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

Year: 2006

MTS Orders NEC i-mode Handsets

The largest mobile operator in Russia, Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), has signed an agreement to buy 40,000 mobile handsets from NEC Infocommunications, a subsidiary of Japan’s NEC. The handsets will be delivered by July, according to a press release by NEC Infocommunications, without disclosing the financial details of the deal. Prime-Tass reports that NEC will supply six models of handsets – N412i, N343i, N411i, which all support i-mode function, and e121, e1101 and e540.

EAccess Announces eMobile Share Issue

EAccess Ltd. said on Wednesday its mobile unit will raise 42 billion yen ($359 million) from issuing new shares, while the unit has also secured a 220 billion yen credit line from banks. Under the agreement, the mobile unit, eMobile Ltd., will issue new shares totaling 28 billion yen on April 25. EAccess is one of three firms to be awarded mobile licences by the Japanese government last year. The deal is the largest nonrecourse project-finance loan in Japan for a company whose services have not begun yet, according to EAccess.

Kyocera Unveils Dual-Mode Prototype

Kyocera Wireless and Boingo Wireless announced the demonstration of a prototype Kyocera BREW-based dual-mode Wi-Fi/CDMA handset with integrated Boingo public Wi-Fi roaming at the CTIA Wireless 2006 trade show in Las Vegas. In a real-world setting, network operators and MVNOs can optimize the dual-mode handset’s application suite to automatically choose the appropriate mode, based on environmental and performance preferences.

Japan Good Design Awards in Milan

Good Design Award 50 Years is an exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Japan’s foremost design awards, the Good Design Awards (also called the G-Mark system). Besides celebrating a half-century of Good Design Awards history, this exhibition at Triennale di Milano introduces the design efforts of twenty longtime participants, focusing on their award-winning products. Organized by the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (JIDPO), the event runs from April 5th – 10th.