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

Year: 2004

Talking Art with Talby

TalbyKDDI brings a cool synchronicity of art and technology to a new mobile handset, the Talby. Conceptualized by acclaimed Australian designer Marc Newson, it weighs in at just 79 grams and a mere 13 mm thick. Though you might readily file it with other vanity handsets, it’s not just a pretty face. Arguably the lightest handset yet (except perhaps for DoCoMo’s tiny Premini at 69 grams but we’re talking about cell phones you can actually use), its ultra-slim, ultra-flat design is achieved in part by placing the antenna internally.

Talby also has a high-resolution QVGA LCD screen, Flash, 2-D barcode reader, camera, is compatible with KDDI’s EZAppli BREW applications and their advanced EZNavi Walk navigation system, plus other bells and whistles — but the “phone as fashion accessory” is definitely part of the message here.

Buffed-up Megapixel Celly is Also Good for Calling

Korea’s Samsung Electronics has raised the bar on high-resolution camera phones so far that other handset makers are going to need a ladder to scramble over. The company’s new SCH-S250 handset boasts five (Count ’em: 5!) megapixels. To date, three megapixels has been the industry top — and available in only a very few Korean and Japanese handsets (which hit retail shelves just several short months ago).

MBCO Confirms Subscriber Targets

Last week, Hiroyuki Ida, from Mobile Broadcasting Corp.’s marketing department, confirmed the satellite-to-mobile broadcaster’s subscriber targets. The company is Japan’s (and, as far as we know, the world’s) first to offer digital audio, video, and data services to dedicated consumer terminals via satellite. Commercial services started on October 20. We’ll have more coverage in the near future.

DoCoMo Adds SingTel Videophone

NTT DoCoMo announced that Japanese customers of its 3G FOMA-based WORLD CALL service will be able to exchange videophone calls with users of compatible 3G/W-CDMA services offered by Singapore Telecommunications Limited (SingTel) beginning 2 November 2004. SingTel is currently offering 3G services on a trial basis, so DoCoMo customers initially will be able to place videophone calls to SingTel users participating in the trial.

China Mobile Selects Dilithium Networks' Leading 3G Test Tool

Dilithium Networks, a leading provider of wireless multimedia solutions, today announced that the largest mobile telecommunications operator in the world, China Mobile, has purchased the Dilithium Networks Analyzer (DNA) the industry-leading 3G protocol analysis and test tool. The DNA will be used for interoperability testing and standards compliance with equipment manufacturers.