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The unofficial independent imode FAQ
2. Using imode
2.1 Where can I use imode?
In Japan since February 1999, and since spring 2002 also in Germany and the Netherlands (Holland).
imode will also soon be available in other countries (e.g. France, Spain, Brasil etc) - stay tuned.
Within Japan you can use imode in most populated
areas, along motorways, in ski resorts, on the sea near the cost and in some subway stations.
imode does not work at the moment in subway tunnels, in some high-rise buildings and also
there are some minor areas of Japan which are out of range.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.2 How can I subscribe to imode?
You need to obtain an imode enabled NTT-DoCoMo handset directly at one of the many
DoCoMo shops or at shops which sell DoCoMo handsets and contracts. You need
to enter into a service agreement for DoCoMo's cellular phone service and
you need to chose the additional imode option.
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2.3 How does imode work? How do I get started with imode?
Your DoCoMo handset will have a special "imode" button. You press
this imode button, and the imode menu appears. On the imode menu, you can chose
one of several options: you can look at your privat "my menu" page,
where imode sites are listed which you are subscribing to, or you can look
at the menu of approx. 3000 imode partner sites operated by 2000 content providers, or you can type in an URL to
look at any internet site, bookmark websites, or you can send email or change your settings.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.4 How much does it cost to get an imode phone in Japan?
Consumers in Japan don't pay the true cost of imode enabled phones. Typical
total costs (including DoCoMo's charges) when switching to imode are on the
order of US$ 70, but this can be lower (even down to zero in extreme cases) or higher depending on the popularity of
the model, or the geographic area of Japan.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.5 How much does it cost to use imode?
To use imode you have to have a basic mobile phone subscription with NTT-DoCoMo. On top of the
basic subscription costs you have to pay 300 YEN (approx. US$ 3) per month for imode use. This is
all you pay if you never actually use imode. However, when you start using imode you incur additional
charges. For 2G/mova there is a basic data charge per packet, 0.3 YEN (approx. US-cent 0.3) per data packet transmitted
of 128 byte. As an example, looking at the basic imode-Menu, the standard DoCoMo welcome screen or user interface,
will set you back about 2.7 YEN (i.e. approx. US-cent 2.7). There are no connection time charges for imode.
In addition there are other charges for using email and for premium subscription services. There are various
discounts for high usage, long subscription time, or subscription for large numbers of handsets.
Charges
are different and generally much lower for 3G (FOMA Broad band service). There is also a flat data rage for FOMA, and for KDDI/AUs 3G services.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.6 With an imode handset, can I look at internet sites which are not specifically formatted for imode?
Yes, in principle you can. However, in many cases you will only see a small portion of the
page, and the information you see may not be meaningful. Also, it is likely that the information
will overflow the cache of your handset; in this case the displayed information will be truncated, and
there will be an error message as well.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.7 What about pay sites (premium sites)?
Many (but by far not all) of DoCoMo's approx. 3000 "official" partner sites are pay sites. These sites will have
a public free area for basic information, but most of the content will require that
your register and pay a monthly charge to the site. Charges are on the order of US$1 - US$5 per month and per
site. Note that by far not all premium sites are successfull commercially. A great number of official i-mode
sites do not sell content, and therefore have no monthly subscription charge. These site are usually part of the
customer relationship management programs of large corporations or banks.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.8 What about email?
imode services include email, however if you wish you can also disable email
service on imode. In addition to imode-email, imode handsets also include short messaging
services similar to SMS in Europe.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.9 Can I look at imode webpages with my ordinary Netscape or Internet-Explorer browser?
Of course, since cHTML is an extended subset of HTML you can use your Netscape or IE browser to look
at imode pages. Try it out and look at some of our imode pages here: http://www.eurotechnology.com/i/
or http://www.eu-japan.com/i/.
However:
(a) at the moment
most users are Japanese and therefore almost all imode content is in Japanese language. However,
imode content for Germany, Holland and other countries is rapidly being developed.
For Japanese imode content you
will need a Japanese enabled browser,
(b) you will not be able to see the links using imode-only tags (such as those
tags which dial a mobile voice phone connection directly from the imode handset). Since these
special imode tags are not defined in usual html, a Netscape or IE browser will not handle the correctly.
(c) you will not be able to
see the many special DoCoMo-imode symbols. They will usually be replaced by a question mark.
So looking at an imode page with an ordinary PC based browser will give you an idea, but will not exactly reproduce what
imode users see on their handsets.
(d) Many sites specifically addressed to i-mode handsets will block access by PC based internet browsers.
Return to imode-FAQ main page
2.10 What does a typical imode screen look like?
The following images show the i-mode menu screens on a SH900i 3G/FOMA handset.
imode screen images of a SH900i 3G/FOMA handset (240 x 320 pixel)
