The number of i-mode customers exceeded 220,000 as of May 23, just some three months after the service had been launched on February 22. DoCoMo, the world's largest mobile telecommunications operator, expects its i-mode customer base to continue growing at an accelerated pace, to possibly as many as three million by the end of the fiscal year in March 2000.

Service providers have also shown their enthusiasm for the new service. Nearly 100 companies have linked their i-mode Web pages with DoCoMo's portal IP Web site. Perhaps even more telling, however, is the more than 550 companies and individuals that have independently launched i-mode Web sites. Creating these sites is surprisingly simple and requires no need to learn a special language, because i-mode is based on the HTML global standard. DoCoMo also monitored five independently launched search engines for i-mode Web sites during its recent survey.

DoCoMo's i-mode connects users to a wide range of handy online services, many of which are interactive, including mobile banking, news and stock updates, telephone directory service, restaurant guide, ticket reservations, and much more. All services linked directly to the DoCoMo i-mode portal Web site can be accessed virtually instantly by simply pushing the cell phone's dedicated i-mode button. Users can also access hundreds of other unlinked i-mode sites via WWW addresses. Since i-mode is based on packet data transmission technology, users are charged only for how much information they retrieve, not how long they are online.

In addition, i-mode can be used to exchange e-mail with computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other i-mode cellular phones. The e-mail address is simply the cellular phone number followed by @docomo.ne.jp. What's more, e-mails are displayed automatically when they arrive, since i-mode is always active.

According to Kei-ichi Enoki, director of DoCoMo's Gateway Business Dept., "A prominent reason for i-mode's success is its simplicity. Both users and information providers view i-mode as a promising method of communication offering tremendous convenience."

An i-mode cellular phone is very easy to use. Typically, it weighs only around 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 moves a pointer on the display.

To further enhance the i-mode platform, DoCoMo and Sun Microsystems announced an alliance on March 16. 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, including enhanced banking service security, game software downloads and software updates. According to Scott McNealy, chairman and CEO of Sun Microsystems, "DoCoMo, being the largest cellular provider anywhere on the planet, is bringing the Internet to everyone with one-button access through a portable network. Every one in Japan will be very excited about this new service."

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