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What is i-mode?
What is i-mode?
By Moataz Younes
i-mode is a wireless internet service which enables mobile phone users to access mobile internet sites. i-mode was launched in Japan on 22/02/99 by NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile network in Japan currently holding over 56% share of Japan's mobile market.
i-mode has 45 million customers in Japan and over 5 million in the rest of the world. The other two leading network operators in Japan have also developed their own internet platforms. KDDI/AU introduced EZWeb and Vodafone introduced Vodafone Live (Jsky).
i-mode script
WAP utilises WML on top of a specific protocol stack for wireless handheld devices. i-mode uses Internet data format such as C-HTML based on HTML. (Other DoCoMo protocols: ALP (HTTP) and TLP(TCP, UDP).
i-mode mail is interoperable with email. Images and sound formats are same as used in the Web. C-HTML has i-mode only tags not compatible to HTML such as dial-to tag like the mail-to tag and picture symbols. There are JAVA compatible handsets for downloading JAVA applets. Typical screen size 2.4 inches diagonally 240x320 pixels.
i-mode speed
High data transmission of 200kbps, normally 64kbps upload and 384kbpd download on DoCoMo's 3G FOMA. Data transfer uses packet transmission. 1 data packet contains 128 byte.
i-mode in the world
i-mode is being provided world-wide through DoCoMo's partners through a licensing scheme involving mobile operators in the following countries: Germany, the Netherlands (KPN), Belgium (Base), France (Bouygues Telecom), Spain (Telefonica Moviles), Italy (Wind), Greece (Cosmote), Australia (Telstra) and Taiwan (Far East Tone). United Kingdom (O2), Singapore (StarHub), Israel (Cellcom), Ireland (O2) and Russia (MTS) have launched i-mode services on October 2005. The worldwide partnership is called the i-mode Alliance.
This article is submitted by Moataz Younes
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