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Hitachi Mobile Merger Announced

Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. and Hitachi Mobile Co. have announced a stock-for-stock exchange that would make Hitachi Mobile a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi. As part of its reorganization, Hitachi has positioned the automotive systems business as one of its targeted fields. In October 2004, Hitachi merged with Tokico Ltd and Hitachi Unisia Automotive Ltd. Hitachi now owns 64.8 percent of Hitachi Mobile. Shareholders of Hitachi Mobile are expected to vote on the merger in February.

University Students Trial Free IC-Phone

The Kanagawa Institute of Technology (KAIT) announced it would adopt a student ID card system utilizing contactless IC cards and mobile phones equipped with the equivalent functions. The IC cards and mobile phones can be used for automatic record of attendance, admission to buildings and issuance of various certificates. In addition, the system allows purchase of goods by using “Edy” electronic money. According to KAIT, it will be the first university in Japan to use mobile phones as student ID cards. As a first step, the university will provide 1,200 newly enrolled students with free mobile phones.

Latest Release of Skype for Mobile Japan Friendly

Latest Release of Skype for Mobile Japan Friendly by Mobikyo KKSkype has just introduced two new, updated clients for the Windows Mobile 5.0 platform: Skype for Pocket PC Beta version 1.2 and Skype for Pocket PC low CPU Beta version. This latest release claims full support for low-CPU devices with 300+ MHz processors. Users will be able to download and install the Internet telephony application with Danish, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese Brazil, Russian, Spanish, and Swedish language plug-ins and it also supports the new call-forwarding feature and landscape mode for 240×240 and 480×480 screens.

We expect to see even more buzz on this development in the local wireless community with Willcom’s new Zero3 dual-mode Smartphone, made by Sharp, which just hit the street here last week. In fact, eager buyers were lining up to order the unit in early December and we’ve even noticed a Wiki site [Japanese only] dedicated to the Zero3, one of the hottest QWERTY handsets available in the domestic market.

The potential of VoIP flat-rate voice calling for mobile — including long-distance — takes another huge step with this announcement. Yes, it’s a narrow niche of users who will adopt this here… for now. However, for incumbent cellcos, the kanji is on the wall and they will undoubtedly have to respond to this truly disruptive technology if they wish to save their voice-centric business model.

Vodafone Japan Launches Visto Push Mail

Vodafone Japan Launches Visto Push MailYesterday, Vodafone Japan announced ‘Office Mail’ a new, secure push-mail corporate solution for 3G powered by Visto. Japan’s DoCoMo, KDDI and Vodafone have never had a lot of success in selling mobile applications to the corporate market due to the carriers’ overwhelming focus on the highly profitable consumer market. Perhaps Vodafone’s selection of a cool Nokia Symbian phone and the promise of more Nokia devices having a buttoned-down, made-overseas, cool business image will get corporate users bugging their IT managers to call Big Red and sign up for Office Mail.

Vodafone’s Office Mail is powered by the Visto Mobile Solution platform, and Vodafone K.K. says it will be able to offer subscribers secure, real-time, two-way delivery of email, contacts and calendars to select phones, starting with the new 702NK II, also known as the Nokia 6680 Smartphone. Office Mail is targeted at business professionals at large and small companies and SOHOs as well as at consumers.

NTT, Sega Testing 3D Technology

NTT and Sega Ltd. have started a joint experiment that utilizes object recognition technology developed by NTT Laboratory; the technology gives hyperlink functionality to patterns (trademarks, signboards, posters, etc.) as well as to solid things (commodities, etc.) that exist in the real world, and enables combination with various services on the Internet. The technology utilized in this experiment was developed by the NTT Cyber Communications Laboratory. NTT will conduct a verification of business applications through this joint experiment, while Sega will examine the development of new contents that use the technology.

Finally a Samsung Phone for Japan?

Seoul, Korea-based Samsung plans to sell phones to Vodafone K.K. by summer 2006, entering Japan’s $3.9 bn handset market for the first time, according to company officials involved with the talks. Sophia Kim, a Samsung spokeswoman, and Vodafone’s Tokyo-based spokesman Matthew Nicholson declined to comment. Vodafone Group already buys Samsung phones for markets outside of Japan. Interesting! We were just talking about this the other day! — Eds.

Casio G'zOne Launched in Korea

LG Telecom, Korea’s smallest mobile operator, took the wraps off that nation’s first waterproof mobile phone, the canU 502S [.jpg], developed under alliance with Japanese firm Casio Computer. Launched in Japan in May 2005, the G’zOne is a rugged, water-and-shock resistant handset based on the company’s popular G-Shock wristwatch series. The unit has four styles of digital time keeping and a sub-display screen that functions as an electronic compass. The Korean version also comes with an MP3 player and a mega-pixel camera and has a price tag of 550,000 won.

DoCoMo Makes Move in Korea

Confirming rumours from earlier this week, NTT DoCoMo and KT Freetel announced today they have agreed on a comprehensive strategic alliance including equity participation. DoCoMo will invest approximately 65.5 bn yen to acquire a 10-percent stake in KTF through a third-party allotment of new shares and purchase of KTF treasury stock by the end of December 2005. This alliance enables both companies to provide better services to customers in their respective markets through the development and promotion of mobile technologies and applications. The nationwide deployment and early stabilization of KTF’s W-CDMA network, with DoCoMo’s technical support, is considered the key to achieving these objectives.

Vodafone Launches New Handsets & Service

Vodafone K.K. today announced it will commence sales of the Vodafone 702NK II (Nokia 6680) 3G handset, a Symbian OS smartphone, on 17 December 2005. The 702NK II allows customers to view Microsoft Word, Excel and other documents on their handsets and is the carrier’s first device to support their new Vodafone Office Mail service. The company also unveiled an ultra-slim 2G handset from Toshiba, the V502T, which will go on sale from the end of January 2006.

Visto Powers Vodafone K.K. Launch of Japan's First ''True Push'' Wireless Email

Visto Corporation, a leading global provider of secure push mobile email, today announced that Visto Mobile 5 with ConstantSync technology has been chosen by Vodafone K.K. to power Vodafone Office Mail, Japan’s first “True Push” wireless email service. Visto’s device-agnostic push wireless email offering enables Vodafone K.K., to deliver secure push email and PIM on leading handsets, starting with the Vodafone 702NK II (Nokia 6680). This release of the Vodafone Office Mail service follows Visto’s signature of a global contract with Vodafone Group Plc announced in April 2005. Japan is the latest region to launch a Vodafone wireless push email service powered by Visto Mobile.