Continuing
our series on mobile Java coverage, Wireless Watch Japan ( WWJ ) visited
the-pre-IPO software developer Net Village, creator of the "Remote
Mail" Java-based mail appli. A couple of key facts emerged: Java
boosts packet revenue for the carriers, the cost and complexity of deploying
sophisticated Java applis may be beyond what the carriers themselves
can do (economically), and Remote Mail is one cool app -- as we see
in the live demonstration. 330,000 happy users can't all be wrong
Click
on picture above to watch streaming video
WWJ has been focusing
on mobile Java for the past few weeks -- and with
good reason. The pundits claim the interactivity and secure mobile
execution environment provided by Java could be vital for making 3G
data
services pay off sooner rather than later. Also, traditional cHTML-based
Web and mail content just can't take full advantage of the new handset
features we're now seeing, including advanced infrared-based P2P, 3D
graphics, and GPS. Also, carriers in Japan are wallowing in a veritable
Java data revenue windfall (NTT DoCoMo saw data revenues jump 102.5
percent in the first full year of their Java deployment), so there's
obviously a lot of money to be made with Java.
We figured the best
way to check out the money-data-Java connection was
to stop by Net Village, a then-pre-IPO Tokyo-based software developer
and provider of the "Remote Mail" Java appli on NTT DoCoMo's
i-mode.
Remote Mail allows subscribers to access any email account -- corporate
or ISP-based -- and avoid the carrier's normal mail limitations (i.e.
i-mode: no attachments, 2,000-character limit). Remote Mail also
provides print-to-fax and other features, making it one of the simple,
robust services that seem to do so well on mobile in Japan.
Remote Mail is also
an excellent example of a "machi-uke" -- or
"desktop" appli -- in which 504i-series handset owners can
select a
single i-Appli to be the default full-time background application
(J-Phone and KDDI offer the same sort of functionality on their latest
handsets).
