Fujitsu Laboratories Ltd. today announced the development of a new fuel-cell material technology that enables the use of 30% methanol – highly concentrated methanol – as a fuel source, as well as a prototype power unit that incorporates the technology. This technology enables much higher power capacities for passive micro fuel cells and realizes longer runtimes for mobile devices such as notebook PCs, PDAs and mobile phones.
Vodafone K.K. announced today it developed the VRM301R remote module (manufactured by JRC, Japan Radio Co., Ltd.), which incorporates mobile handset communication components and functions. Vodafone K.K. will market the remote module to industrial and business machine manufacturers after mid-February 2004. By integrating the VRM301R into their products, manufacturers will be able to add communication features like Sky Mail, Long Mail (including e-mail) and voice in addition to other wireless data communication functions. As a result, manufacturers will be able to develop a wide range of low-cost applications that meet their needs, including ones for remote control and remote monitoring.
The former J-Phone lost considerable ground to DoCoMo in particular in man-machine business applications. The idea of being able to pay for stuff from your phone from Japan’s ubiquitous vending machines (24-hour booze, cigarettes and some really exotic stuff too) is old hat here. But, now, here’s a move that could presage a Vodafone move to remote monitoring business. Vodafone K.K. today announced that it would begin selling a remote module (the VRM301R) to industrial and business machine manufacturers.
With the launch of Casio’s A5403CA for KDDI, Sharp’s SH505iS for DoCoMo, and our old friend the V601SH from Sharp to Vodafone, Japan has truly entered the 2-megapixel era. Beyond this, KDDI is planning A5502K with a xenon lamp flash unit this month. With two megapixels and onboard electronic flash, photography with mobile phones will make major inroads into digital camera territory.
Slots are still available for the “Japan Mobile Goes Global” teleseminar (Th., Feb. 5, 15:00 UTC), shaping up to be one of this quarter’s best intelligence events direct from Japan. Hosted by the Wireless Watch Japan Media Project the “Japan Mobile Goes Global” teleseminar will bring five of Japan’s top industry experts together to discuss, debate, and forecast how local developments in 3G, m-commerce, downloadable applications, and handset technology will affect Europe, GSM markets, the US/Canada, and elsewhere. The teleseminar will permit callers to listen live to exclusive commentary and ask questions to obtain expert advice direct from savvy Japan insiders.
Renesas Technology Corp. today announced its decision to incorporate Microsoft Corp.’s digital audio and video codec technology, Windows Media Audio and Video 9 Series, and RealNetworks’ Inc.’s digital audio and video codec technologies, RealAudio 10 /RealVideo 10, into the SH-Mobile Series of application processors for next-generation mobile phone systems. These two technologies are widely used in such devices as PCs, PDAs and portable players, and their inclusion in the SH-Mobile, one of the world-leading application processors, will enable them to be installed in mobile phones, greatly increasing their market penetration.
