Year: <span>2005</span>
Year: 2005

Year: 2005

Motorola Acquires i-Mode R&D Team

Motorola confirmed that it has acquired a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Melco Mobile Communication Europe (MMCE), and it’s European team of i-mode design employees and a research center in western France. The Rennes facility will become a European i-mode focused development center for Motorola, continuing to operate in its state-of-the-art research and design center in Cesson-Sevigne (Rennes), France. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Opera Browser for the Hitachi W32H

Opera Software announced yesterday that their browser is included on the Hitachi W32H for KDDI’s 3G network in Japan. The release of this new, BREW-based mobile phone coincides with the one-year anniversary of Opera Software’s agreement with KDDI. The Hitachi W32H will be released in September and is the fifth mobile phone with Opera delivered by KDDI within one year. Opera Software announced its agreement with KDDI in August 2004 and together they shipped the first phone in December 2004, making Opera the first full Internet browser on the Japanese 3G network.

Japan Broadband Wireless Network JV

GlobeTel Communications Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Sanswire Networks LLC, has signed a Letter of Intent with Kashiwabara Token Corporation of Iwakuni City, Japan, to enter a joint venture in the establishment of a terrestrial ground-based wireless broadband and communications system, a prelude to the deployment of the Sanswire Stratellite Airship broadband network in Japan. Kashiwabara Token Corporation holds a controlling interest of a major cell phone system in the Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures as well as the ICAN Cable television system in Japan.

ACCESS to acquire PalmSource

ACCESS Co., Ltd., a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access software, and PalmSource, Inc., provider of Palm OS, a leading operating system powering next generation phones and mobile devices, today announced they have signed a definitive agreement for ACCESS to acquire PalmSource in an all-cash transaction valued at USD $18.50 per share of PalmSource common stock , or approximately USD $324.3 million (approximately %35.9 billion). ACCESS’ USD $18.50 per share offer represents an 83% premium for PalmSource stockholders based on the market closing price of USD $10.09 on September 8, 2005.

Jazelle for New DoCoMo 3G Phones

ARM has announced that their Jazelle technology will be deployed in a new line of FOMA handsets by NTT DoCoMo. Emerging applications such as mobile games and business tools place increased performance and power demands on Java technology-enabled handsets. Through ARM’s partnership with Aplix Corporation, a global leader in deploying Java technology in mobile phones, ARM Jazelle technology is being adopted in the DoJa/Java platform for FOMA handsets, which is being jointly developed by Aplix and NTT DoCoMo.

New 3G Phones from Vodafone Japan

New 3G Phone from Vodafone JapanJapan’s lost souls and the musically minded are targets for two new W-CDMA 3G handsets from Vodafone Japan, the 903T and 803T, both by Toshiba. Scheduled for an October release, the 903T finally puts Vodafone on the real-time mobile GPS navigation map (rivals DoCoMo and KDDI have had network GPS phones for some time). Vodafone’s “Live Navi” navigation portal goes the competition one better with the addition of GPS global roaming options in the UK, Hong Kong, Holland, Spain and Germany — with more countries to follow. Of course, international roaming and Vodafone live! communication charges will apply, which might make it cheaper just to buy a guidebook.

Here in Japan, the navi service will map out routes according to specialized needs — like fewer stairs or covered access for when those typhoons hit. Vodafone’s main partner in mapping is well-known navigation data supplier Zenrin, which handles most of the live walk-through navigation and panorama shots via a split screen to show users just what they should be seeing on their route. Other partners specialize in train and subway routing, area-based restaurant maps or shopping information, as well as an international travel info site.