DoCoMo i-mode services to be offered by O2
Link: DoCoMo i-mode services to be offered by O2
UK mobile phone network O2 is to begin offering i-mode services on Saturday, 1 October. It will be available via four handsets, two from NEC and two from Samsung. According to DoCoMo, the creator of I-mode, they are the NEC N411i and N343i, and the Samsung S500i and Z320i. DoCoMo released the information prior to O2’s official launch of the service today.
NEC announced last week that it was to provide handsets and infrastructure technology for O2’s i-mode service.
According to DoCoMo, the service will include content from approximately 100 websites, and will also feature i-mode mail. One of the key strengths of i-mode is that it remains connected to the Internet at all times, meaning that there is no need to dial up to connect. It will be available on O2’s GPRS and 3G networks, and incorporate MMS compatibility. O2 is also planning to launch I-mode in the Germany, at a later date.
i-mode has achieved great success in Japan, but Europe has been less enthusiastic, possibly due to the popularity of text messaging and disappointment with WAP.
The UK will be the thirteenth territory to get an i-mode service. It is already available in Japan, Taiwan, Israel, Russia, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy and Greece.
