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Mobile phone technology is at the cutting edge of studio advertising -- though less in the U.S. than in certain foreign territories, where it is far more advanced than here. "What we did for (the June actioner) 'Batman Begins' was we developed our first fully dedicated WAP," Warners international marketing president Sue Kroll says. "We did that in the U.K., France, Germany and Spain and basically promoted a short code that allowed people to access the site and had all kinds of video vignettes, interviews and information about the movie. We are working to do something in Japan that's similar for (the recently released) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

ACCESS Co., Ltd., a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, announced that the number of devices equipped with its NetFront family of browsers has surpassed 200 million deployments worldwide. The achievement of this milestone firmly establishes NetFront as the leading browser for the mobile and beyond-PC markets. NetFront is widely recognized as one of the most advanced mobile browsers in the world, but NetFront is also widely popular as a browser solution for set-top boxes, game consoles, digital televisions, car navigation systems, and dedicated Internet terminals.

ACCESS Co., Ltd., a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies today announced that ACCESS have collaborated with Accelerated Technology, a Mentor Graphics Division to bring ACCESS' NetFrontTM Mobile Client Suite solution to the Accelerated Technology Nucleus real-time operating system. The integration of NetFront Mobile Client Suite with the Nucleus RTOS provides mobile device manufacturers with access to an advanced and comprehensive software solution suite that supports a broad range of device types including multi-media capable 2.5G and 3G handsets.

Sachio Semmoto likes nothing more than seizing an opportunity when he spots it. Six years ago, the former electrical engineer thought he could crack open Japan's fossilized telecom sector by connecting businesses to unused lines owned by NTT. Now, Semmoto is smelling opportunity again. On November 10, Japan's communications ministry granted eAccess one of three new cellular licenses, opening the market to the country's first new entrants in a dozen years.

On 8 November, DoCoMo said they would start offering a new FeliCa-compatible credit card, called the 'iD card' (that's 'i' and in 'i-mode' and -- we guess -- 'D' as in 'dominant market position'), on 1 December. The iD card will allow i-moders to make credit card payments with a FeliCa eWallet phone; Big D said the payment procedure will be "as simple as waving the phone in front of dedicated reader/writers at stores." Now, it looks like their Flash-heavy, groovy, dedicated iD-card website is now open, trolling for prospective customers. When you're the dominant wireless carrier in the market, and you've invested billions in building a 3G network, but hoped-f

Your ever-vigilant editors noticed this weekend that Engadget is looking for a video producer. Now, why do all the other cool mobile media sites pick up $26 mn in funding from the AOLs of the world... and then decide they should start producing online video? WWJ's being doing it for years -- without the deep pockets. To Engadget's credit, they often rip the latest WWJ reports. End of rant; we now return to our regular, video-enhanced, programing...

Vodafone K.K. have just announced completed development of the Vodafone 804SH [ .jpg image ], a new 3G model by Sharp, which will be marketed in Japan from mid-January 2006. The 804SH is the second handset which will include the Mobile Wallet ("Osaifu-Keitai")-compatible function with an embedded Mobile FeliCa smartcard to support the 'Vodafone live! FeliCa' service, which lets customers use their handsets in ways relevant to their daily lives such as for transportation ticketing, electronic money shopping and point card services. The 804SH is also Vodafone K.K.'s first 3G handset to feature a Motion Control Sensor that responds to movements, thus enabling customers to enjoy new virtual gaming experiences by moving the handset in corresponding directions.

Back in July of this year, analyst Jon Peddie was on a mission to find the inventor of the camera phone -- a product category that is responsible for a significant portion of the current mobile phone boom. Peddie found the first camera phone, but couldn't identify the precise inventor, and wasn't sure if there even was a single person who could be found. TG Daily picked up where Peddie left off -- and got lucky in Japan. (Seems it was not Sharp's J-SH04 after all! -- Ed.)

Even before its official launch, StarHub's i-mode has more than 50 content providers on board. The list includes MediaCorp TV, MTV, OCBC Bank, Yahoo!, Far East Flora and Zuji Singapore. StarHub hopes to attract 50,000 users within the first year, but i-mode is a unique proposition. The service requires i-mode compatible phones from the likes of Samsung and NEC, so you cannot use other 2G or 3G handsets to access the service. StarHub will reveal full details to the press tomorrow. Web Update: 18 Nov. DoCoMo PR confirms.

NTT DATA Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., its communications Inc., Tokyu Security Co., Ltd., and TRENDY Corporation announced that they have developed an expanded IC tag 'i-safety' Service that is expected to help reduce traffic accidents involving children, in addition to help protect them from crime. The expanded service, which is still in the experimental stage, alerts drivers to the presence of children in the vicinity thanks to a voice-recording from an electronic information device in the car that warns 'Children nearby. Please be careful.'