14 DAY TRIAL // NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile operator in Japan, will sign a deal with Google in order to offer e-mail and web search services via the company's mobile phones. From the second quarter of 2008, NTT DoCoMo's subscribers will be able to access, directly from their handsets, Google's features (e-mail, photo-saving or scheduling) via the carrier's i-Mode Internet network.
NTT DoCoMo also plans to work on a next-generation device to run on Google's free mobile operating system, Android. The device should be ready somewhere at the end of 2008 and could represent the beginning of a new era for high-end mobile phones.
Japan is one of the few countries where Yahoo! has a higher market share than Google: Yahoo! Japan holds more than 60 % of the market while Google only has a bit over 27 %. This being said, it's clear that Google tries to take advantage of NTT DoCoMo's position as the first mobile operator in Japan. The carrier currently provides mobile and multimedia services to more than 50 million subscribers and, since about 70 % of the mobile users access the web through their handsets, Google's market share in Japan has all the chances to reach a considerable growth rate thanks to the announced agreement.
KDDI, the second largest mobile operator in Japan, already signed a deal with Google earlier this year, to provide mobile email access with Google's technology help. I guess the third largest mobile operator in the country, SoftBank, would have signed an agreement with Google too, but it can't since the company is the most important stockholder of Yahoo! Japan.
There are no further details about the future deal between Google and NTT DoCoMo, but it all sounds promising and great things should be expected from the two giant companies.