Google is smart as we thought. To dive into Japanese e-wallet market, getting along with Suica, the e-wallet giant in japan, which is operated by Japan Railway East, is a must. If you have a good Suica-compatibility on your mobile device, you have much bigger chance to carry it around, thus you’ll automatically use it often for many other purposes. Google learnt well what Apple struggled back then in Japan.
The giant G has already set up itself in quite an advantageous position. It has a well-established ecosystem, or dear I say “universe,” that contains Gmail, Google Calendar, and a bunch of other free tools that office workers all over the world are using. On top of that, the good purchase Fitbit adds a cool edge on their ubiquitous model where many kinds of digital healthcare apps work in harmony.
Sure it’s still rather expensive. But as the price goes down, lots of cool services will pop up here and there.
世界中のオフィスワーカーが使っている Gmail や Google カレンダーと連携ができるというだけでも電子エコシステムを囲い切っているのに、加えて、買収したFitbitアプリが使えるのでデジタルヘルス領域でも使い勝手が良くなるでしょう。
まだまだ金額は落ちるのでもう少ししたらかなり面白いことになると思います。
(CNet article: https://japan.cnet.com/article/35194291/ )