Year: <span>2004</span>
Year: 2004

Wireless Cash: Shopping with FeliCa!

Wireless Cash: Shopping with FeliCa!Here is the first of what we at WWJ think will be a rash of easy-to-use cell phone shopping applications using the FeliCa contactless IC chip solution. A few weeks ago we talked to Sony’s Shusaku Muruko, who told us that FeliCa Networks seeks to build a platform for a whole series of apps, and now here is NEC with its LightHolder i-appli technology to smooth the path into mobile online shopping, coupons and discounts, reservations and we hope, beer!
Full Program Run-time 11:30

DoCoMo to Release SH900i 3G Phone

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that the SH900i, the fourth handset in the new 3G FOMA 900i series, will be released on March 20, 2004.The SH900i, like other 900i models, is equipped with a Macromedia Flash browser to enjoy rich content enhanced with highly fluid animation. It handles Flash applications of up to 100K and is equipped for richer, more sophisticated online games than ever before.

iBurst Officially Launches in Sydney

Personal Broadband Australia (PBA) announced that its eagerly anticipated iBurst 1 Megabit per second wireless service has been officially launched. PBA’s iBurst service is Australia’s first mobile broadband network. Invited guests attended the launch and included representatives from shareholding companies ArrayComm Inc, Mitsubishi Corporation Japan, Kyocera Corporation Japan and Mitsubishi Australia. See recent WWJ video interview with Dr. Martin Cooper about this project.

Micro-Browser and Java Module Selected for Panasonic's European i-mode Handset

ACCESS, a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced that its Compact NetFront Plus micro-browser and JV-LiteTM 2 Wireless Edition, a Sun authorized JVM that complies with the J2METM standard, have been selected by Panasonic for deployment in its first European i-mode(R) handset, the P341i. Panasonic also selected ACCESS’ AVETM-SSL encryption module for this deployment. Panasonic’s decision to use Compact NetFront adds to the millions of i-mode devices that already rely on ACCESS browser technology to power their Internet functionality.

DoCoMo's 3G Flat Rate Lower than KDDI

Counterattack! Price War! Kyodo News here (notorious for its story twisting) has reported that DoCoMo is planning a flat rate service for 3G FOMA at JPY 3,900 a good 300 yen lower than KDDI’s.If it’s true, it’s awesome news for the consumer and cloudy skies for 3G internationally. We are not sure when the flat rates will start, but it must be only a matter of time before Vodafone K.K. responds.

New MPEG4 Decoder for Mobile Phones

Techno Mathematical Co., Ltd. announced it has successfully developed a H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standard video decoding software that applies Digital Media New Algorithm (DMNA). The software will enable video processing on the CPU of the mobile phone alone, and is high-speed and suited to embedded solutions. TMC will begin to license the technology this month