Looking to spread its wireless world into Asia, QUALCOMM Monday said it has signed a non- binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Asia Pacific Broadband Wireless Communications (APBW), the first operator in the region to commercialize 3G services using CDMA2000 technology.
ROHM CO., LTD recently developed the BU1594GS, a multimedia image processor LSI. This product is a one-chip LSI designed for cellular phone models that are becoming increasingly more functional with advanced features including a camera function. This one-chip LSI, which is ideal for the double-folding models of cellular phones, makes it possible to process major signals in the LCD (liquid crystal display) panel (i.e., the upper panel) of the cellular phone.
RealNetworks on Monday unveiled RealOne for SprintPCS, its first streaming media service to wireless phones, in the company’s latest move to boost its subscription revenue. The move marks the first time a branded, audio and slide-show service with major content brands has been launched on a big U.S. wireless carrier, RealNetworks said. For RealNetworks, the product marks the most significant push by the company yet to move its streaming media services from PCs onto portable devices such as phones.
While there’s gobs of money being made with mail, ring tones, screen savers, mobile coupons, Hello Kitty downloads, and other wireless entertainment services, at least one startup is trying to bring a little mobile convenience to a hitherto largely unexploited area: the burgeoning healthcare market. If you’ve got a chronic disease (think diabetes) that requires hour-to-hour management for issues such as dietary intake, calorie counting, or vital sign monitoring and input, Tokyo-based Mobile Healthcare Inc. thinks that using your keitai is an obvious solution. But the challenges include not only technology and patient education, but also convincing Japan’s hidebound, ultraconservative health system that mobicare makes sense. Full Program Run-time 13:18
Japan is six months away from an exciting new multimedia mobile experience courtesyof satellite broadcasting. If this sounds like a curtain raising, rewritten press release circa 1996 previewing the impending launch of the then PerfecTV! digital satellitebroadcasting service, well there could be a parallel or two about the storywe predict will unfold with Mobile Broadcasting Corporation’s attempts,starting next spring, to beam.
Japan’s mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo has reported a quarterly profit, helped by strong growth at its 3G service and solid per-user revenues, with no big overseas losses this time. DoCoMo earned 196.82 billion yen (US$1.64b) in group net profit in the first quarter to June 30 on sales of 1.25 trillion yen.
