Recently I got an email from CNN in London to blogvertise their new wap site. If I surf the blogosphere it looks that I am not the only one as I saw several more or less identical posts about the CNNMobile launch. Interesting move from CNN and it looks like a successful one too.
(As a side note: The IntheField part of the wap site, it is mentioned, is written by CNN Bloggers covering the globe.)

Now all words and pictures aren't comparable to the real experience - so here is the QR Code to access the mobile site directly:



In Switzerland, you can also send an SMS to 202 with QR 202071002 to get the link back. (CHF 0.20)

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I for myself didn't have yet the time to browse it thouroughfully - on first sight it looked pretty ok -, I just went on the main page and then directly to that Lexus (image) ad. There were two big pictures first and then quite some text about the Lexus Hybrid Drive. At the end there was a link to www.lexus.eu. As soon as I clicked the link I was however no longer on a mobile site and I found myself scrolling through a lot of white screen. Not yet convincing, the mobile ad.

News from February 08, 2007 (JAPAN: [Science-Asia] #40, February 2007*) :
100 Million Phone Users:

The number of subscriptions for mobile phone services in Japan exceeded the 100 million mark for the first time, meaning the vast majority of Japanese now carry cellular phones.
Japan's population is around 128 million. The proliferation of mobile phones has been boosted by the popularity of a wide range of handset services, including Internet connection and music downloading, according to industry observers.

Speed:

5 Gbps Mobile Phone Data Transmission Rate
(February 10, 2007)
NTT DoCoMo Inc. successfully transmitted data at rates as high as five gigabits per second in tests of its technology for fourth-generation mobile phones. To achieve the fast speed, DoCoMo utilized 12 antennas and modified the signal-processing technology used for data reception. With a 4G handset, a two-hour movie that now takes more than two hours to download with the latest 3.5G service could be gotten in just around six seconds.
Downloads are so fast that all of the handset's data could be stored in a data center and downloaded as needed.

and Innovation:

Business Opportunities In Mobile Phone Tech
(February 26, 2007)
The dramatic advancement in the technical capabilities of cellular phones has opened the door to a wide range of new business opportunities for venture companies. According to the Nomura Research Institute, the market for development services for cell phone-based systems will expand to more than 1.7 trillion yen by 2010. Online shopping and content distribution are hardly the only services that can be provided for cell phone users. A vast frontier beckons for companies with original ideas and the ability to quickly turn their concepts into innovative products and services.

*If you wish to receive more detailed information, feel free to contact Felix Moesner,
Science & Technology Attaché, at the Swiss Science & Technology Office in Tokyo.