MAGASTORE will launch first on the iPhone

One of Japan’s most powerful companies, Dentsu, is trying to extend its control of traditional media to the mobile arena with a new application that will force users to pay for online magazines and maintain its dominance over their ad space.

For years the advertising behemoth has been sitting pretty, thanks to its near-monoploy over media buying and the commissions that go with it. Last week, Dentsu announced the launch of MAGASTORE, a downloadable app that will sell access to magazines on mobile phones.

In fiscal 2008, the digital publishing market was estimated at ¥46.4 billion (US$500 million), up ¥10.9 billion from the previous year. Of that, mobile publishing accounted for more than ¥40 billion, according to research by Impress Holdings. Digital comic books are selling especially well, thanks to improvements in cell phones, with larger screens, faster Web access and simpler billing systems.

MAGASTORE, a collaboration with mobile software provider YAPPA Corp., will begin as an application for the iPhone on the Softbank network this summer, and later be made available to other handsets and carriers. After downloading the application, users can purchase magazines and store them to read anytime. Users will pay ¥115 to for the application and then ¥115 to ¥600 per magazine.

YAPPA has made one-off solutions for magazines in the past, such as Shufuntomo’s éf magazine. But Dentsu’s bundled app will be cost-effective for publishers. They will get access to viewer data as well as an online settlement system and, according to the company, “a new advertising solution combining the characteristics of magazine contents and the technology of mobile advertising.”

Among the publishing houses that have signed up for MAGASTORE are Asahi Shimbun, Fusosha (Numero, Spa!), Condé Nast Japan (Vogue, GQ) and a host of niche publishers of titles about everything from skateboarding and kimono to salt-water fishing.

The control of content by powerful corporations remains solid in Japan, even in mobile, where providers like DoCoMo and KDDI strictly control who gets access to users’ menus. (The App Store model developed by Apple for the iPhone fits nicely with this strategy.) When it comes to the question of whether online content should be free or paid, Japan clearly veers toward the latter. Consumers don’t expect mobile content to be free, and by the same token are more willing to pay for it.

Although the list of participating publishers in MAGASTORE is by no means comprehensive at this stage, Dentsu’s intention seems clear: to control the mobile publishing market by controling the delivery system, its model in print and television for decades, and one that has served the company well, if not the consumer.

The super premium mobile phone offered by SoftBank and Tiffany.

Following on a recent trend of tie-ups between mobile phone providers and fashion brands, SoftBank released a premium mobile phone made in collaboration with jeweler Tiffany.

The phone, which went on sale simultaneously on November 1 at the SoftBank flagship store in Omotesando, Tokyo and the Tiffany store in Marunouchi, Tokyo,  was limited to only ten sets, carrying a price tag of 12.98 million yen ($139,242). The model featured a platinum gold front panel encrusted with 537 Tiffany diamonds. The phones sold out within three days.

Learn more:
Other SoftBank products
SoftBank mobile official homepage (Japanese)
SoftBank Tiffany press release (Japanese)

A phone designed in collaboration with fashion magazine Glamorous.

Japanese mobile phone provider SoftBank has announced a new handset model designed in collaboration with Glamorous, a fashion magazine for stylish women in their 20s. Advance reservations are being accepted for the new model, which will go on sale September 6, to coincide with the publication of the October issue of the magazine.

A phone designed in collaboration with fashion retailer Ash & Diamonds.

This is not the first fashion tie-up for SoftBank, the third largest mobile provider in Japan, which has been making efforts to win more female users. Autumn, 2007, saw the launch of a limited edition model made in collaboration with fashion boutique Ash & Diamonds, which specializes in chic and sexy fashions for women in their 20s. Another model, the Dolly Girl, is a creation of American fashion designer Anna Sui, who enjoys great popularity in Japan.

A phone designed by Anna Sui for SoftBank.

Learn more:
Other SoftBank products
SoftBank Mobile official site (Japanese)

The new Pantone series from SoftBank.

It was a year ago when SoftBank introduced it’s Pantone series, offering a range of its mobile phone handsets in a range of 24 colors taken from the numbered Pantone color range.

The popularity of the Pantone line and the introduction to the public of a B2B company that is usually only known in fashion circles made marketers realize that consumers want the products they use on a daily basis to match their personality, or even their daily moods.

A new line of MP3 players from Sony.

This year electronic makers are unveiling new models with a marketing emphasis placed on the number of colors available. Sony is marketing its latest generation of digital Walkmans with interchangeable panels in different colors and patterns.

A new line of IXY cameras from Canon.

Canon’s popular IXY line of digital cameras, long available only in silver, is now available in five metallic shades, and Panasonic’s new line of high definition TVs – rolled out just in time for the Beijing Olympics – is also available in five colors.

A new series of Viera TVs from Panasonic.

Communication for these new products ask consumers “Which color will you choose?” With so much variety, the problem is choosing the one you like most.