With the FIFA World Cup 2002 tournament having kicked off in Japan and Korea, subscribers to NTT DoCoMo's 3G service, FOMA, can now view soccer video clips on their wideband CDMA handsets.
But with a golden opportunity to score a hit with its sports-loving customers staring it in the face, DoCoMo seems to have tripped over its bootlaces and missed the target. "For the first time in history," trumpets an official press release, "Japanese football fans will be able to watch the 2002 FIFA World Cup match highlights and exclusive video content from the FIFA archive on their mobile phones."
So far so good, even if it is just available to the 110,000 or so FOMA subscribers. But the month-long tournament consists of 56 games, so what is actually on offer? "FOMA users will see 1 minute of highlights of the opening match, three matches of the Japanese National Team in the first round, and eight matches from the quarterfinals on."
Poor show. And for wasting such a fantastic opportunity, Unstrung feels obliged to show DoCoMo the Red Card.