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

Year: 2004

Japan Mobile Industry Primed for 3G

Japan’s mobile phone industry expects to ring up a banner year for sales of 3G phones in 2004 and wireless operators around the world will be watching closely as they prepare for similar roll-outs. “(Japan) was always held out as the example that encouraged investors, operators, equipment vendors and so forth to pursue this vision,” said James Carrabino, global head of telecoms, media and technology for ABN AMRO. “2004 is a benchmark year for information flow on service (adoption), where the product differentiation is and how discerning the customer base is.”

ANA and Connexion by Boeing Sign Mobile Internet Services Agreement

ANA (All Nippon Airways) and Boeing today announced that the two companies have signed a definitive service agreement for the installation of the Connexion by Boeing mobile Internet service on the air carrier’slong-haul fleet of aircraft. The announcement was augmented by an agreement with SESAMERICOM for satellite coverage over the North Pacific region, to be used by ANA and otherleading global air carriers. During a joint press conference in Tokyo, Connexion by Boeing President Scott Carson praised ANA and SES AMERICOM for their contributions and support in helping to make connectivity possible for people on the move in the Asia- Pacific region.

WWJ Teleseminar: Japan Mobile Goes Global

The first 2004 WWJ teleseminar, “Japan Mobile Goes Global,” will be held on Thursday, February 5, 2004 at 15:00:00 UTC. Register today for this unique event – your chance to listen to expert insiders forecast how developments in Japan will affect markets elsewhere in 2004. Callers can also ask questions and challenge the pros. Contact us for registration details.

Intel Japan Ships Sample 3G Chips

Intel Corp’s Japanese unit said on Thursday it expected to supply a chip that combines communications, software applications and memory functions in a single piece of silicon for use in NTT DoCoMo Inc’s 3G phones as early as the end of 2004. The new chip, which is expected to be cheaper, more energy efficient and occupy less space than the separate chips currently used in 3G mobile phones.

Mascot Capsule Ugrades Micro3D Engine

Mascot Capsule Inc., a division of HI Corporation of Japan, today announced that theindustry-standard Mascot Capsule Micro3D Engine, currently installed in over30 million handsets worldwide, is now optimized and available for the ATITechnologies’ IMAGEON 2300 co-processor for ultra-high performance mobile3D applications. Now supporting both the OpenGL ES and the J2ME Mobile3D Graphics standards (JSR-184), Mascot Capsule is the most widely adoptedgraphics platform for mobile applications and content.

Lucent Lands 3G Contracts in China

Lucent Technologies announced a series of agreements with China Unicom and China Telecom with total contract values of more than $350 million. The agreements cover virtually the entire range of Lucent’s next-generation network offerings and services that are designed to accelerate the smooth evolution to packet networks as well as enabling the delivery of advanced multimedia communications services. Lucent will deliver solutions that lay the foundation for Internet protocol (IP) voice and data services such as high-speed mobile data access, video-on-demand and IP Centrex services.

China Unicom Signs 3G Network Contract With Motorola

China United Telecommunications Corp. (China Unicom), one of the largest wireless network operators in the world, has awarded the Phase III expansion of its Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 1X networks and upgrading of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks in the capital city and 12 leading provinces of China to Motorola’s Global Telecom Solutions Sector (GTSS), a leader in integrated communications solutions. The CDMA2000 1X Phase III Expansion Project Confirms Motorola as Biggest Network Vendor to World’s Third Largest Mobile Network Operator.

Japan Wireless 2004 Preview

Japan Wireless 2004 PreviewTune in for a WWJ exclusive year-end interview with IDC Japan Communication Research Division’s Senior Analyst Michito (Mitch) Kimura. In this video program, Kimura, a veteran IDC analyst, casts his eyes on the ups and downs over the last year in the world of wireless and takes a look at prospects for 2004. He details the strategy at Japan’s three carriers, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and Vodafone, and offers his view on the prospects for Japan’s ever-surging content business. Kimura-san also gave us his perspective on the continued evolution of 3G, handset replacement cycles, and – a favorite topic of ours – Japan’s first packet pricing war.

Symbian to Lead Smartphone Boom

The mobile phone industry will sell 150 million smartphones in 2008, 15 times this year’s sales, with the Symbian OS leading the smartphone operating system market, according to a report published this week by ABI Research. The report projects strong growth for high-end mobile phones, with Microsoft’s market share trailing behind Symbian, and Linux bringing up the rear.

Fresh Fears Over CellPhones

The safety of cellphones has been called into question, again. This time the scientific community is paying very close attention. A Swedish study links mobile phones to brain damage, in rats, anyway. The findings have re-ignited a longstanding debate among scientists and cellphone manufacturers over cellphone safety.