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

Year: 2004

DoCoMo's New 3G Service Model

DoCoMo's New 3G Service ModelOn March 24, NTT DoCoMo president Keiji Tachikawa held his routine monthly press briefing and, with what is becoming a regular feature of his recent speeches, pounded the drum once more about the “Paradigm Shift” DoCoMo plans for its services from fiscal 2004 onwards. In a nutshell, this means introducing flat rates for packet data on June 1st, but, “We did not want to open up the window to all customers from day one,” he told reporters. Aided by a flashy Powerpoint presentation, Dr. Tachikawa also announced new anti-spam and anti-virus measures that will be implemented over the next few months. Full Program Run-time 20:25

5G Mobile Phones Coming Soon

An Info-Tech survey released to selected CEOs this week shows that wireless customers want free calls, free phones, the ability to switch between carriers for free, with international roaming and handsets that don’t need recharging every day. Carriers expressed shock and awe at the results and promised to sell off their swank marble skyscrapers, many situated in the heart of Tokyo’s financial district, to facilitate the move. “We are asking shareholders to help us deal with these issues,” said an obviously unsettled CEO at a hastily convened press conference. “While we have managed to get 5G deployment ready for the end of this year, that doesn’t seem to be what our customers really want,” the flustered president told WWJ in an exclusive interview today.

NEC to Develop Wireless IP Phones Based on Windows CE Running Intel Hardware

NEC Infrontia Corp. has announced plans to develop wireless IP phones based on Microsoft Windows CE operating system. The plan was announced today, in accordance with the technical cooperation of Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corporation, at the Spring 2004 Voice on the Net (VON) Trade Show & Expo in Santa Clara, California. NEC Infrontia’s wireless IP phones will run Windows CE, Microsoft’s advanced real-time operating system, and leverage a new innovative hardware platform from Intel.

A Linux ''Ecosystem'' for Cell Phones?

Rather than be held prisoner to any company’s proprietary software, cellular service providers (which distribute most phones) are beginning to ask specifically for Linux-based handsets, says Michael Sudol, general manager of the group at Motorola PCS that’s focused on Linux. So in January, Motorola released its second Linux-based phone for Asia.

SEVEN Announces Support for BREW Based Handsets in Japan on KDDI

SEVEN Networks, Inc. announced today that the company’s mobile email software is now shipping on BREW-based handsets in the Japanese market. SEVEN’s software provides secure, real-time access to Lotus Domino, Microsoft Exchange, IMAP4 and POP3 email, calendar, personal contacts, corporate directories, network drives and desktop documents. Japan’s second largest mobile operator, KDDI Corp., is the first to launch SEVEN-enabled email services on BREW-based handsets.

DoCoMo Partially Denies Hutchinson 3UK Pullout

NTT DoCoMo has denied media reports here that it is pulling out its stake in Hutchinson 3G UK Holdings Ltd. after Hutchinson failed to roll out i-mode. In a statement today, DoCoMo said it “has made no decision about ending its investment in Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Limited,” but stopped short of fully denying local reports that it was pulling the plug on its July 2000-acquired 20% interest in Hutchison 3GUK for about 186 billion yen, the book value of which has withered to under 40 billion yen as the joint venture struggled to launch its 3G service.

FOMA's IT-House 3G Field Testing

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today it will field test a controller that enables home appliances to be operated with 3G FOMA® handsets. The controller enables operations such as programming the recording of a TV program and then viewing the playback on the phone, turning air conditioners and lights on an off, and viewing live video from the controller’s built-in camera. WWJ’s video program from CEATEC in Oct. ’03 features a demo. of the technology.

InnoMedia Debuts MTA 5000 Videophones with Advanced Features for Mobile

InnoMedia today unveiled the new generation of videophones with innovative features such as Wireless LAN, PSTN fallback and 3G interoperability. This MTA 5000 series of videophones feature a stylish look, designed by world-class industrial design house GE/Fitch. InnoMedia sets precedence in combining IP and PSTN services in a single device – MTA 5000 videophones enable both incumbent and competitive operators to offer innovative and competitive video telephony services, including wireless LAN and 3G compatibility.

KDDI Announces 2GHz Data Communications DO CARD

KDDI is pleased to announce the launch of the DO CARD, a CDMA2000 1X EV-DO service compliant card device for wireless data communications at a 2GHz frequency band. The card will be available from March 31, 2004. The new card will supercede the DO-BOX, and come with an expanded service area, including Nagoya and Osaka, and a revised service fee structure enabling users to take greater advantage of the service.

Epson and SANYO to Merge Liquid Crystal Businesses

Seiko Epson Corporation and SANYO Electric Co., Ltd. have announced that they would merge their liquid crystal businesses to form a new company. The new company will be known as SANYO EPSON IMAGING DEVICES CORPORATION and is planned to begin operations in October 2004. Epson will hold 55% of the joint venture, and SANYO 45%. The new entity will aim to become a leading manufacturer of small and medium-sized LCDs for mobile phones, digital cameras, and for use in automobiles.