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Concept:
i-Mode (the I stands for information) is a wireless
technology developed by the Japanese company NTT DoCoMo that enables users
to access Internet services via their cellular phones. i-Mode is based
on packet data transmission technology. This means that i-Mode is always
active, and therefore users are charged only for how much information
they retrieve, not how long they are online. i-Mode can be used to exchange
e-mail with computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other i-Mode
cellular phones.
Features:
An i-Mode-enabled cellular phone weighs approximately
90 grams (3.6 ounces), has a comparatively large liquid-crystal display
(for reading e-mail, etc.), and a four-point "command navigation" button
that manipulates a pointer on the display. i-Mode uses a "compact" form
of HTML, which is a scaled down version of HTML 4.0. CHTML is a recommended
guideline for HTML browsing software, allowing it to be applied to a variety
of small information appliances, such as cellular phones.
A picture of an i-Mode phone can be found here.
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| i-Mode works basically the same as
any typical software HTML browser (Netscape Navigator, for example), allowing
users to access thousands of i-Mode–enabled web sites via a WWW address,
simply by pushing the cell phone's dedicated "i-Mode" button. |
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| The Japanese company NTT DoCoMo, which
ranks as the largest cellular service provider in Japan, created i-Mode.
i-Mode services are currently only found in Japan, although NTT DoCoMo plans
to bring i-Mode service into Hong Kong and China, and eventually Europe
and North America. |
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| WAP stands for Wireless Application
Protocol, and is a set of specifications for developing web-like applications
that run over wireless networks. The WAP protocols are analogous to many
of those used in existing Internet technology, yet are optimized for the
challenges raised by small, narrowband client devices (such as mobile phones)
and limited over-the-air bandwidth. WAP protocols are open-specification,
meaning that they are discussed, designed, and owned by a democratic consortium
of interested parties including the WAP Forum. To
quote http://www.wapforum.org
: The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open, global specification
that empowers mobile users with wireless devices to easily access and interact
with information and services instantly.
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Not exactly. While WAP and i-Mode both have different
specifications, WAP specifications are being created so as to take in
the i-Mode specifications. For example, WAP version 2.0 is expected to
take on i-Mode specifications. Also, for now, i-Mode is being used mostly
in Japan, although NTT DoCoMo hopes to move i-Mode service into Britain
and the rest of Europe in the coming future. In doing so, NTT DoCoMo has
begun to provide English content on their i-Mode cellular phones for foreigners
living in Japan. i-Mode service in the United Kingdom is expected to launch
later this month. Also, Logica has announced the release of m-WorldGate,
which is a commercially available cHTML gateway due out at the end of
2000. M-WorldGate will allow operators outside of Japan to either complement
their existing WAP strategies or to build new mobile Internet services
based on cHTML.
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To learn more about i-Mode technology,
NTT DoCoMo offers general information about i-Mode services on the company
web site. Available information includes:
- An outline
for creating i-Mode compatible web sites: (This information includes
general guidelines for developing i-Mode web sites, a tag list for cHTML,
and a list of picture symbols for cHTML)
- Press
releases concerning i-Mode technology and NTT DoCoMo's business
interests.
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The main difference between i-Mode and WAP is the markup
language used. i-Mode uses Compact HTML, while WAP uses Wireless Markup
Language (WML), which is not compliant with HTML standards. Key Differences
are outlined below:
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Developed by NTT DoCoMo
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Developed by Wireless Phone Industry
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Uses cHTML as markup language
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Uses WML as markup language
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Used only in Japan/HongKong at present
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Used around the World
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Efforts to integrate i-Mode and WAP include:
- Changing
WAP specifications for
WAP version 2.0 in order to take on i-Mode services
- Implement cHTML on the top of WAP network
protocols
A summary table of i-Mode/WAP products and services
can be found here.
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Hypertext Markup
Language (HTML) is the markup language designed to specify the format and
presentation of text on the World Wide Web. CHTML is a subset of HTML 2.0,
HTML 3.2 and HTML 4.0, which is designed for small information appliances,
such as cellular devices. CHTML is based on four principles:
1) Completely based on the current HTML W3C
recommendations. This means that cHTML inherits the flexibility and
portability from the standard HTML.
2) Lite Specification—cHTML has to be implemented
with limted memory and a low power CPU. Frames and tables, which require
large memory, are excluded from cHTML.
3) Content can viewed on a small mono-color
display—cHTML assumes a small black and white, non-fixed display
space, flexible for the display screen size. CHTML also assumes single
character font.
4) Can be easily operated by the users—cHTML
is defined so that all the basic operations can be done by a combination
of four buttons; Cursor forward, Cursor backward, Select, and Back/Stop.
The functions, which require two-dimensional focus pointing like "image
map" and "table," are excluded from cHTML.
Major web features that are excluded from cHTML include:
- JPEG images
- Tables
- Image maps
- Multiple character fonts and styles
- Background color and Image Frame Style sheets
cHTML small information appliance hardware requirements include:
- Small memory
- Typical case: 128-512Kbytes RAM, and 512K-1Mbytes
ROM
- Low power CPU
- Typical case: 1-10 MIPS class CPU for embedded
systems
- Small display
- Typical case: 50x30 dots, 100x72 dots, and
150x100 dots
- Restricted colors
- Typical case: mono-color (black and white)
- Restricted character fonts
- Typical case: only single font
- Restricted input method
- Typical case: several control buttons and number
buttons (0-9)
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Familiar browsers such as Internet Explorer
or Netscape interpret HTML pages on a PC. A cHTML micro-browser is an equivalent
piece of software designed to run on a handheld device and to interpret
cHTML.
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| Currently there are over 9,000 i-Mode
enabled web sites. Approximately 4,000 of those sites are owned by businesses,
while the remaining sites are personal pages. Of the total number of web
sites, NTT DoCoMo has approximately 600 on its official i-Mode dedicated
web site list. |
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Since cHTML is a subset of HTML
4.0, some web features used with HTML 4.0 are excluded from cHTML. These
web features include:
- JPEG images
- Tables
- Image maps
- Multiple character fonts and styles
- Background color and Image Frame Style sheet
Also, since the memory capacity is the most
important issue in implementing the cHTML browser, buffer limits are recommended
to be:
- INPUT—maximum buffer size of 512 bytes
- SELECT—maximum buffer size of 4096 bytes
- Total File Size Limit—5000 bytes, although
2000 (2KB) is recommended
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(World Wide Web Consortium) also offers useful information
about cHTML. Information includes a comprehensive description and background
of cHTML for small information appliances.
- A submission on cHTML
can be found here
- A Tag List can be found
here
- Other cHTML links can
be found here
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NTT DoCoMo offers information about iMode cHTML on the
company web site. Available information includes:
- An outline
for creating iMode compatible web sites: (This information includes
a tag list for cHTML and a list of picture symbols.)
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Maximum length is 100 bytes.
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i-Mode supports 256 color GIF files. In addition, only
images in GIF 87, 87a, and 89a formats can be used. The maximum size of
a GIF image should be 94 x 72 dots.
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No more than 5 KB (5000 bytes). Although, depending
on the tags being used, some pages cannot be displayed even though they
contain less that 5KB. A size less than 2 KB per page is the recommended
standard.
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NTT DoCoMo does not offer Web site development services,
but the company's web site does offer a helpful outline of how to develop
i-Mode compatible web sites.
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Not yet, but NTT DoCoMo and Sun Microsystems announced
an alliance in March, 2000 to incorporate Sun's Java, Jini, and Java Card
technologies into i-Mode cellular phones. The first Java virtual machine
enabled phones should debut this coming fall 2000.
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A User agent is an HTTP header (HTTP_USER_AGENT) that
can identify the model of an accessing iMode terminal. By obtaining the
HTTP header using CGI on your Web server, you can offer content that is
maximized for viewing by individual i-Mode terminal models.
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Wideband Code Division Multiple Access. The wide-band
CDMA (W-CDMA) technology promoted by NTT DoCoMo is regarded as one of
the most promising candidates for the IMT-2000 radio transmission technology
standard. W-CDMA allows data transmission with a quality comparable to
that of ISDN. It offers high-speed transmission of video and large-volume
data, with high-speed transmission experiments covering video transmission
of up to 2Mbps.
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Some examples including specifications and photos of
NTT DoCoMo's i-Mode devices can be found at:
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Yes. Denso, Panasonic, NEC, Nokia, and Sony all produce
i-Mode cellular phones, but they are only available in Japan while NTT
DoCoMo remains the strongest developer in the industry.
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Not yet, but NTT DoCoMo is in the process of acquiring
interests in markets in Europe and the United States. For example, the
company recently bought a 15 percent stake in KPN Communications, a Dutch
wireless operator, and is rumored to be in negotiations with VoiceStream
Wireless, a mobile phone company in the United States. As for now, NTT
DoCoMo has established business roots in Hong Kong and China in order
to strengthen its relationships with wireless telecommunications operators
and other telecommunications-related organizations in those countries.
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Yes. Recently, NTT DoCoMo has begun to offer English
content on its i-Mode phones to offer guidance to foreigners currently
living in Japan. Also, to further enhance the i-Mode platform, NTT DoCoMo
and Sun Microsystems announced an alliance on March 16, 2000. The plan
is to incorporate Sun's Java, Jini and Java Card technologies into i-Mode
cellular phones, hopefully by next year. As the world's first cellular
phones equipped with such technologies, these devices will enable i-Mode
users to access a variety of additional applications. Such applications
include enhanced banking service security, game software downloads and
software updates. The first Java virtual machine enabled phones from DoCoMo
will debut in fall 2000. In addition, Internet cruising speeds using i-Mode
technology are supposed to get a lot faster when Japan becomes the first
country in the world to roll out 3G, wide-band CDMA. Current speeds are
set at a maximum of 9.6 Kbps. More than 300-Kbps should be possible by
next year. And by 2003, peak speeds could hit two megabits per second
(2Mbps)—fast enough for high-quality music downloads, Webcasts of television
shows, virtual-reality games using the phone as a Net link, and real-time
videoconferencing.
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Yes, on June 22, 2000, Logica announced the global launch
of m-WorldGate, the world's first commercially available cHTML gateway.
M-WorldGate will allow operators outside of Japan to either complement
their existing WAP strategies or to build new mobile Internet services
based on cHTML. M-WorldGate takes advantage of Logica's experience in
the Japanese market and allows content to be presented on mobile phones
supporting cHTML browsers regardless of the underlying network technology.
M-WorldGate will be commercially available at the end of 2000. One important
goal of m-WorldGate is to make sure it can handle a number of different
mark-up languages, thus giving mobile operators the opportunity to future-proof
their mobile Internet strategy and not tie it to one particular technology.
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Access, a leading Japanese Internet appliance software
developer, develops Compact NetFront, a Micro-HTML browser for small information
devices available in Japan. Compact NetFront is used as the micro-HTML
browser for about 75% of all i-Mode enabled devices. With NetFront embedded
in cellular phones, users can access various services such as weather
forecasts, transportation schedules, data searches, and news updates.
Information on Access' Compact NetFront can be found here.
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Access, a leading Japanese Internet appliance software
developer, develops Compact NetFront, a Micro-HTML browser for small information
devices available in Japan. Compact NetFront is used as the micro-HTML
browser for about 75% of all i-Mode enabled devices. With NetFront embedded
in cellular phones, users can access various services such as weather
forecasts, transportation schedules, data searches, and news updates.
Information on Access' Compact NetFront can be found here.
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An i-Mode emulator can be downloaded here
(In Japanese)
A demonstration of an i-Mode terminal can be found
here.
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