More About IPhone

The iPhone is, on every level, an impressive package. It might do for North American mobile phone use among young people what the iPod did for portable music. Apple pesident Steve Jobs hoped for 10 million users by 2008; given the herd mentality around such products, that estimate is likely way too low.

The near-euphoric reaction to the iPhone, however, has missed a key part of the story.

For the past decade, commentators in the United States and Canada accepted the idea that North America remains the global innovator in consumer electronics and mobile media. The reality, however, is quite different.

Mobile phone hardware and mobile Internet services are much farther advanced in other countries.

Long before the iPhone, mobile media companies in other parts of the world were providing consumers with a startling array of mobile options and services.

Japan continues to be a key innovator in this field. The leader of the mobile media revolution is a company called DoCoMo. This firm responded to the shortcomings of Japanese Internet services by setting up an exceptional mobile Internet operation. Its i-mode phone transformed DoCoMo into the world's largest mobile communications firm.

The i-mode revolutionized the mobile Internet in Japan, offering email, web-browsing and e-wallets.

Five years ago, DoCoMo launched a 3G service in Japan that enabled easy usage of audio and video files.

Japanese users of the mobile Internet count in the tens of millions. Close to half of all of Japan's mobile phone users operate 3G phones and work is underway on 4G technologies that permit even greater use of audio-visual and interactive video services.

Continued product innovations have made the keitai (mobile phone) a prominent feature in Japanese life.

Companies produced more than 100,000 websites specifically designed for use with the i-mode phone. Customers thus had ready access to a diverse range of content.

Japanese consumers have for several years had audio-video services, digital cameras, web-conferencing, and geographical positioning. I-mode phones allow Japanese consumers to monitor the movements of their children and elderly parents, control household appliances, and download screensavers. The impact of the i-mode phones in Japan far exceeds the relatively modest penetration of mobile phones and the mobile Internet in North America.

The technical quality and capabilities of the phones range widely, for it remains a highly competitive field. Many of the newer phones have video and sound recording capabilities and permit TV viewing.

Some have substantial memory capacity, voice commands, a touchpad entry system, or built-in security.

Specialized services allow users to make easy ticket purchases or to use vending machines. Cities offer GPS-supported map services that pinpoint the user's location. Restaurants and specialty stores send coupons and announcements about special deals to keitai users.

Japanese firms push each other aggressively to generate market interest. KDDI's au design initiative includes a project called Media Skin, designed to make the cell phone softer to the touch.

Several KDDI phones have Mobile Theatre Screens for watching videos or television. Some phones also offer 3 mega pixel cameras.

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