Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is banking on its ever-popular i-mode mobile Internet service to help it stay ahead of the game as growing numbers of customers its own and those of its rivals move to smartphones.

DoCoMo President and CEO Ryuji Yamada revealed that this strategy will see it launch i-mode-specific applications store before the end of the year.

According to Yamada, some forecasts suggest smartphones will overtake feature phones [in terms of units sold]… in 2014 said. In Japan this could come sooner, in 2013, he predicted. This proliferation of advanced devices provides an opportunity for mobile operators, but they have to decide how to deal with smartphones, if they are to extract the most benefit from the market.

He added that it is important to provide unique and compelling services. To that end, DoCoMo has already begun transferring some i-mode features to smartphones and will continue to do so; some of the most popular i-mode services include mobile concierge and a news ticker service.

The operator plans to launch i-mode version of the DoCoMo Market on 6 December. The applications space provides mobile network operators with an edge over other players in the value chain since there are certain value-added functions, such as billing and authentication that only they can provide.

Mobile payment is a key area for DoCoMo. The company will soon launch two more models of smart phone embedded with e-wallet. As is the case for mobile operators the world over, DoCoMo sees future revenues coming from data.