Time sensitive mobile contents - Day to Evening deco mail

Written by: Rebecca Milner on January 20, 2009 at 10:47 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE | 1 Comment

We’ve mentioned products marketed not just as seasonal but also as time-of-the-day specific before—so keeping that in mind, the new mobile deco-mail service from Gigno System makes sense. Called “Day Deco, Night Deco,” the mobile website changes its available content depending on the time of day, or night.

The day version is pastel and cutesy while the night version has a more “glamorous and grown-up” vibe. The content, however, is classic deco mail.

There are already deco mail sites that cater to either girly or sophisticated tastes, though this one recognizes that the same girl might be have a use for both, depending on the context, like the time of day. The sales pitch stresses that the organization makes for quick and easy decisions and less pouring through options. And while one could easily just select a day or night option, mobile users are increasingly enjoying have the phone make those selections automatically—just remember how neat you thought it was when your mobile clock first adjusted itself for a new time zone.

Tags: Deco Mail, Mobile phones
Category: DIGITAL LIFE
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, LIFESTYLE / FASHION, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Individual avatars for Docomo mobile deco mails

Written by: Rebecca Milner on October 27, 2008 at 11:51 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION | No Comments

If you were to introduce Japan’s three major mobile phone providers by their key points, it would go as follows: Softbank has the cheap talking plans (and the iPhone), AU has the cutting-edge designer phones, and Docomo has the cool mail features. It is the “Deco Mail” feature on Docomo, the ability to create elaborate flash animated text messages, that makes the carrier a hit among the school girl set.

Thanks to contents creator Cybird, Deco Mail is about to get even cooler. This week Cybird announced the launch of Portrait Deco Ani (“ani” being short for animation), a service that allows users to create a digital portrait of themselves, which can appear in a variety of different text message templates compatible with the latest Docomo phones.

Subscribers to the ¥315 (about $3) a month service first design their animated likeness by manipulating facial details such as eyes, skin tone, and hair—according to Cybird there are over 14 billion possible combinations.

Then, for each mail, users can choose a costume and pose, which is really an elaborate form of the emoticon.

Finally a background, from famous sites and seasonal settings to special occasions, like happy birthday, themes, is selected. It is also possible to create a number of characters, such as of friends or family members, and place them together in the same mail.

If you have been following these pages, you’re likely to reach the conclusion that the average school girl has any number of avatars out there on the web—from their StyleWalker doll to their LaForet blog parts. Far from a fad, these individualized characters are becoming the norm as a generation of girls learns (and has likely quickly become accustomed) to portray their individual style through digitized doppelgangers.

Tags: Avatars, Deco Mail, Docomo, Mobile phones
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Rain clouds, real time weather forecasts for mobile phones

Written by: Rebecca Milner on October 9, 2008 at 11:48 pm | In DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 2 Comments

The capricious tendency of typhoons (now in season in Tokyo) to change their course at whim means that no matter what the weather forecast predicted in the morning, the details of exactly when and where you might get caught out in a trouser leg soaking down pour are hard to pin down.

While we tend to think of this as a fact of life, the National Weather Association has teamed up with mobile phone provider NTT Docomo to offer a “rain cloud mail messaging” alert service. Yes, this means your mobile phone alerts you of the approaching presence of a big fat rain cloud that you probably can’t detect from within your cubicle. It also means that you know to go pick up your take-out lunchbox from the convenience store now because in 30 minutes it could get ugly outside.

Specifically, subscribers to the service, which has a monthly service charge of ¥105 (about $1), input their location and the strength and proximity of the rain clouds about which they would like to be notified. At the bottom of the mail is a link to the current 6 hour forecast for your area on the National Weather Association mobile site.

Meanwhile those with GPS capable phones can take advantage of a new service called “10 minute furidasu” (“furidasu” means “begin to rain”) from Dwango and Life & Business Weather that offers a rain forecast in 10 minute intervals based on your current location.

The ¥105 a month service rates the weather within a 1kg radius on a seven-point scale from “clear” to “violent rain.” This type of live feed is also intended to track “guerilla rain,” the aforementioned shoe soaking variety that, due to its strong but short-lived nature, could easily be avoided with accurate, up to date information.

Not only are these services time and place specific, they are also season specific. Like the UV level forecasting services we covered during the summer months, these new rain sites address a concern that is fortunately (for us) not year round. On the other hand, together they display a level of customization that makes the standard nightly news forecast seem down right obsolete.

Tags: Mobile phones, Weather
Category: DIGITAL LIFE, LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Late train mobile updates, toys for train lovers

Written by: Rebecca Milner on July 10, 2008 at 9:11 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION | 2 Comments

Japan’s typically timely and efficient train service (imagine a time schedule for a train that runs every 2 minutes!) make the usual, “sorry late train” excuse for walking in late to a meeting pretty unbelievable. To give train commuters a valid excuse however, JR has been in the habit of passing out certificates of lateness when a train is actually and significantly (20 minutes or so) late.

Now JR East (the area into which the Kanto region falls) is announcing that from the end of the month this service will be available on mobile phones, through the company’s mobile website.

18 JR train lines will be covered by the free service and the certificate of lateness will be available for three days after the occurrence.

JR East is also offering a new Schedule Mail service for ¥210 a month that allows subscribers to enter their train commuting information and receive an email to their mobile phone letting them know if the train is running late and offering recommendations for alternative routes.

Perhaps because of the recognized speed and efficiency of their country’s rail system, many people in Japan have a particular soft spot for trains, which often appear as cute toys or on stylish fashion accessories.

The latest one we came across is also the newest item in the “Ofuro de Pon” (“pop in the bath”) series from Epoch. Inside this mint scented ball of bath gel is one of six Shinkansen figures that is revealed as the ball melts away in the bath.

Other cool train themed products we’ve come across lately are these original alarm clocks from Nippon Sharyo that come in Yamanote, Chuo, and the new Shinkansen N700 varieties and play authentic melodies and announcements from each of these famous train lines.

Considering how long many people spend each day on the train (longer then they spend with family or friends in cases), it is understandable that commuters would come to feel an affection for their train lines. This can be done in miniature form at home with Takara Tomy’s Q-Train series modeled after real train lines (Yamanote below)…

…or with their keys with the complete set of Yamanote Line station “song” keychains (each station has a song) from Epoch so they can relive the fun of getting on/off of their favorite train!

Tags: JR, Mobile phones, Shinkansen, Toys, trains
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION
Other categories: MARKETING IDEAS, DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS

Japan’s best sellers (so far) for 2008

Written by: Rebecca Milner on April 23, 2008 at 2:53 pm | In LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS | 2 Comments

With 2008 already a quarter over (gasp!) the Nikkei Marketing Journal gives us a round-up of a few of the hit products so far this year. First up is the “Shower Clean Suits” from men’s apparel company Konaka. This wool suit is designed to be cleaned with just a hosing from the shower head, no detergent or ironing needed. The fabric is made from a special fiber with minute holes designed for quick evaporation, allowing it too dry quickly in a shaded corner of your room.

Not only is this suit incredibly convenient, but also cost effective, saving on pricey dry cleaning fees (which, due to the rising cost of oil, have increased 5-10% recently). Since the suit debuted in February, sales have doubled expectations and would-be Shower Clean Suit owners have been waiting listed.

Next on the list are food staples, of the non-prepackaged variety like meat and vegetables (or more specifically pork and cabbage). Following a health scare earlier this year, when a shipment of pre-packaged gyoza from China was discovered to contain unhealthy amount of pesticides, the idea of eating organic and home made food has jumped from the pages of earth mama magazines into the mass media and is making, at least for now, a real impact in what consumers are buying at major grocery chains around the country.

Compared to this time last year, the purchasing of (relatively) natural foodstuffs is up 3.7%.

We were hardly surprised by the next product, sugar-free beer, since hardly a conversation goes by without someone dropping the word “metabo,” the trendy contraction for metabolic syndrome that has become a catch-all phrase for anyone who could use a little trimming around the waste.

Kirin Zero, which was released this February sold one million cases in just 20 days, a number equivalent to a quarter of the projected sales for the whole year. Likewise Suntory Zero Nama has sold 700,000 cases in the first month since its March debut, exceeding expectations by 20%.

Rounding out the list is the NTT Docomo P905i model mobile phone, which has the capacity to stream a “One Seg” digital television signal to the handset’s three-inch screen.

From Panasonic Mobile Communications, the mobile phone wing of the company behind the popular Vieja TVs, the P905i has been Docomo’s best-selling phone for four months in a row.

Any predictions for the next three months?

Tags: beverage, Fashion, food, health, Mobile phones
Category: LIFESTYLE / FASHION, MARKETING IDEAS
Other categories: DIGITAL LIFE, PRODUCT INNOVATIONS