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

Year: 2005

Namco Ports RidgeRacer for BREW

EZweb gamers can rejoice in spending about $5 to download and burn RidgeRacer rubber now that Namco has made the popular title compatible with Qualcomm’s BREW platform. While apparently only available for the new W31SA at launch, no doubt it’s just a matter of time for it to become more widely available across KDDI’s WIN handset fleet… and then… The World! We also noticed another interesting Namco title, while snooping around their mobile site, called IdolMaster. Talk about RPGs! WWJ members log in for the full skinny!

KDDI to Buy Handsets From Pantech

KDDI Corp., Japan’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, will procure handsets with high-speed Internet access capabilities from South Korea’s Pantech Co. to reduce costs. Pantech, South Korea’s third-largest mobile-phone maker, will offer 3G handsets to KDDI by the end of the year, KDDI spokesman Haruhiko Maede said, confirming a report today in the Nihon Keizai newspaper.

Mobile Phones Scan ColorCode on TV

Mobile Phones Scanning Color QR Bar Codes on TVInteractive television programming is walking out the door and onto mobile handsets, pressuring Japanese TV broadcasters to adapt content and programming. Networks TBS and FujiTV are linking up with ColorZip Japan, a new server-based full-color bar-code technology that synchs TV broadcasts to related digital content for sponsored websites, music samples, contests and prize drawings.

We spoke with ColorZip Japan CEO Christopher Craney about how ColorCode is developing the Japanese market. Already in talks with telecom providers over having the code embedded onto new handsets, Chris discusses both corporate and individual marketing campaigns for this next-generation bar-code technology. We also interviewed the CTO, Evan Owens, who demonstrated several applications of their product.

Next Frontier: TV for Mobile Phones

The IHT posted a story on Monday on issues related to television for mobile phones. The story says, in part, “Before true mobile broadcast services can take off, a number of questions have to be answered: Which of at least five delivery methods, ranging from cellular technology to mobile broadcasting via separate wireless frequencies, works best? How will the relationship between television content providers, channel owners and mobile phone operators evolve? What kind of programming, if any, do mobile viewers want, and how much will they be willing to pay for it?” All good questions, we think, but the story fails to report the first real brick wall that that mobile TV services/technologies will hit.

Wallet Phone Usage Stats

DoCoMo’s Mobility Newsletter for August is out and has some interesting numbers from their in-house FeliCa survey conducted this spring. In April, DoCoMo entered a strategic business and capital alliance for credit card business with the Sumitomo Mitsui Group, confirming the introduction of mobile wallet services as a key step for the evolution of m-commerce and DoCoMo’s mobile Internet strategy)

Fancy Tech on Runway

In the future, we’ll text-message hugs to each other’s shirts, our coat buttons will house cameras, and our underwear biosensors will phone home when we’re in trouble. This week’s runway show brought together 35 exhibitors from 10 countries to display wearable computers, computer-generated jewelry and clothing designs festooned with electronics; the exhibitor list combined familiar fashion brands like Oakley and Fossil with tech names like Sony, Charmed Technology and the MIT Media Laboratory.