No. 1: Marketing Speaks for Itself

NTT DoCoMo starts to standardize the core mobile phone software in collaboration with five Japanese companies from the consumer-electronics industry and semiconductor industry with a view to expanding the technology infrastructure and changing greatly the Japanese mobile phone business frequently dubbed the “Galapagos” phenomenon. The company carried out the same kind of strategy aiming at the global market 10 years ago. Back then, Apple achieved tremendous success in the global market, while DoCoMo withdrew from the global market. What decided their outcomes is marketing. Apple allied with carriers worldwide and opened the infrastructure of information distribution to them, while DoCoMo allied with mobile phone makers and contents developers. In fact, DoCoMo failed to show presence in the global market, and the idiosyncrasy of the Japanese market grew more conspicuous. This time the five companies asked to collaborate with DoCoMo are all Japanese and so-called DoCoMo’s family companies. Part of the base of Apple’s technology is made up of Sony’s Walkman and DoCoMo’s i-mode. The difference in strategy between Apple focusing on the global market and DoCoMo protecting the right and interest of its family companies is great.