Return of the Mouse!

I know Mickey has failed in the US, but could make it right this time in Japan: Disney mobile has launched its service starting March 1, 2008 with Japan's fastest growing operator, SoftBank (ex-Vodafone).



Japanese mobile phone business has a unique structure in which operators (e.g. NTT DoCoMo) dictate content services (e.g. iMode). Therefore, handset manufacturers have to customize specs for each operator to meet their unique service standards. This drives up costs for the manufacturers and is a key reason Japanese handset makers have little presence abroad, despite some of the most cutting edge designs and technology. It also means non-Japanese makers such as Nokia, Samsung, LG, and Motorola continually fail to make a dent in Japan. (even RAZR bombed)

All of this makes the launch of Disney Mobile in Japan a novel approach: it will use SoftBank's infrastructure while offering consumers dedicated phone models and content services such as ring-tones, wallpapers, and even Disney-ized character mails. This kind of business model is often called MNVO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), yet in this case, it is almost like a joint-venture with a single operator.

From a consumer's point of view, this is great news: You can get premium-looking phones with Mickey all over the place, you can subscribe to Disney application services for free, and get other exclusive goodies.　While not a fan personally, (never even been to Disneyland!), I can see this will drive Disney fans crazy. Mickey is gonna do it this time for sure.

As a matter of fact, I kinda start to like Hillary Duff...