DoCoMo has announced plans to offer an information-capture function, called ToruCa, in their new “Osaifu-Keitai” (Wallet-Phone) compatible handsets to be released this winter. ToruCa will enable users to obtain information by simply waving their phones in front of dedicated reader/writers installed at restaurants, theaters, music stores, arcades and other establishments. For example, when a user buys a CD at a store using the “Osaifu-Keitai,” they can simply wave their DoCoMo phone in front of the store’s reader/writer to retrieve extra information about the CD, artist, etc., and possibly even a promotional coupon offered by the artist’s recording label.
Information obtained from reader/writers will also be available at i-mode sites. In addition, users will be able to perform customizable searches to receive the information they are looking for. The information will be exchangeable with other users of ToruCa-compatible phones.
There will be no basic fee for the information service. Users will only pay packet communications charges when obtaining information from i-mode sites.
“ToruCa” is a term coined from two Japanese words that denote “capture” and “card.” In Japanese, “Toru” (pronounced “toe-roo”) means capture and “Ca” (pronounced “kah”) is the first sound of the word for card.
Via: DoCoMo Press Release
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