i-mode in Europe: i-came, i-saw, i-gave up

Hello Martyn:

Wish you would have pinged us for a comment on this story. Certainly you managed to find the image used here via the article posted by Wireless Watch Japan:
http://wirelesswatch.jp/2007/07/23/failure-to-execute-doesnt-mean-i-mode-is-dead-yet/
As appears on Google image search:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=i-mode&gbv=2

There are several glaring factual errors here, so I will take a moment to note those for your readers point by point below:

++ "Soon there were 60 million i-mode subscribers in Japan alone"

There are currently 47.8 million i-mode subscribers in Japan. If you add the other two operators mobile data service offerings we have a total of 87.7 million contract users for the official carrier platforms. The official current data is posted on the left nav. of all WWJ pages:
http://wirelesswatch.jp/wp-content/jmss.gif

++"DoCoMo licensed the technology to.."

It has been widely noted that i-mode is not a technology but a business model, therefore it's success or failure entirely depends on the implementation and execution.

++"However, subscribers found the service both limited and expensive and when rival mobile operators began to offer cheaper, flat rate 2.5 and 3G services.."

Data speed and flat rate billing has nothing to do with it. DoCoMo 3G users in Japan are the vast majority and all you can eat surfing - on reasonable monthly price packages - is a standard feature. The real issue, also widely stated, was clearly a lack of i-mode enabled handsets made available by the EU operators. When O2 announced they would phase-out the service we noted two rather interesting points.

1- only 12 of 240 handsets on offer were i-mode enabled.
2- data usage (therefore corresponding revenues) for i-mode subscribers was significantly higher when compared to users without compatible handsets.

It should also be made clear that surfing ondeck or off is not (and never has been) restricted in any way by access or price for DoCoMo's i-mode subscribers in Japan.

++"This means that Romania is the last country in Europe still offering i-mode.."

How about Bouygues Telecom? Generally considered the most successful of all i-mode offerings outside Japan. Which is usually attributed to their desire to replicate the model as closely as possible.
http://www.internetmobile.bouyguestelecom.fr/offres_illi.php

While pundits are prone to labels, it is worthy to point out that Vodafone launched v-live in Europe after their aquistion experience here with J-Phone and the J-Sky service which was one of the early i-mode competitors. Same suit.. different tie.