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

Korea Plans $2.8B 3G Investment

In a bid to maintain leadership in the world next-generation mobile phone market, the big 3 mobile handset makers in Korea, Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Pantech affiliates, plan to invest more than 3 trillion won (approx. 2.88 billion dollars) combined in development of cutting-edge communication technologies next year. These companies will concentrate on the advanced development of 3G handsets, digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) phones, software applications and user interfaces, industry sources said.

Sanyo Selling 3G Overseas

Hong Kong mobile network operator SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings said it has signed an exclusive agreement with Japan’s Sanyo Electric to develop 3G handsets for Hong Kong customers. The first Sanyo 3G handset exclusive to SmarTone, SX813, will be available in early 2005, but the two companies will introduce more models in 2005, said Sanyo Electric Senior Officer Takenori Ugari. SmarTone and Sanyo didn’t reveal the price nor the number of handsets to be sold under their agreement.

NEC's Packet Core Node: A New Era for Mobile Operators

NEC Corporation is accelerating the delivery of its Advanced TCA(R) (ATCA) based packet core node to bring a new era and more benefits for mobile operators. After its first commercial shipmentin September 2003, the number of shipments of the SGSN and GGSN (*) for mobile telephone operators exceeded over 100 systems. The systems in commercial operations process rapidly growing internet traffic for applications such as packeti‚šed voice and video,as well as new services like on-line gaming over the 3G Mobile PacketNetwork.

Video Auction Mobile TV Station

C.A. Mobile, a Tokyo-based online content provider affiliated with Cyber Agent, has begun auctioning on iBid, a mobile auction site, in collaboration with 0ch, a cell-phone TV station. The site is the first that uses video to profile auctioned items. The service is supported by KDDI’s EZweb and NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode services. There is no charge for viewing iBid. 0ch is free for i-mode users, but costs 105 yen per month for EZweb users.

Alcatel Selected By China Netcom to Deploy 3G Trial Network in Beijing

Alcatel today announced that it has been selected by China Netcom Group, one of China’s incumbent operators, to deploy a 3G field trial network in Beijing. This agreement strengthens Alcatel’s position in 3G in China, having already successfully deployed a similar 3G trial network with China Telecom earlier in the year. This contract was won through Alcatel Shanghai Bell, Alcatel’s flagship Chinese company. Alcatel will provide China Netcom with Alcatel’s end-to-end field-proven Evolium(TM) UMTS solution based on the successful 3G products from Evolium SAS, Alcatel’s joint venture with Fujitsu. This solution includes the state- of-the-art UMTS Multi-standard Base Stations (Node B), a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the core network elements.

NEC's New 3G Strategy

NEC says it will employ additional platforms from Qualcomm and Ericsson Mobile Platforms as part of their new dual-mode, W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS, 3G handset strategy for global business. NEC recently announced a strategic move to jointly develop system LSIs for 3G; with this platform, they plan to offer a wider range of handsets to meet the demands of 3G mobile operators and end users as 3G market expands globally.

Business mopera Access Simple Launches in Japan

Today SEVEN announced it is powering NTT DoCoMo’s Business mopera Access Simple — a mobile groupware service that enables secure remote access to email, calendar, contacts, and documents via i-mode phones. Available today from NTT DoCoMo’s direct business sales force and NTT DoCoMo’s retail stores throughout Japan, Business mopera Access Simple is a tier-one i-mode service and is a core “i-mode for Business Solutions” offering. NEC and SEVEN partnered to develop Business mopera Access Simple; it is based on SEVEN’s “behind-the-firewall” Server Edition software.

Symbian 3G Collaboration

Sharp has signed an agreement with the Japanese division of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications [Press Release in Japanese] to collaborate on development of cell-phone handsets based on the Symbian operating system for NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA 3G service in Japan. The two companies plan to share selected hardware while developing 3G phones that will be unique to the Sharp and Sony Ericsson brands.

Nintendo DS Attracts Crowds

In the Tokyo district of Ikebukuro, about 100 people, including junior high school children and workers on their way to the office, lined up outside a store that opened its doors at 7 a.m. to snap up Nintendo’s new interactive “Nintendo DS” [.jpg image] game consoles. The dual-screen consoles come with a touch panel and built-in chat software, and can be connected to a wireless network to interact with other players. After purchasing the console, many of them immediately opened the box and started playing. Nintendo hopes to sell 5 million consoles worldwide by March 2005.