au Abandons Notification Bar Advertising

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about some rather unwelcome advertising coming from au to the notification bar of their Android phones. It seems there was quite a storm of controversy over this, and au has decided to drop the ads. A victory for common sense and the consumer.

Full story here:
Japanese carrier to stop sending push notification ads | Android Central

KDDI places ads in the Android Notification Bar - And How to Stop Them

Japan’s #2 Carrier KDDI Pushing Ads On Android Notification Bar « Asiajin
One of the cool things about Android is that there are a ton of free apps in the market. A common way for developers to make this work is to display ads somewhere in the app, and offer a "premium", ad free pay version. This works pretty well for all concerned, and we don't hear too many complaints about the ads.

On the other hand, what we don't like are ads when we didn't ask for them and have no way of getting rid of them. This is what makes KDDI's latest stunt all the more despicable. Apparently, with the latest update of the "au one Market", a new licensing agreement pops up, and once you agree to its terms, KDDI can push ads to your notification area, as illustrated in this pic from Twitter, where you can see an ad for a diet solution being pushed to the user's handset.

I've blogged a couple of times about how I think KDDI is approaching the smartphone market in the wrong way. This latest move is further evidence of a strategy that is not in the interests of the consumer.

Ways to avoid/get rid of this problem: If you can, and haven't done so already, uninstall the au one Market app. You don't use it anyway, right? If you can't uninstall it, but it asks you to update, then make sure you don't click "ok" on the license agreement. There should be an option not to see the ads if you scroll down the agreement, so click this instead (the link is marked "広告情報の表示を希望されないお客様はこちら").

If you have already agreed to the license terms by mistake, rlm advises the following procedure:

1. Go to the "Top" tab (presumably in the au one Market app), and scroll all the way to the bottom
2. Tap "About Ads" ("広告について")
3. Tap "Stop/Restart Ads" ("配信停止・再開はこちら")
4. Check what is displayed on screen: If the button displayed shows "広告表示" ("display ads"), then go back without doing anything. Ads are off. If the button displayed shows "広告停止" ("stop ads"), push the button to turn off the ads.

Softbank to launch Asia's first TD-LTE network

A couple of days ago, I wrote about upcoming network changes and transitions to LTE from Japan's major mobile carriers. The one which intrigued me most was Softbank's planned offering of a TD-LTE network. As SBS pointed out to me, Softbank's current "4G" network (for Ultra WiFi) is running on DC-HSDPA technology.

This article from tech consultancy Ovum gives some more detail on Softbank's plans.

As I mentioned in the earlier blog, initially the only device supported will be the Ultra WiFi router (although due to the devices specifications, it will not be able to reach the full 110Mbps potential speed of the network, instead being restricted to 75Mbps). The first smartphones on Softbank able to take advantage of the new network will be models from Huawei in August, with models from ZTE likely to follow soon after.

What of the big names? HTC, Samsung etc? Current LTE models from major manufacturers are all FDD-LTE models. And while the same chip is capable of accessing both types of LTE, frequency will be a problem for Softbank here. "In North America, 700 and 1700 MHz are planned to be used; 800, 1800, 2600 MHz in Europe; 1800 and 2600 MHz in Asia; and 1800 MHz in Australia." (Wikipedia). This will be a problem for Docomo too; Docomo's Xi network operates in the 2.1GHz band, and Softbank will be operating in the 2.5Ghz band. It is as yet unclear what kind of multi-band radios future LTE phones will support.

At this stage, then, it is still a waiting game to see 1) What the phone models that come out on Softbank are like, and 2) Whether it will be possible to use overseas models on Softbank's LTE network. 2) also applies to Docomo, but at least at the current time, Docomo have some LTE models that are worth consideration (no offense to Huawei and ZTE intended... well, only a little offense...)

au (KDDI) Press Conference January 16th

KDDI held a press conference this morning and made a whole slew of announcements regarding new products and technologies. I'll try and summarize the most interesting ones below:

1. Introduction of NFC support & services
   Press Release in Japanese
   It was inevitable that this was going to happen, but interesting all the same. For the last couple of years, NFC (Near Field Communications, a type of contactless payment/communication) has been touted as the "next big thing" in Europe and North America, with even tech journos over there seemingly blissfully unaware that Japan has had contactless payment systems (Felica, Edy, Mobile Suica, etc) in place and operating successfully for years. However, with smartphones removing many of the barriers between the Japanese mobile market and the rest of the world, proprietary systems are going to have a hard time surviving. Several recent Android phones (including the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, sold on Docomo, as well as the upcoming 2012 Sony Xperia models) sport NFC chips, and the idea is picking up steam overseas. The next iPhone is rumoured to incorporate NFC technology. This means that Japan is going to have to fall in line with the rest of the world, so expect to see NFC slowly start to replace the above-mentioned Japanese services over the next couple of years. The good thing about this means that you will be able to use the same NFC payment services all over the world, not just in your home country.
   
   Brands already on board the NFC train include JAL, 7-Eleven, Tsutaya, Saison Card, etc (Full list here (Japanese)
   
   Currently, the only au model supporting NFC is the Samsung Galaxy SII WiMax, but expect this to change soon.
   
2. New "au" logo
   Press Release in Japanese
   For what it's worth, from today, au has a new logo:
   
   
   Details (Japanese)
   
3. "au Smart Pass": Unlimited app downloads for 390 Yen/month?
   Press Release in Japanese
   The next new service that au is introducing is called "au Smart Pass". For a flat fee of 390 yen/month, you get:
   
   • Unlimited downloads of "over 500 apps" from the au market
     Apps are "carefully selected" by au; they list some popular examples of apps which will be covered by the flat rate, such as Ridge Racer and ATOK (input method). Expect there to be a host of other apps which you can normally get for free, or find equally good/better free equivalents to (see my article here for my opinion on au's attempt to differentiate by creating its own app marketplace)
   • Discount coupons
     You can expect to get discounts such as 30~50 yen off at Lawson, 100 yen with Edy, or unspecified amounts from other vendors including KFC, HMV and Pizza Hut.
   • A reward point service
   • 10GB of online photo and video storage
     Probably the most interesting of the lot: 10GB of storage space in the "au cloud", which can be accessed not only through your phone, but also through your tablet or PC. Storage can be increased for an extra 105 yen/month per 10GB unit. The service is set to start from March 1st. It is not clear whether it will be possible to upload files other than pictures and video. The service will be Android only; presumably users of the fruity phone can use iCloud for the same thing. On the other hand, many Android users already have accounts with providers like Dropbox or Box.net, which offer more flexibility than au Cloud is likely to.
4. New 2012 "Global" Smartphone Models
   Press Release in Japanese
   On sale from 17th January, au has introduced 4 new "global" smartphone models. "Global" means that they are not specifically designed for the Japanese market, but are overseas models, or at least only slightly modified versions of overseas models. And it is quite the selection. Here are the models, with a brief summary of specs:
   
   • Samsung Galaxy SII WiMax (ISW11C) - 4.7 inch HD Super Amoled Screen (HD 720p), 1.4GHz Dual Core CPU, NFC (see item #1), 16GB internal storage, 2GB MicroSD card included - expandable up to 32GB, 8MP main camera, 2MP front-facing camera, HDMI output, running Android 2.3(Gingerbread) with TouchWiz UX. This phone is a beast.
   • LG Optimus X (IS11LG) - 4.0 Inch IPS 480 x 800 screen, 1.2GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra processor, 8MP main camera, 3MP front-facing camera, running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). High mid-range specs in a compact form factor.
   • Sony Ericsson Xperia Acro HD (IS12S) - Like the Acro to the Arc, this is a Japan-only version of the Sony Xperia S (Still Sony Ericsson in Japan, Sony in the rest of the world. Go figure...) 4.3 inch HD 720p TFT "Reality Display" screen, 1.5GHz dual-core processor, Exmor R 12MP main camera (starts up in 1.5s, only 0.5s between shots), 1.3MP front-facing camera, OneSeg mobile TV, "O-saifu keitai" (NOT NFC), Infra-Red (sekigaisen), GSM/UMTS roaming, waterproof, Android 2.3 with Timescape UX. This is another awesome phone with the latest specs.
   • Motorola Razr (IS12M) - Super slim 7.1mm thickness with 4.3 inch Super AMOLED Advanced QHD (540x960) screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8MP main camera, 1.3MP front-facing camera, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with MotoBlur UX. Another quality phone which loses out slightly to the Samsung and the Sony on specs, but you may be a fan of the slim design.
   Details(Japanese)

2012: A Year of Change in the Japanese Mobile Landscape

This post is largely a translation of an article from Nikkei Trendy. The original can be found at this link.

In the current mobile landscape in Japan, only Docomo has a next-generation LTE network. The "Xi" (pronounced "crossy", for some reason) went live at the end of 2011, accompanied by a line of LTE-compatible smartphones. This, in addition to Docomo's reputation for speed and connectivity, would appear to have put Docomo in a strong position for 2012. On the other hand, new iPhone carrier au is known for a strong network, but its iPhone lacks several features that competitor Softbank's model has, due to as-yet unresolved network compatibility issues. Finally, Softbank has the most established iPhone user base and a competitive pricing structure, but has a reputation for poor signals, dropped calls and slow data transfer speeds.

That could all change in 2012.

With the proliferation of smartphones in Japan, the current 3G infrastructure is under severe pressure. If the current smartphone adoption rate were to continue without additional infrastructure investment by carriers, we would start to see a significant rise in cases of dropped connectivity in 2012. Mobile carriers, therefore, will this year pursue an urgent strategy to try and get smartphone users to move to LTE networks, which are more efficient and able to support more users. For users, this means that this will be the year when it becomes possible to get a phone/line combination capable of speeds in excess of 37.5Mbps in the normal price range. In addition, we should start to see LTE-compatible mobile routers ("pocket WiFi") appearing as a further strategy to ease the burden on 3G networks.

A number of significant changes is likely to take place throughout 2012:

• February: Softbank Mobile to introduce "Softbank 4G", with a maximum downstream speed of 110Mbps
• March: E-Mobile LTE service to start. Maximum speeds between 37.5~75Mbps
• April: au's iPhone network speeds to increase to up to double the current speed
• July: Softbank's iPhone network quality could improve
• Autumn: Docomo Xi network speeds to increase to 100Mbps downstream, starting in regional areas
• December: au to start LTE operations. Plans to cover a wider area than Docomo.

February: Softbank Mobile to introduce "Softbank 4G", with a maximum speed of 110Mbps

Softbank's 4G network is set to debut in February (the TV advertising campaign is already underway). The maximum downstream speed will be 110Mbps, which on paper beats Docomo's current maximum Xi speed of 37.5Mbps. Users may harbour the usual concern about Softbank's network coverage, but Softbank has promised 99% coverage of government-designated cities by the end of the fiscal year 2012. Docomo and au are making their coverage promises in terms of population covered, so it is not clear how this compares. Pricing structure is also as yet unannounced.

A further concern may be what phone models will be compatible with this new network. At first, the only model supported will be the Softbank Ultra WiFi 4G mobile router. The network will operate in a different frequency range from Docomo and au's offerings, using the same band as China Mobile ("TD-LTE"). China Mobile, with 600 million subscribers, will wield some influence with handset makers, so Softbank will be relying on this for their handset supply.

March: E-Mobile LTE service to start. Maximum speeds from 37.5~75Mbps

E-Mobile have set their goals for their upcoming LTE rollout high; they aim to cover 70% of the population by the end of the fiscal year 2012, while Docomo has only promised to cover 60% of the population in the same period. Plus, they aim to beat Docomo on speed, and have announced that they have no intention of losing out to their competitors on the price front either.

In terms of speed, E-Mobile's LTE network will largely operate with a bandwidth of 5MHz outdoors. Indoors, and outdoors in certain areas only, it will operate with a bandwidth of 10MHz. In 10MHz areas, speeds of up to 75Mbps will be obtainable, while in 5MHz areas, speeds will reach as high as 37.5Mbps only. It is most likely that in major urban areas, the outdoor speed will be in the 37.5Mbps range.

April: au's iPhone network speed to increase up to double the current speed

In April, au will introduce new "EV-DO Advanced" technology nationwide. This technology improves the efficiency of the way traffic is handled by the base station, leading to up to double speeds in actual use. This effect should be noticeable for users of both au's iPhone and other smartphones.

July: Softbank's iPhone network quality could improve

In July, part of the 900Mhz band will be made available for use. Known as the "platinum band", this frequency range has a high penetration over long distances. The band will be allocated to one company this spring, with Softbank and E-Mobile the main contenders among mobile carriers. If Softbank manages to acquire this band, the 900MHz-capable iPhone and other smartphones should benefit with increased signal and speeds.

Autumn: Docomo Xi network speeds to increase to 100Mbps, starting in regional areas

The current Xi maximum speed outdoors is 37.5Mbps. This is a limitation of the frequency band used by Docomo, but this autumn they plan to increase the speeds to a maximum of 100Mbps. However, this increase will start from regional areas, with Kyushu, Okinawa and Hokuriku. In Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya, the frequency band is being used by other wireless services until the end of 2013, so the increase is slated for 2014.

With this expansion, Docomo plans to cover 60% of the population by the end of fiscal year 2012. Once this is achieved, Docomo will increase coverage from cities with a population of over 100,000 to smaller cities with populations over 50,000.

December: au to start LTE operations. Plans to cover a wider area than Docomo

au's LTE operations are scheduled to start in December with a maximum downstream speed of 75Mbps. A point to note here is that au plans to cover as much as 70% of the population right from the start of operations. With Docomo's coverage at that point in time estimated to be around 50%, au should hold an advantage here. The 800Mhz band which au will use will be a big factor in helping increase coverage over its rivals.

In conjunction with the LTE rollout, expect a wave of LTE-compatible smartphones in au's winter lineup.



So by the end of 2012, we could see Docomo overtaken in both (LTE) coverage and network speed by rivals Softbank, au and even E-Mobile. We should also see a gradual migration of smartphone users from 3G services to LTE services, freeing up the 3G bands for feature-phone users and relieving network congestion in general. A massive factor in this change could be the potential introduction of an LTE iPhone 5 in summer, with Docomo, Softbank and au all working to get their networks ready for this guaranteed big seller (if rumours are to be believed).

If you are planning on getting a new or replacement smartphone this year on any network other than Docomo, it might be advisable to wait until LTE rolls out on Softbank and au. Then see what models are out there. If you can't wait till then, Docomo's Xi LTE service looks like a good bet, and is cheaper than FOMA (as long as your usage is under 7GB/month). Finally, it remains to be seen whether SIM-free phones bought abroad will work on the Japanese LTE networks, given the variety of frequency bands it seems will be in use by the end of this year. Take care, and make sure you do plenty of research if this is the path you plan to go down.

Problems with Docomo SP Mode

According to this press release from NTT Docomo, the SP Mode mail service is experiencing some problems.

The problem started just after midnight on 20th December, and the effect is that some customers have had their mail addresses randomly swapped with other customers. If you check your mail address, there is the possibility that it has been switched with someone else's. This means that if you send a mail from your Docomo address, the receiver may see it as a mail from a completely different user. On the other hand, if you receive a mail from an unknown address, it may actually have come from someone you do know that had their address swapped by mistake.

To make sure that you have not been affected: Go to sp mode mail settings, -> other -> mail address. If the address is incorrect, reboot your phone and it should fix the problem.

In the meantime, while Docomo try to fix the problem on their side, a bunch of other SP Mode services have been suspended. Most of these will only be used by Japanese users, but it is worth noting that at the moment, it is not possible to change your mail address.

Opinion: KDDI Dreams of Creating "A Second Facebook"

In this article (Japanese) from Nikkei Online, KDDI talk about their visions and plans for the exponentially growing smartphone market.

The problem with the smartphone market, as opposed to the old "keitai" (feature phone) market, is that the handsets are not developed by the carriers. While many smartphones remain exclusive to one carrier (eg. the Samsung Galaxy series on Docomo or the HTC Evo series on au), this is largely a result of the explosion in the number of available models, far too many for one carrier to cover them all. However, nothing is stopping carriers from carrying the same phone as each other - the Sharp Aquos Phone series (formerly "Galapagos" - the irony)is available on all 3 major Japanese carriers, and even the iPhone is now on 2 out of 3, with constant rumours that Docomo will be picking it up at some point, now looking likely to be next Summer with the launch of the iPhone 5.

In the past, Japanese carriers developed phones together with the manufacturers, and phones were exclusive to each network. This made the actual phone itself a huge differentiator between carriers, and many people chose their carrier because they had an attractive phone. This differentiator is gone, so the question is, what is the differentiator in the new smartphone world?

According to KDDI in the article, it is apps. KDDI's plan is to create the best apps out there, put them in the "au one Market", and attract users with their superior software. They are running contests for small startups, the winners of which will get financial and promotional backing from KDDI to produce their app, and their "dream" is to build "a second Facebook" originating in Japan.

This is wrong on so many counts, and to me shows a fundamental lack of understanding of the new marketplace. Firstly, look at Apple and the iPhone: While I'm not a fan of Apple's "walled garden", to me the best thing it has going for it is no carrier bloatware or modifications. That means that when you buy a phone, it doesn't have Docomo Comic Reader or Softbank Doggy Petting or AU Stock Market Watch, or anything else that you probably have no interest in whatsoever. It comes with a bare selection of Apple apps, and the rest is up to you and iTunes. Apple explicitly do not allow carriers to add their own software (commonly referred to as "bloatware" or "crapware" depending on your mood), and thus ensure a pure experience. Carriers are not happy with this, of course, as they "cannot differentiate". The reverse is true, unfortunately, of Android, and this is where KDDI are going. Buy an Android phone these days (except the Google Nexus series), and your carrier will bundle all sorts of crap with it that you almost certainly didn't want. My wife's Sharp Galapagos from Softbank came with 8GB of pointless movies and games filling the 16GB microSD card. In the majority of cases, these apps can't be uninstalled, so they take up valuable storage space for nothing.

Of course, what KDDI are thinking is that they are going to produce such amazing apps that people will actually want them and buy from KDDI because of them. Well, look at the Nikkei article again. The "Best 5" apps chosen included the following: "Social Lunch: An app using Facebook data to help businessmen network outside their company during lunchtime"; "giftee: Give small presents to your friends on Facebook and Twitter"; "Qliipy[WTF?]: Share your thoughts on electronic publications with other users". Well, I'm bowled over. I'm going to cancel my Softbank contract right now and move to AU so I can get a hold of those apps. Not.

The laughable quality of the apps aside, even if they were that awesome, the reality is that in today's world, anyone can develop apps. Heck, I'm working on an app. So almost anything you could possibly want an app to do is done by an app out there in the market right now. And some of them are pretty damn good. Oh, and here's the clincher: Those markets (be they iTunes or the Android Market, or whatever Windows Mobile and Blackberry use) are open to anyone. They are not carrier restricted. I can access them whether I am on Softbank, Docomo, AU, or Verizon in the USA. And I'm pretty sure that most users will go to those markets before any proprietary carrier market to find the apps that they want.

Fact is, if this is how KDDI see themselves differentiating themselves from Softbank and Docomo, they are heading for a big fall. In a market where everyone is selling the same product, the soft products come to the fore: Customer Service, Network Quality, Price. I've never heard anyone say "I'm going to go with X carrier because they have the best apps". And I'm willing to bet that I never will.