Deliver Your News to the World

NTT DOCOMO and DNP to Partner in E-Publishing and Retail Business


WEBWIRE

TOKYO, JAPAN --- NTT DOCOMO, INC. and Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd. (DNP) announced today that they will partner in an electronic publishing business covering content aggregation, distribution and retail sales of e-books, which DOCOMO customers in Japan will access with a variety of mobile devices from this fall.

The business will use an open platform by combining DOCOMO’s existing content-distribution and payment systems with DNP’s planned hybrid digital/physical bookstores.

Initially targeting DOCOMO customers, the business will sell e-books via a mobile bookstore that users will access with DOCOMO wireless devices, including mobile phones, smartphones, tablet computers and e-book readers. The store will launch with more than 100,000 titles, including electronic books, manga comics, magazines and newspapers.

DOCOMO and DNP also are discussing the possible formation of a joint-venture company, collaborations with publishers and mobile-device manufacturers, and expansion into overseas markets.

DNP, one of Japan’s largest comprehensive printing companies, revealed last month its plan for a hybrid digital/physical bookstore system, which will combine the newly announced mobile store for e-books, the DNP group’s existing “bk1” online store for printed books and physical bookstore chains in the DNP group, including Maruzen, JUNKUDO and Bunkyodo.

DOCOMO, Japan’s largest mobile operator with 56 million subscribers, has extensive expertise in mobile content distribution, billing and payment systems, and the operation of secure wireless networks.

Yoshinobu Noma, Senior Executive Vice President & COO of Kodansha Ltd., said: “We expect this alliance, which encompasses a vast number of physical bookstores as well as Japan’s largest mobile operator in terms of customers, will play a major role in the development of Japan’s e-book market.”

Masahiro Oga, President and Chief Executive Officer of Shogakukan Inc., said: “By effectively fusing the unique qualities of the paper and digital worlds, we expect this all-new service will contribute to the advancement of text-based culture and create new opportunities for readers to discover books.”

Lee Kyu Hong, President of LG Electronics Japan Inc., said: “The e-book business is attracting significant international attention. With Japanese industry leaders taking this initiative, we expect the market for this new business to grow.”

Takemitsu Kunio, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Member of the Board of NEC Corporation, said: “The expansion of e-publishing will advance the digitization of books and other types of content, and also lead to new user experiences and enhanced convenience. NEC welcomes the move.”

Hongsik Cho, Executive Vice President of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., said: “We expect the announced e-publishing business to further enrich book and magazine culture and enhance users’ convenience. Samsung Electronics welcomes the move and will strive to offer attractive devices that vitalize the Japanese market.”

About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO is the world’s leading mobile operator and provider of advanced mobile services. The company serves over 56 million customers in Japan, including 49 million using i-mode™, the world’s most popular mobile e-mail/Internet platform, and 54 million using FOMA™, the world’s original 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. As a leader in the development of cutting-edge mobile technologies, DOCOMO is continually expanding the role of mobile phones as versatile and highly personalized “lifestyle tools” for everyday life, including with a wide range of innovative services for mobile payments, GPS, mobile TV, multimedia content and much more. NTT DOCOMO is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM) and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.com.

FOMA and i-mode are trademarks or registered trademarks of NTT DOCOMO, INC. in Japan and/or other countries.
FOMA service is only available in Japan.

About Dai Nippon Printing
Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) is one of the world’s largest comprehensive printing companies, with annual sales of 1.583 trillion yen and 40,000 employees (as of March 2010). DNP’s wide range of businesses include publication printing, commercial printing, smart cards, business forms, network business and electronic components. While DNP maintains a 50% market share in Japan’s domestic magazine printing, the company continues to leverage its information processing techniques and printing technologies to promote e-publishing solutions. For more information about DNP, please visit www.dnp.co.jp/eng/.



WebWireID120935





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.