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Yamaha Commences New 16-tone Polyphonic Ring Melody Distribution Service
- New Service to Center on KG Telecommunications' i-Mode Customers
Yamaha Corporation is to commence a new 16-tone polyphonic ring melody distribution service in conjunction with Taiwanese mobile phone company KG Telecommunications Co., Ltd. The new service is to commence on June 20, and is to coincide with the release of KG Telecommunications' new i-Mode service, the first of its kind in Taiwan.
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The new ring melody distribution service is to coincide with the release of KG Telecommunications' i-Mode service, the first of its type in Taiwan. The Japanese i-Mode service has a subscriber base of some 33 million in Japan, and versions of the service were also released in Germany and the Netherlands in spring of this year.
i-MeloRing will distribute ring melodies to i-Mode mobile phones equipped with Yamaha's 16-tone polyphonic sound chips. Under the new service, three ring melodies can be downloaded for 30 Taiwan dollars (approximately 100 yen), and eight for 60 Taiwan dollars (approximately 200 yen). The service's customer base is expected to rise to 100,000 by the end of its first year, with sales predicted to come to 22 million Taiwan dollars (approximately 80 million yen).
In November 2000, Yamaha became the first company to offer a monophonic ring melody service to overseas telecommunications companies when it expanded this service to Taiwan. The company added a four-tone polyphonic option in October 2001, and approximately 100,000 customers now make use of these two services. Yamaha intends to use i-Mode's Taiwanese launch to further develop its position in this market.
In Taiwan, 21 million out of the total population of 23 million possess mobile phones. KGT is the fourth-largest telecommunications company in the country, accounting as it does for 21% or all mobile phone users, some 4.4 million.
At the end of May 2002, Yamaha boasted 3.3 million ring melody customers in Japan, to whom it provides access to over 7,000 different melodies. Making optimal use of the expertise and melody data rights it has developed in this area to date, the company plans to continue its overseas expansion in this business by offering high-quality ring melodies in a broad variety of musical genres. Yamaha joint venture company Yamaha KHS Music., LTD will take responsibility for handling Taiwanese ring melody distribution services.
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| Service Outline |
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| Name: |
i-MeloRing (Chinese spelling: )
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| Description: |
Distribution of 16-tone polyphonic ring melodies to KG Telecommunications' i-Mode customers |
| Commencement Date: |
June 20, 2002 |
| Payment Type: |
Monthly charge system
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| Monthly Charge: |
1) 30 Taiwanese dollars (approx. 100 yen) for up to three melodies
2) 60 Taiwanese dollars (approx. 200 yen) for up to eight melodies
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| No. of Melodies Available on Commencement Date: |
500 (approx.)
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| First-Year Customer Target: |
100,000
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| First-Year Sales Projection: |
80 million yen
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| Ring Melody Examples |
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Chinese Songs
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F4 Gaining Through Losing
Andy Hui Love Frequency
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| English Songs |
Faith Hill Breathe
Britney Spears I'm a Slave 4 U
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Japanese Songs
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FIFA World Cup Song Let's Get Together
Ken Hirai One Love Wonderful World
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| KG Telecommunications – Corporate Outline |
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| Name: |
KG Telecommunications Co., Ltd.
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| Date of Establishment: |
December 1997
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| President: |
Leslie Koo
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| No. of Employees: |
1,350
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| Capital: |
17.4 billion Taiwanese dollars
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Note: i-Mode is a trademark of NTT DoCoMo.
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For more information, please contact
Yamaha Corporation
Corporate Communication Group
Public Relations Division
Saburo Seki
2-17-11, Takanawa,
Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8568
TEL: +81-3- 5488-6601
seki-sab@post.yamaha.co.jp
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