i-mode Reviewers

i-mode in Japan

Since nothing exciting is happening in the i-mode scene in Singapore, let us take a look at the scene in Japan with envious eyes.

Japan Rail recently launched the Mobile Suica service, which allows commuters to use their i-mode FeliCa phones as train tickets, simply by swiping the phone at the turnstile. Is that cool or what? (The FeliCa, touted as a wallet phone, has been around for about a year and is supposed to "make your wallet more slim. It can be your cash, credit card, membership ID, and even your house key".)

Incidentally, "suika" in Japanese means watermelon. I wonder if commuters think of watermelons every time they use the service.

So, where's our FeliCa and Suica?

Sheylara

One month without i-mode

It has been one month since I've stopped using the i-mode service, the world has not ended; the sun did not engulf us, the sky did not open up, and aliens did not invade. In short, I have not missed it.

The one thing I used most on i-mode was reading the Breaking News and the Straits Times. But news I got easily with the papers and TV at home, and the net at work. So nothing really changed. Nothing major was missed.

I suspect that i-mode will go the way of the novelty, starting with a bang and finishing off with a 'oh...that' Like J pointed out, Singaporeans seem more keen on getting cooler phones than phone services (excluding the essentials like sms). People will be more likely to subscribe to i-mode as an aside to getting that cool new 3G phone rather than getting that cool new 3G phone because they wanna i-life.

Even though I didn't take to i-mode much, kudos to the Starhub insiders who were with us during the trial and having the conversation with us (officially or not). They actually listened to what we had to say and made some changes. Wow. Now, if only m1 and Singtel would open up conversations like this with their customers too...

Alvin

Therefore

So, I hear the trial is coming to an end...which is something I knew about but couldn't remember the specifics of. At any rate, the answer to whether I'm keeping the phone/subscription is "no". In fact, I just loaded the Starhub i-mode page up and that irritating tune has done nothing to persuade me otherwise.

When I was using i-mode, I think my largest problem with it was how it looked. Generally, it doesn't look like it belongs on the phone; I got the nagging sensation that I was forcing the content into the screen on my phone. Awkward to navigate. I suppose that fact, coupled with my lack of interest in the services pretty much decided it for me.

And the phone, oh the phone...it actually embodies quite a few things I don't look for in a phone. Can't please everyone, after all.

Eve

Nothing new

I suspect i-mode interest is dwindling because it's come to a stagnant point where nothing new or exciting is happening anymore. Every few days, I check out the What's New link on the i-mode and am disappointed to find the same old thing sitting there for weeks. Even if there's a new entry, it's probably unremarkable.

For example, on the current What's New list is "SPH Breaking News". When you click on it, it brings you to a page asking you to subscribe to SPH Breaking News, and that's all.

Well, what's so new about that? SPH Breaking News has been around since i-mode was launched. So I don't really see why it's even on the What's New list. You don't even get to sample it. You're just asked to subscribe to it direct.

A more appropriate "new" thing is the Grotto's CNY promotion (buy a CNY hamper over i-mode and get free membership to The Grotto). That's kinda cool. I like promotions. Typical Singaporean, haha.

Well, I hope more things happen in the i-mode scene to excite me because the way things are going, I shall have to write it off as a white elephant soon.

Sheylara

The end draws nigh...

Hi All
The end of Starhub's i-mode trial is coming soon. Browsing around the forums the commentary seems to have dropped off, probably because people have got used to the i-mode and are not so excited about it any more. However, there continue information gaps, mostly centred around price plans, and phone models - to which I say: Read Starhub's website!

As for me, I don't think that I will be continuing with the i-mode. I like the idea, as a concept, but I just haven't found it becoming an essential part of my life. I was hoping that I would find it was somehting that I just couldn't do without, but while I feel that way about my Palm, I just don't have that attachment to my i-mode phone.

I feel that I will probably give it another look in a year's time, but not before...
J

Get i-treated!

Check out the new and improved i-treat.

If you're thinking of buying an i-mode phone, have an i-treat sent to you by a current i-mode subscriber. With the i-treat, this is the deal you'll be getting:

1. Exclusive special discount on i-mode phones
2. i-mode unlimited data plan at $10.50 per month (U.P. $21) for the first 3 months
3. $100 Takashimaya shopping voucher

Post here if you would like an i-treat. I can send one to you.

CNY Cheers,
Sheylara

Treasure hunting is hard work

Seems like the i-mode Treasure Hunt is getting harder with every round. I'm very impressed with the winners of every round. I'm also impressed with people who keep trying, whether or not they win.

I tried playing the game when it first started but gave up after finding one chest. i-mode page-loading speed is so slow compared to broadband and I just can't get used to it. I get impatient loading pages I want to read, what more pages I don't want to read but have to check in case the treasure chest is there.

Anyway, good luck to all treasure hunters. May you find the treasure you're looking for!

Sheylara

Useful technology

Here's something I would really love to see in Singapore.

There's this phone technology in Japan called QR Codes, which is some kind of a bar code. Users take a picture of the code with their i-mode phones and a relevant website will load up on the phone. That sounds extremely cool. You can read a more detailed explanation here.

Sheylara

Hurray, GV

Oh, Golden Village finally delivered. I have been trying to book GV movie tickets through the i-mode since October. Tried a few times in October, once in November, once in December. The system was always down and always gave me an error message at the last step after submitting my credit card details.

Today, I managed to buy 2 tickets through i-mode. Woohoo. It may have cost me $1 (booking fee) but it saved me $5 worth of petrol driving to GV to get the tickets early. Since we're on the topic, Derailed (starring Jennifer Aniston) is a very good show. Good choice to make if you're deciding what movie to catch this weekend.

Sheylara

i-mode saves the day

I forgot to unsubscribe to Street Directory before the free trial expired, so that means I'm going to have to pay the subscription for January. Which is not a big deal, only $3 (+$3 for my Straits Times subscription which I also forgot to unsubscribe to). The thing is, I was kinda planning not to incur any costs in the testing of the i-mode.

But it turned out I needed it, anyway. I had to drive to 2 locations today and didn't have a clue how to get to them, nor how to get home from the last location. Street Directory taught me how to. It's not perfect. There were a few times the site was down when I really needed it, and some of the directions it gives are dodgy, but there were also times it got me where I needed to be.

I also used my i-mode phone to send an urgent picture via iMMS because my recipient for some reason couldn't receive my e-mails. Cool. Sometimes, I really love having an i-mode phone with me.

Sheylara