Mobile browser from Japan: Jig

Jig is the name of a genuine Japanese Internet software product, a mobile web browser. There is also an English version available which is very welcome. The best point: For overseas customers the usage of jig is completely free!

A few days ago, Taisuke -who is CEO and CTO of the Tokyo-based company of the same name- demonstrated jig to me personally. And I really liked it!

Jig is actually "just" a proxy browser. The Java application reshapes web sites designed for PCs so that they can be displayed on mobile phones. When installed on a handset, (almost) any given web site can be surfed via the "jig browser mouse". The so-called mouse is actually an arrow which users can scroll across web pages and click on items with.

Video: The jig browser in action (direct link and more videos)


The application supports three views: original PC mode (PC view is taken over without modifications), mobile mode or overview (the web site is shrinked to a single screen on the handset). Tabbed browsing is possible. All three major Japanese mobile phone carriers are supported.

Moreover, jig offers mini-applications called jiglets. These include an RSS-reader, a digital clock, a scheduler and many more. It is also possible to install a mailer jiglet with which you can handle PC mail. Jiglets can be developed by the users themselves as well!

Users can also view Flash videos, WMA and WLV files on their handsets.

Downloading the full browser application costs 630 Yen a month (5.80 USD/4 Euros) or 6,000 Yen a year (55.50 USD/38 Euros). It is also possible to install a slimmed-down version for half that price or download a trial version for free. The overseas version is completely free!

Active company
Jig has been around since 2003 and is now competing with other mobile browsers such as Opera Mini and Skyfire.

The company is really active in improving its services. For example, jig won an award at the "Global Mobile Content Awards" held in Korea in 2007 for its "jig movie" application which enables users to view streaming videos (i.e. live content and movies) on their mobile phones. Last December, Yahoo! Japan decided to include a technology developed by jig to include in their mobile widget service "Yahoo! Desktop".

Not bad at all. It is good to see a Japanese company being in such a good position in a very interesting market.

Can Facebook make it in Japan? Pros and Cons

Facebook has flaws. Some management decisions are sometimes debatable to say the least. And yes, some requests get can get on your nerves. But in my view, Facebook is still the best place to connect with people. Much better than Friendster, Bebo, MySpace etc.

No Facebook Japan yet
Update: Facebook Japan launched (May 20th, 2008), see my post.
As of now, Facebook does not offer a Japanese version. But it seems that the company finally makes some serious moves towards internationalization. This month, my fellow Germans Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer have invested in Facebook, supposedly to prepare the entry into Europe. In November last year, famous Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing decided the service is worthy enough to shell out 60 million USD of his pocket money to them (he is Asia's richest man).



So a "Facebook Japan" might come closer even though it is undecided yet when this will become a reality.

MySpace offers a Japanese version now. Friendster followed in December. Both sites offer no incentives for many Japanese people to join however. I am sure most "ordinary" Japanese people never even heard of these services.

The same is true for Facebook.

The Japanese don't really care much about other SN than Mixi. As regular readers of this blog know by now, Mixi rules the Japanese SN market (my Mixi review). Mixi is supposed to have a user base of 12 million people.

Can Facebook emulate this tremendous success? Time to think about some pros and cons.

Pros:
1)
Japanese people love innovations and Facebook will be new to a LOT of users over here.

2)
Compared to domestic products, foreign goods and services are often viewed as cooler, more exotic and desirable. This is especially true for consumer goods but may be a plus in the Web world as well.

3)
Facebook is totally different from Mixi and would be quite unique in this country's Internet market. In my view Facebook is actually "better"/more useful than Mixi. Especially some of the applications are quite cool.

4)
More and more Japanese people have international friends they would like to be connected with. A Japanese version of Facebook might overcome the language barrier in online networking (Mixi is only available in Japanese).

Cons:
1)
Facebook is too late. They are late-comers yet super-successful competitors to MySpace and other services in the US and internationally. But WITHIN Japan, we have a "the winner takes it all" situation in my opinion. The cake is baked and Mixi took the largest bite already.

2)
The Japanese are the most quality conscious people in the world. Users here would not forgive any mistakes. Especially security/privacy problems are serious issues in this country. I am not sure if Japanese people would trust a foreign social network service to keep their personal data safe.

3)
Facebook does not have a "Japanese identity" which would certainly help (although it would set off the "gaijin bonus factor").
Some sites like Youtube were successful in Japan BEFORE localization/translation. The reason: No Japanese company managed to push a similar product into the market in time. German Facebook clone "StudiVZ" (sold for 100 million USD last year) is much more successful than Facebook mainly because it has roots in the country's university scene. At the very least Facebook needs a physical presence in Japan (MySpace established an office in Tokyo some time ago).

4)
Facebook applications are cool but mostly in English. This will remain unchanged even if Facebook will offer a localized version of their site. Most Japanese people will not have the nerves to struggle with English menus, texts and "How-to"s. In this case, only applications written in Japanese and tailored for users over here would help.
Facebook without its thousands of applications is almost "just another social network".

Conclusion:
It will be VERY hard for Facebook to continue its success story in Japan. They are in a situation like Web giant Ebay 5 years ago when Ebay lost to Yahoo Japan's well-established auction service. The world's No.1 auction site closed their office in Tokyo after a few months.

My guess is Facebook will go for a cooperation with a Japanese player (like Ebay finally did with Yahoo Japan some weeks ago). Maybe they are on the prowl already.

The question is: Which Japanese service can that be?

Review: 8 reasons why Yahoo rules Japan

My posting about the Top 50 web sites in Japan featured a winner: Yahoo Japan.

The company not only dominates Internet search in Japan (approx. 65% market share) but the Internet as a whole, offering a wide range of services. Corporate business figures are not too shabby either. From April to September this year for example, Yahoo Japan's profits equaled 29,27 billion Yen (254 million USD/178 million Euros)!



Here are 8 reasons for Yahoo Japan's success so far:

1) Head Start
Yahoo started Internet operations in Japan in 1996 when Google didn't even exist.

2) Tie-up with Japanese communications powerhouse Softbank
Yahoo Japan didn't just translate its service but localized it in cooperation with a strong Japanese joint venture partner (telecommunications giant Softbank). Actually, Softbank owns 41% of Yahoo Japan while Yahoo Inc. only owns 33% of shares. In my view, Yahoo Japan is in fact a very, very Japanese company...

3) Adoption to Japanese tastes
Yahoo Japan's top page is cluttered (see the screen shot below for a translated version). Google Japan's top page is as minimalistic as its non-Japanese versions which is a good thing in my view. But Yahoo's design is appealing to Japanese people. Users here are used to see a lot of links and text boxes on a top page. In a way, they expect it to be like that!

4) Wildly successful auction site
"Ebay? What's that?" would be the answer the average Japanese Joe would give if asked if they knew a company of that name. There is actually no Ebay Japan (here is why they failed 5 years ago). Yahoo's auction service is absolutely dominant in Japan and makes a LOT of money. There are over 15 million items on sale! They have a popular mobile version, too.

5) Comprehensive online service lineup
While more or less buried in the West, Yahoo Japan is living proof the "Internet portal idea" is very much alive, at least here in Japan. I personally regularly use Yahoo to look up the TV program, weather, news, train information and much more. See the picture below for a translation of the Yahoo Japan top page.

Picture: Top page Yahoo Japan (click to enlarge). This is the brushed-up version which is available after January 1st, 2008.


Let me break down the particularly important "CATEGORIES" column on the right (from top to bottom).

The first part is entitled "Yahoo!サービス" (Yahoo services) and covers 17 items:
Shopping, auctions, travel, news, weather, sports, map, traffic info, real estate, eating out, cars, BBS, blogging, beauty and dating.

The second part (お気に入り, meaning bookmarks) consists of five items:
Movies, music, games, astrology and videos.

The third part is named "ピックアップ" (Pick up) and currently features selected music only.

6) Investments in Japan
Yahoo Japan has a history of investing in the Japanese market signaling serious commitment to the domestic market. The company employs nearly 2.700 people in this country. Its HQ is located in Tokyo's poshest office complex, Roppongi Midtown in Tokyo.

Yahoo is also Japan's biggest broadband operator (Yahoo BB)!

7) Cooperations with Japanese companies
I already blogged about Yahoo Japan's plans to bring the web to HD-TVs (in cooperation with Sharp). The investment in Japanese web company GMO Internet (13.5 million USD two weeks ago) is a second and more recent example for Yahoo's integration in this country's economy.

8) Innovations
One recent example for a new service from Yahoo Japan is "Yahoo Videocast" which is not available in other countries. This subsite makes it possible for users to upload and watch videos from their mobile phones and on the web. Yahoo claims videos can be displayed on any handset. Not a huge thing but it shows they put some resources into fighting Youtube and Nico Nico Doga, at least here in Japan.

Moreover, Yahoo Japan and Ebay America are cooperating now so that Japanese people and Ebay users can trade internationally (background). This new service is called Sekaimon ("door to the world").

Did I forget anything?