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reveals all about i-Mode mobile Internet and speculates whether it will be as popular in the West as it is in Japan
A few years ago, some clever so-and-so probably wrote about how the mobile Internet was going to transform our world, revolutionise business models, and make everybody rich beyond their wildest dreams. So what happened?
Well, had the author been talking specifically about Japan, it would've been a pretty accurate prediction. While we Europeans had a lukewarm reception to wireless Internet in the form of Wireless Application Protocol, the Japanese have adopted the medium in astonishing numbers thanks to i-Mode.
More than 40 million Japanese (that's over a third of the population) already use i-Mode, with a mind-boggling 60,000 new customers signing up every day. They send e-mails, book airline tickets, check the weather and more, via their handsets, at a rate that shames the rest of the world.
This month sees the launch of i-Mode in the UK on the O2 network. Other networks, such as T-Mobile, are following, marking a major turning point for users, publishers and developers in the UK.
I know - you've heard it all before. But this time we can take comfort in the...