providers have to spend more time and energy to develop such applications. However, Hatada said that the benefits from Java-enabled cellular phones for both end-users and content providers would be enormous.
For example, in conventional browser phone service, when a user gets any data on their handset, the data is produced at the central server in a form of GIF file and sent to each terminal. In the Java-enabled service system, users download software over the terminals, so the carrier does not need to produce GIF files.
Due to the features, content providers will not need to keep high end servers for their services (because they do not need to produce GIF files anymore); end-users can save communications charges (because they can download software over their terminals); and carriers can save cost for keeping their trunk line networks (because they will not need to send GIF files anymore).
Meanwhile, on July 14 NTT DoCoMo announced their road map for Java services and outlines of its KVM at a meeting with Tokyo content providers.
According to DoCoMo, the carrier will release its API in August and will launch its Java services in December 2000.
For launching its services, DoCoMo will release new series of i-Mode terminals called "503 Series." (So far DoCoMo has released three i-Mode terminal series: 501, 502 and 290 series)
DoCoMo developed its KVM on its own, so their KVM is different from that of LG Telephone. Hatada of Cybird, said that Cybird can develop content for i-Mode fully utilizing their know-how accumulated through their R&D effort for LG Telephone's EG-I services. "We will be able to develop interesting content for i-Mode, too, by fully utilizing our knowledge and know-how," Hatada said.
Other content providers have launched efforts to develop content for DoCoMo's Java services.
Nobuo Kawakami, President of Dwango, a leading game producer, declared that his firm will produce a game for DoCoMo's Java service earlier than any other content provider. He said that Java technology is especially beneficial for heavy game users because it lightens user's burden for communications fees.
Enthusiastic gamers of Dwango's fishing game "Tsuribaka" occasionally spend 10,000 — 20,000 yen packet communications fees per month. But once Java technology is introduced, these gamers can play games as much as they like with much smaller cost burden, according to Kawakami.
Bandai Co., Ltd., a game maker of million seller content "itsudemo charappa," is also gearing up its effort to develop games for Java services. Bandai's Shinichiro Yao said, "Unlike conventional i-Mode cellular terminal, software will run on CPU of the Java terminal, so we will be able to produce more interesting game." According to Yao, Bandai is in a stronger position for developing entertainment content for i-Mode, since Bandai had closely worked with DoCoMo prior to DoCoMo's i-Mode service launch.
Tetsuya Yoshimi, of Mobile Business Division of Konami, who attended the July 14 session, however, said that although content providers now understand what they may able to do with Java terminals, they still don't know what they actually can do with it.
One challenge for content providers for i-Mode services is DoCoMo will not release detail specifications of KVM until August and plans to launch its services in December. Yoshimi said that they may need more time to develop such sophisticated content. "But if we are given only four months, we will develop ones in the period," he said.
Sakura Bank, a leading bank providing content for i-Mode, has not disclosed its plan for Java content. Masanao Oki, EC Planning Division, however, said that the bank has submitted a couple of Java content proposals to NTT DoCoMo.
An NTT DoCoMo spokesperson said that Java will enable content providers to provide more secured services, partly because Java terminals can carry SSL on them.
Stock brokerage houses are ready to provide a variety of content for Java services. Makoto Hirao, Business Promotion Division of Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd., said that they will be able to provide more advanced services for users fully utilizing features of Java terminals. According to him, users will be able to see stock price chart on a Java terminal; can get more comprehensive information about a certain stock because users can download data on their Java terminal; and can save communications charges because they just need to download the latest data.
Dwango's Kawakami pointed out that one of the difficulties in production of content for DoCoMo's Java enabled terminals is the difference in specifications for each terminal.
At the moment, a dozen of venders are providing terminals for NTT DoCoMo and details of specifications among them are different each other. For instance, NEC's i-Mode terminals have much bigger screens than other makers' do. So content providers have to modify their content so as to fit to each of these terminals.
But Kawakami said that fully utilizing their high end technology, Dwango will be able to produce interesting games for Java terminals by December.
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