Year: <span>2006</span>
Year: 2006

Year: 2006

DoCoMo to Offer AirTight SpectraGaurd

AirTight Networks has announced that DoCoMo Engineering Shikoku has signed an agreement to resell SpectraGuard wireless intrusion prevention solutions (WIPS) in Japan. DoCoMo Engineering Shikoku is the first Japanese reseller signed by Active Inc. — AirTight Networks’ distributor for the Japanese market. “Japan is an important market for our company, and there is no better endorsement for AirTight Networks than to have DoCoMo Engineering Shikoku reselling our solutions,” said Dennis Tsu, vice president of marketing at AirTight Networks.

DoCoMo R&D – Wireless Charger

Every once in awhile we come across something from DoCoMo’s Yokoska R&D labs that really turns our head and this is a great example, Video Here. The company appears to be working on a wireless charger function for enabled handsets to ‘juice-up’ while away from the home station charger cradle. As the increase of power hungry on-board applications continue to push usage and drainage this would seem to be a logical pursuit that we forsee becoming future reality. Meanwhile, the just announced AquaFairy solution will have to do (?!?) for quick power charge while on the go.

Firms to Get Help in Wireless Market

The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry plans to draw up a new set of rules this fall to allow companies that do not own their own wireless infrastructure to more easily enter the mobile communications business, ministry officials said Thursday. The new rules are aimed at helping companies that lack their own networks to become “virtual mobile network operators” by using the networks of established mobile phone operators, including NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K., the officials said.

DoCoMo's Blackberry: Q&A with Research in Motion Japan

DoCoMo's Blackberry: Q&A with Research in Motion JapanThe pending Japan arrival of Research in Motion (RIM)’s hyperpopular BlackBerry email device, widely known as the ‘CrackBerry’ for its simple, efficient and addictive delivery of corporate email, will inject a new dimension into this country’s complex device and service matrix.
A wise move or a sign of desperation? These two viewpoints seem to characterize media, pundits’ and bloggers’ responses to last month’s announcement that DoCoMo would bring the BlackBerry email device into Japan, in partnership with RIM, based in Canada. Our own take on it was: Who Cares? WWJ was mindful that “virtually everyone in Japan’s workforce already has an always-on, fully connected email device right in their back pocket — in other words, a phone!”

Furthermore, before and since then, there has been more news, helping make it even more difficult to assess the BlackBerry’s prospects.

According to the pundits, NTT DoCoMo’s decision to import the BlackBerry is either (a) a master stroke aimed at securing the giant carrier’s corporate mobile offerings as 3G competition heats up in 2006/07, or (b) expensive folly that will see enterprise sales teams saddled with a clunky, ‘not-made-here’ device that competes poorly if at all against universal 3G phones that already receive push mail in real time, thank you very much (and some media reports have stated the first Japan BlackBerrys won’t even accept Japanese text input). The truth, however, is probably somewhere between these extremes, and so WWJ went straight to the source.

Symbian Conference in Tokyo

The folks over at Symbian Japan held their Symbian Summit 2006 event in the Tokyo Westin hotel yesterday. Sponsored by DoCoMo and — by the looks of the site — well attended (Japanese only), it would seem they have been improving the platform presence here with three more handsets rolling out recently from… DoCoMo!

Sprint Introduces the Sanyo Katana

The legendary Katana, best known as a precision instrument sword used by the Samurai, has a new identity, that of a cutting-edge wireless phone by Sprint and SANYO. This ultra-thin handset features Bluetooth and a built-in VGA camera. Making its debut throughout the month of July in four bold colors, including Mystic Black, Blue Sapphire, Cherry Blossom Pink, and Polar White, which is a color that will be sold exclusively at RadioShack, the Katana will be available at Sprint Stores, online and at select third-party retailers for $279.99 or $79.99 after rebates with a two-year subscriber agreement.

G-Mode and Namco JV for U.S. Games

Namco Networks and G-Mode have announced a strategic partnership for the U.S mobile gaming market according to the companies press release [.PDF in Japanese]. “Partnering with G-Mode expands our already large catalog of entertaining games, meeting the ever-increasing consumer demand for casual content,” said Kenji Hisatsune, President and CEO of Namco Networks. “G-Mode’s games have been hugely successful in Japan, and we believe this popularity will continue in North America.”

SoftBank Enters JV for Habbo Hotel

Sulake Corporation, which operates the leading online teen community Habbo, has started a new strategic cooperation in Japan. Movida Group, a joint venture by SoftBank BB Corp. and Asian Groove, has agreed to invest 6 million Euros of equity into Sulake Corporation. The investment is executed through Movida Investment International (WWJ has a video interview with Habbo Hotel for mobile from the Tokyo Game Show, fall 2004).

Motorola and RIM Rolling in – SoftBank a No-Show?

Last week saw an interesting double play for mobile devices in Japan as both NTT DoCoMo and Willcom announced new phones — DoCoMo’s 7-Series — or new PDAs — Sharp’s oddly named W-Zero3[es]. These, combined with the continuing speculation on the this fall’s entry of RIM’s Blackberry email device (will it have Japanese text input capability?), made it a busy week for wireless watchers.

On Tuesday, WWJ was first on the Web with a full report and images of DoCoMo’s new 7-Series, a mix of models from Sharp, Panasonic, NEC and Mitsubishi, as well as from US maker Motorola…

Softbank Shares Fall on Merrill Rating

Shares of Softbank Corp., the company that bought Vodafone Group Plc’s Japanese mobile phone unit, had their biggest drop in a month after Merrill Lynch & Co. told investors to sell the stock and forecast a loss this fiscal year. Softbank, the worst performer this year on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, slid as much as 7 percent in Tokyo. Merrill analyst Yasumasa Goda said in a note today the company will have a 7.1 billion yen ($62 million) net loss, compared with a forecast for a 30 billion yen profit by Toyo Keizai, a financial information publisher.