Cocotan (koko = here, and tan = search) is NTT Communication’s latest free push service for iPhone. Once connected to one of the 4000 nationwide NTT Communication APs (hotspots) you can receive push information on near by restaurants, stores and so on, and get discount tickets and special offers for use at these businesses (about 100 in a 1km radius).

If so far there’s nothing special about Cocotan, its how information is gathered that’s worth the whole damn thing. Thanks to a clever computer analysis tweak, NTT gathers data and info from consumer generated content sites, popular blogs, and Web reviews all across Japan instead getting it from professionals marketing stuff.

A nice little touch to Cocotan is its traditional Japanese stamp rally function for collecting unique stamps only available for a limited of time. This comes from an old Japanese tradition where pilgrims collected stamps from each temple they visited.

Bottom line, thanks to its CGC Cocotan is a clever idea that provides good real time suggestions and deals. However, limiting this service to a paid network of hotspot APs will definitely keep many users away since in Japan unlimited iPhone 3G is virtually scary cheap…

Another problem I saw is the old-fashioned the design of the app, it looks like NTT Communications isn’t targeting the appropriate consumers… Cocotan looks perfect for the 50+ set (design, stamp, various other stuff…), but I’m not sure if there are many iPhone users in this age group.