i-mode Wireless Content Service in Germany

i-mode Wireless Content Service in Germany

Bandai S.A. announce the launch of "Charappa", our first content service for the European mobile phone market. As of January 8th, the joint service "Charappa" will be available as an official i-modeTM content service through the German provider E-Plus Mobilfunk GmbH.

Inset is an NEC i-Mode handset on the E-Plus network in Germany with screenshot.

"Charappa" is a download service for character-themed standby screen images, developed from the enormously popular Japanese content service series of the same name. The service features content carefully tailored to the European market, and will debut with 5 different characters.

E-Plus launched its i-modeTM network in Germany on March 16th, 2002. Currently, its 100,000 subscribers have access to approximately 100 official sites and 7,000 independent sites, indicating that i-modeTM is making its mark on the German population.

Outside of Germany, i-modeTM services are available in the Netherlands through KPN Mobile (launched April 2002), in Belgium through BASE (launched October 2002), in France through Bouygues Telecom (launched November 2002).

It is expected that the convenience and entertainment value of i-modeTM services will cause them to become an indispensable part of European life, as they have in Japan, thus creating further demand for mobile content services. The E-Plus launch heralds the entry of Bandai Networks and Bandai S.A.into this promising marketplace, with Bandai services already in development for KPN Mobile, BASE, and Bouygues Telecom.

*E-Plus, KPN Mobile, BASE, and Bouygues Telecom are licensed partners of NTT DoCoMo, Inc.

The respective roles of the three companies are outlined below:
Bandai S.A.
Content provider.
Bandai Networks
Design and development of content services.

Description of Service
"Charappa"
Subscribers are sure to be kept entertained with 7 new standby screen images of their favorite character available for download every week. Every image is different, and rendered in full color. To set an image as the standby screen for a mobile phone, subscribers simply need access the site and download the image. They can also access up to 2 weeks' worth of screens (14 images) through the archives, so there is no fear of missing a picture.
Service type: Standby screen image download
Launch date: January 8th, 2003
Monthly fee: 2 Euros per character (approximately 240 JPY)
Characters available
(at launch): Go Nagai, Mobile Suit Gundam, Tamagotchi, Shige Shige Shigeo, Barbie

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