Chaku-Uta Full: 1 million downloads per month

The number of Chaku-Uta Full downloads is accelerating with every month. Having announced 2 million downloads just a month ago, KDDI added another million downloads in February, resulting in 3 million MP3 song downloads since the service's rollout in November 2004.

Currently, there are 10 portals offering about 13,000 records. KDDI reported 410,000 Chaku-Uta Full service compatible handsets sold by the end of 2004. There were four cell phone models for sale with Chaku-Uta Full support: W21CA, W21T, W22H, W22H. The songs are priced in a range of 200-300 Japanese Yen, which is about $1.90~$2.90.

I can imagine what will happen when they offer more songs for download and more handsets with extended memory. Japan will be the first country where iPod is beaten by cell phones. Well, if iPod in turn doesn't come up with a model with integrated voice communication feature.