1) Case Study :Using Mobile to Provide Real Estate Information for Better Customer Acquisition: Nomura Real Estate Urban Net
2) Industry Report: Mobile Suica Drives the Adoption of e-Cash
3) Mobile Research:Desirable Mobile Services for the Future
4) Carrier Trend:Big Three Prepare for Number Portability with New Handsets
5) Japan Cellular Subscriber Data

Nomura Urban Net was launched in September, 2005 to handle brokerage of new and used properties, featuring a mobile site "MobileNomu.com" that offers a full database of real estate properties. The PC version of the service, Nomu.com, was established in April 2001 as a website for gathering real estate information. Since launch, it has remained an industry leader and has been among the most accessed sites in its sector.

 

While the Nomura brand has traditionally assured customers of reliability and security, it was also pointed out that it seemed to many customers to be somewhat inaccessible. To dispel this image, it was decided to roll out a number of promotions via the more personal platform of mobile phones. Following the creation of Mobile nomu.com, a number of steps were taken to draw people to the mobile site, such as printing the mobile site URL and a 2D barcode for the site on company media, including employee business cards, fold-in flyers, and sales promotion tools. In addition, at the time of the mobile launch, several other means were used to raise awareness the site, including posters and billboards placed in train stations in central Tokyo, advertisements in free magazines, and more.

 

The Mobile nomu. Com site includes a number of rich assets, including floor plans and photos of properties. Based on a strong understanding of the tastes of more educated users, it features other functions such as mobile mail alerts regarding the latest information on properties that help customers get an easy handle on what is being offered. All listings also include an email address for inquiries, and the phone number of the agent handling the property in question. This "one-click to dial" feature has been reported by company sources to have dramatically increased the number of inquiries to agents.

 

One promotional campaign was held between mid-October and mid-November. Those who filled in a questionnaire were entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate worth 50,000 yen. The objective of the questionnaire was not to execute a survey but rather to raise awareness of the Mobile nomu.com site and its array of convenient functions. The campaign produced positive results, surpassing expectations for the number of accesses and users registering to become members of the site so they could inquire about properties, despite the fact that real estate is a big-ticket item. A spokesman at the company reported that mobile proved an effective tool for attracting the target audience.

 

Plans are to increase the number of registered site users and to continue using the mobile site as a very focused tool for communicating with customers.

Driving the Adoption of e-Cash: Mobile Suica Enables Purchase of Tickets and Other Products with Just a Mobile Phone

 

Starting January 28, JR East introduced the Mobile Suica service, allowing customers to use their mobile phones instead of transport tickets. Suica cards featuring IC chips have been in use for train passes by JR East since 2001, and the addition of e-cash functionality has now enabled them to be embedded in mobile phones as "Mobile Suica."

 

Adoption of Suica has progressed steadily since the launch of the service, with usage of the cards now breaking the 10 million mark. Suica is being used in metropolitan Tokyo, Kinki, Sendai and Niigata areas. With the introduction of its e-cash shopping service in March 2004, Suica has extended the reach of its transactional services to include a far greater number of outlets, including convenience stores, restaurants, household electronics stores, and kiosks in rail stations.

 

With mobile Suica, users with compatible handsets can get the same functionality as with a Suica card, but there are a number of different requirements that must be fulfilled. First, customers must have a Vue Card from JR East (500 yen per year annual fee, mobile Suica is free.) Users can thus use their Vue Card to recharge their mobiles online. (Since January 2005, it has been possible to recharge mobile Suica using cash at convenience store outlets).

 

In addition, registered users can access the website at http://suica.jp via the NTT DoCoMo or au portal menu top page and download a Java application. Using this application, users can check their balance and account history.

 

Since the launch of the service, Mobile Suica Service booths have been set up in major stations around the Tokyo metropolitan area. These are being provided through the cooperation of NTT DoCoMo and KDDI, and allow customers to sign up for mobile Suica compatible handsets and contracts, register for Vue Card and mobile Suica, as well as to receive information about downloading the Java application and getting registered for the service.

 

Since Suica is in regular use by a number of people for transportation purposes, it is showing excellent take-up among users as e-cash. The number of shops utilizing the service is quickly increasing, and with Suica enabling people to ride public transportation and make financial transactions with just a mobile phone, the market for e-cash is also rapidly expanding.

In Japan today, a wide variety marketing surveys are conducted directly from participant's mobile phones. These surveys can prove extremely valuable in collecting otherwise inaccessible information about new consumer markets. The survey featured below focuses on the frequency with which i-mode users visit mobile Internet websites.

***********************************************************
Result of Survey December 12-23, 2005
Respondents: 7,905 Mobile users
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The following is a survey conducted on mobile phone usage in Japan. It was conducted by the Internet-based DTR (Desktop Research) service INFO PLANT Co., LTD (Head office: Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Masaki OTANI, President, http://www.info-plant.com). Data was collected via a nationwide survey of mobile phone users from the networks of NTT DoCoMo, au, and Vodafone, and based on valid responses from 7,905 users during a two-week period between December 12 - December 23, 2005. InfoPlant is dedicated to the expansion of research using mobile phones.
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<Survey Results Overview>
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In terms of regularly used functions and services for mobile phones, 80% of users cited the alarm clock, still camera, and ring tones. More than half reported using the bar code -reading function of their phone.

Looking at the services and functions used regularly on mobile phones, 85.4% cited their alarm clock function, followed by the still image camera (83.3%) and ringing tones (81.6%). Looked at by gender, the most popular functions were the still image camera (female: 88.3%, male: 74.6%), calculator (female: 85.8%, male: 69.6%), infrared port (female: 51%, male: 37.6%), video camera function (female: 47.4%, male: 35.5%), deco mail (female: 46.4%, male: 22.8%), with females scoring more than 10 points higher than males in all areas. By contrast, men showed higher usage with non-game i-appli and the mobile wallet function.

Looked at by gender and age, usage was highest among both males and females in the younger groups for infrared, the barcode reader (QR code), remote control, music playback, chaku uta (R) ringing tunes and chaku motion, games, non-game i-appli, and deco mail. In particular, teen usage was highest for infrared communication, music playback and chaku uta(R) ringing tunes and chaku motion. In addition, usage of deco mail was highest among female teens.(Table 1)

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Desirable Mobile Functions and Services: TV, GPS Navigation, and Transportation and Rail Tickets

When asked to respond freely about the types of services people would like to see added in the future, the greatest number were interested in mobile TV, followed by GPS navigation, and transportation and rail tickets, many of which are already in existence or at the top of the list of services under development. Also listed were using the phone as a replacement for keys, insurance, driving or personal identification, and an anti-theft alarm, all things which one customarily carries around or might be in need of. In addition, other common answers included a radio, dictionary, solar charger, and a mirror.

In addition, among the less popular responses were requests for additional functionality, including a variety of customization features, such as confirmation when email has been read by a recipient, a phone which can be used in a hospital, one which gives off a scent, acts like an air conditioner, or even jump starts a car.
(Table 2)

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<Survey Description>
Questions:
1) Please select all the functions or services on your mobile phone that you use regularly.

2) Please list up the services or functions you would like to see added to mobile phones in the future

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Survey method: Open Survey on the i-mode Tokusuru menu
Survey period: Dec. 12 - Dec 23 2005
Valid responses: 7,905
Rate of valid response by gender: male 37.0%, female 63.0%
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About the Survey Sites
i-mode sites: Tokusuru Menu
For more information, please contact D2C Communications at press@d2c.co.jp

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Q1) Please select all the functions or services on your mobile phone that you use regularly.

<Table1>(By Gender/Age

 

 

Q2)Please list up the services or functions you would like to see added to mobile phones in the future

<1-10>

 

<11-20>

 

<21-30>

 

** Questions and Interviews for this survey**********
INFO PLANT CO., LTD.
Email:info@info-plant.com
TEL :+81-3-3367-1967, FAX :+81-3-3367-1961
**********************************************************

Operator Handset Strategies: Japan's Big Three Prepare for Number Portability with Greater Handset Differentiation

 

NTT DoCoMo, au and Vodafone have all announced their new spring handset lineup. Part of their strategy is closely tied to the fact that number portability will be introduced in Japan in the fall of 2006, and attractive handsets are expected to play in important role in user retention and acquisition.

 

NTT DoCoMo has introduced its popular new 702i Series, which features the i-channel, G-Guide programming remote control, and a security scan. Of the 5 devices in the 702i Series, 3 different types (SH702iD,N702iD,F702iD) are the product of close collaboration between creative designers, manufacturers, and NTT DoCoMo, and were overseen by a leading designer. The 702i Series thus exhibits a strong emphasis on product design, a trend which is expected to continue into the future.

 

At au, the emphasis has been on seamless integration of mobile phones and PCs for music download using au's Listen Mobile Service (Lismo). For this service, au has rolled out 7 handsets in its CDMA 1X WIN line. For example, the W41T sports a 4-gigabyte hard disk. The W41H features digital terrestrial one-seg broadcasting, and is one of the leading models created by a well-known designer for the au "Neon" design project. All 7 devices are compatible with au's Lismo service and show a strong commitment to its music download business.

 

Vodafone has released 4 new models, which in combination with the already announced 804SH and V502T, brings the number of new releases to 6 in the spring model offensive. The 804SS features an ultra-thin 14.9mm design manufactured by Samsung. This is the first Samsung model introduced in the Japanese market. In addition, the 804N features a 450-megabyte hard disk, while the 904T includes a 3.2-megapixel camera and audio player. Finally, the 904T released in March supports the Vodafone Address Book, which enables users to backup their mobile address book to the Internet and synch it with their PC.

Here is the latest Japan cellular subscriber data for your reference.
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