Nothing mentioned about whether swtiching occurs automatically or manually.

Docomo also started imode.net for PC to i-mode mail access from March with 205 yen per month.

Then remains the problem of how to handle the IP address filtering on mobile sites.. (adding those new Home U docomo IPs to the the official list ?)

My wild guess would be that it will only work for “PC” websites through “full browser” use.. time will tell!

Finally, is it supposed to automatically switch to wifi like the iPhone (i’ve heard) does ?

e-mail address on cellularphone plays an important part in Japan market, because after MNP allows users to keep their phone number with changing carrier, mail address is the last thing they cannot bring with. If you can keep “docomo” address on au or Softbank, NTT Docomo will lose a lot more users.

I also do not know whether non-official internet sites are accessible from the home network. If I did, I would not permit it because it causes huge confusion for mobile sites owner who blocks PC by seeing IP address. Docomo’s web browser cannot handle cookie so many sites requires log-in feature relies on URL parameter-based, which will be vulnerable if once the traffice goes through over the internet .

Akky – am surprised to hear you don’t see the need for cellphone access at home, but I guess you are a power user and use a laptop very efficiently

I’m a big laptop user and have had home WiFi for years, but still I find it a bit of a pain to un-hibernate and use my laptop, especially for just short bursts. It also affects where and how you can sit. With a cell phone you can move around with no restriction, stand, sit, lie down and don’t have to worry about power cables. (Laptop battery life is still a consideration for most people). Laptops I also find are more disruptive to communication with family members. Cell phones are less intrusive.

If I just want to check email or maybe do a bit of quick surfing at home I would use my cell phone. And don’t forget that most users are probably using @docomo.ne.jp email address. I think te carriers started a service where you can access your keitai mail from a PC, but I wonder how many people are using it.

DoCoMo are doing a smart thing. As this services targets heavy users I would guess most are already on flat rate data plans. So DoCoMo doesn’t get any additional revenue from network usage. It’s just a cost and a burden and they have to restrict the type of services people can use. By opening up this additional channel, they alleviate potential burden on their network, but will benefit from additional revenue they get from the margin they take from content providers.

I haven’t looked at the reports yet, but I wonder whether you can also access unofficial sites over the WiFi connection. I would assume so, although it would be interesting if they just restrict to official (i.e. revenue generating) sites.

Also – I wonder what the battery life of the new phone will be with WiFi on. WiFi has killed the battery quickly in any mobile device I’ve ever used.