3G
3G

3G

Renesas Considers Taking FOMA Global

According to this report, Renesas is interested in offering the FOMA platform as a handset reference design to companies outside Japan. FOMA, or Freedom of Mobile Multimedia Access, is Docomo’s 3G network standard design followed all Japanese handset makers that provide cellphones to DoCoMo. Considering the vested interest of Renesas in SH-Mobile this ‘news’ is not surprising. However, it does indicate that more players and products are gearing up for the shift towards LTE.

DoCoMo Scores PRADA Phone by LG

DoCoMo Scores PRADA Phone by LGThe PRADA Phone by LG will be available in DoCoMo shops, under the model number L852i, according to this official press release [.pdf]. The companies held a splashy launch event, with senior management in attendance, for assorted VIP guests and the media at the über modern Prada building in downtown Tokyo and Wireless Watch Japan was there, shooting video, of course!

Touting a 3-inch touch-screen and HSDPA 7.2mbs data speed connection with 2 megapixel camera featuring Schneider-Kreuznach lens, video player and document viewer capacity, the luxury brand design handset that has reportedly sold just under 1 million units in 40 countries worldwide will finally be on sale here in June. Full specs after the jump.

Japan Telcos Announce Fiscal 2007 Results

NTT DoCoMo’s 2007 fiscal year ended on March 31st and the company has posted their earnings release (.pdf) Here. Operating revenues were off 1.6% YoY while operating income of 808.3 billion jpy, or approx. $8B usd, was up 4.5% with the net income growing by 7.4% to 491 billion jpy. Operating revenues, operating income, income before taxes and net income for fiscal 2008 were estimated to increase 1.2%, 2.7%, 4.3% and 2.4% respectively. See the details from KDDI and SoftBank Mobile – as available – after the jump.

MasterCard Sponsors 3GTV Japan

MasterCard’s sponsorship of Japan Fashion Week’s “3GTV Japan” has been the first to use the latest branded interactive mobile video service – MobiActions. Visitors of Japan’s MasterCard Fashion week, were prompted to videocall into the MasterCard branded MobiActions service and leave a videoblog (Vlog) of their experience of the MasterCard Fashion experience. This was then posted directly to the live JFW website, where other mobile videobloggers could view their comments.

KDDI Eyes Method for Advanced Mobile

KDDI Corp. intends to maintain the CDMA 2000 method, used for the current 3G mobile service offerings, for voice communications in future advanced mobile services, company officials have said according to JiJi press. For data transmission, however, KDDI plans to adopt the Long Term Evolution, or LTE, technology, an internationally supported method to be compatible with the wideband code division multiple access, or W-CDMA, mobile method now used by its rivals NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile the officials said.

Kyocera Makes a Splash in Vegas

Kyocera announced three new CDMA handsets at the CTIA Wireless trade show in Las Vegas yesterday. The new models introduced included the Neo E1100, Mako S4000 and Adreno S2400. All three of the phones are tri-band models, targeted at primarily at carrier customers operating in South America, and will be available in Q3 2008 at affordable price points. The news came on the same day that Kyocera finalized its acquisition of Sanyo’s mobile phone division, making it the 6th largest globally, and unveiled its first-ever GSM handsets.

DoCoMo Achieves 250Mbps Downlink

DoCoMo has announced their latest speed trials in the march towards Super 3G or so-called LTE technologies. According to the press release they have refined the experimental system using an actual wireless environment near its R&D labs in Yokosuka Research Park to record a downlink transmission rate of 250Mbps in the 20MHz bandwidth, the maximum under new Super 3G standards. DoCoMo is continuing to test connection handover from one base station to another, and the functionality of applications in indoor and outdoor environments.

HTC Announces Titan II for eMobile

HTC has just confirmed [.pdf in Japanese] the introduction of their HTC TyTN II – or Titan Two – which will become available for sale in Japan on Friday, March 28, 2008 via eMobile, under the product name “S11HT (EMONSTER)”. The HTC TyTN II will be the first device from eMobile supporting broadband voice services and this handset is the eighth model, including designs scheduled for future release, from the HTC lineup to appear in Japan.

Disney Japan Prepares for Launch

Walt Disney Japan held a press conference in Tokyo to introduce their new “Disney Mobile” service which is slated for public launch on March 1st. Although the company will run the business as an MVNO, it emphasized that the service will be distributed in collaboration with SoftBank Mobile with the same “White Plan” price package offerings. There’s a nice Flash video on the home page Here.

i-channel Subscribers Exceed 15 Million

DoCoMo announced today that subscribers to their i-channel news service surpassed 15 million on January 3, 2008. The achievement came nine months after surpassing 10 million subscribers and two years and three months after the service’s launch (WWJ video). The monthly cost of the service is 150 yen and there is no extra charge for headlines sent to the subscriber phone’s standby screen, but packet charges apply when detailed content is viewed.