I-Mode Conquers Europe, (allegedly!). This article is rather hype-inflated but picking the details apart it seems to me that the big winner is the content provider's freedom to set subscription charges. It's not the technology that's important but the attitude of the operator. For too long mobile content provider have been caught in a vicious circle: to appear on an operator's portal they need to strike a deal with the operator; which means that they have to be a certain size to even be noticed; which means that they can't charge for their content; which means that they can't afford to provide compelling services; which means that users won't use their service; which means that they can't grow to the size they need to be to attract the attention of the operators...

Content providers receive the lion's share of subscription revenue, a generous 86%, which Bergheim believes gives them a direct share in the financial success of I-mode. The remaining 14% of the subscription revenue is retained by E-Plus. The number of content services on the mobile portal has risen from 60 to 90 over recent weeks, with new providers including famous German brands such as ADAC, the Postbank and Aral. In the next few weeks the one hundredth provider is expected to join, and the raft of providers is expected to include popular German newspaper titles.