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DoCoMo Credit-Card Site Soft Launch

DoCoMo credit cardOn 8 November, DoCoMo said they would start offering a new FeliCa-compatible credit card, called the ‘iD card‘ (that’s ‘i’ and in ‘i-mode’ and — we guess — ‘D’ as in ‘dominant market position’), on 1 December. The iD card will allow i-moders to make credit card payments with a FeliCa eWallet phone; Big D said the payment procedure will be “as simple as waving the phone in front of dedicated reader/writers at stores.” Now, it looks like their Flash-heavy, groovy, dedicated iD-card website is now open, trolling for prospective customers.

When you’re the dominant wireless carrier in the market, and you’ve invested billions in building a 3G network, but hoped-for packet revenues collapse when your No. 1 competitor beats you up with flat-rate pricing, launching your own credit-card brand is a sensible option. Welcome to the ultra-high-tech, but old-fashioned-business-model, future..

Nice to See WWJ Being Aped…

Your ever-vigilant editors noticed this weekend – see below – that Engadget is looking for a video producer. Now, why do all the other cool mobile media sites pick up $26 mn in funding from the AOLs of the world.. and then decide they should start producing online video? We’ve being doing it for years — without the deep pockets. To Engadget’s credit, they often pull the latest WWJ reports. End of rant; we now return to our regular, video-enhanced, programming… 😎

Vodafone's New V804SH 3G Phone

Vodafone K.K. have just announced completed development of the Vodafone 804SH [ .jpg image ], a new 3G model by Sharp, which will be marketed in Japan from mid-January 2006. The 804SH is the second handset which will include the Mobile Wallet (“Osaifu-Keitai”)-compatible function with an embedded Mobile FeliCa smartcard to support the ‘Vodafone live! FeliCa’ service, which lets customers use their handsets in ways relevant to their daily lives such as for transportation ticketing, electronic money shopping and point card services. The 804SH is also Vodafone K.K.’s first 3G handset to feature a Motion Control Sensor that responds to movements, thus enabling customers to enjoy new virtual gaming experiences by moving the handset in corresponding directions.

Finding the Camera Phone Creator

Back in July of this year, analyst Jon Peddie was on a mission to find the inventor of the camera phone — a product category that is responsible for a significant portion of the current mobile phone boom. Peddie found the first camera phone, but couldn’t identify the precise inventor, and wasn’t sure if there even was a single person who could be found. TG Daily picked up where Peddie left off — and got lucky in Japan. (Seems it was not Sharp’s J-SH04 after all! — Ed.)

Starhub's EASi-Mode for Singapore

Even before its official launch, StarHub’s i-mode has more than 50 content providers on board. The list includes MediaCorp TV, MTV, OCBC Bank, Yahoo!, Far East Flora and Zuji Singapore. StarHub hopes to attract 50,000 users within the first year, but i-mode is a unique proposition. The service requires i-mode compatible phones from the likes of Samsung and NEC, so you cannot use other 2G or 3G handsets to access the service. StarHub will reveal full details to the press tomorrow.

Web Update: 18 Nov. DoCoMo PR confirms.

IC Tag Child Protection Service

NTT DATA Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., its communications Inc., Tokyu Security Co., Ltd., and TRENDY Corporation announced that they have developed an expanded IC tag ‘i-safety’ Service that is expected to help reduce traffic accidents involving children, in addition to help protect them from crime. The expanded service, which is still in the experimental stage, alerts drivers to the presence of children in the vicinity thanks to a voice-recording from an electronic information device in the car that warns ‘Children nearby. Please be careful.’

Japan Gets 2nd Chance at Global Market

They have full-fledged Web browsers, and they even have fingerprint readers and cameras with face-recognition software that locks up a phone if an unwanted stranger tries to use it. Interested in getting one? Good luck. You essentially can’t buy one outside Japan.

Editor’s comment: This article is a good review of why Japan keitai are the world’s best, underscoring Editor-in-Chief Daniel Scuka’s comments earlier this week in the WWJ newsletter (click here to subscribe for free).

NEC Electronics Announces World's First Implementation of Mobile CMADS

NEC Electronics has announced that its uPD161833M and uPD161605M LCD driver ICs, based on its Mobile CMADSTM (Current Mode Advanced Digital Signaling) high-speed serial data transmission method, will be employed in select NEC mobile handsets from the fall of 2005. This marks the first successful implementation of cutting-edge display drivers with integrated receiver circuits, as well as the first use of NEC Electronics’ Mobile CMADS technology, designed to enhance data transmission speed, performance, and mobile handset design.

Vodafone Releases the V604SH

Vodafone K.K. just announced that on 19 November 2005 it will commence nationwide sales of the V604SH [ .jpg image ] entertainment handset made by Sharp, which features a 3.2 megapixel mobile camera with 2x optical zoom and auto focus, along with a built-in analog TV tuner. The V604SH also features a host of entertainment functions such as a high-quality, wide-angle view, large-size 2.4-inch Mobile ASV LCD, ‘Custom Screens’ for menu screen and icon customisation with popular characters including ones from Disney, a Music Player that supports AAC and SD-Audio MP3 music files for listening enjoyment and a ‘Motion Control Sensor’ that responds to movements for new mobile gaming experiences.

ArrayComm Announces Network MIMO for WiMAX

ArrayComm today announced its Network MIMO software that implements all antenna processing aspects of the WiMAX profiles approved by the WiMAX Forum Mobile Task Group (MTG) for IEEE 802.16e. The solution includes unique support of MIMO, AAS, and combined MIMO/AAS modes on both client devices and base stations, providing operators with the best possible user data rates, cell range, and network capacity for mobile WiMAX. At the MTG meeting in Beijing last week, the WiMAX operator and manufacturer community finalized recommendations for the profiles for interoperable implementations of IEEE 802.16e. The profiles now proceed toward ratification by the WiMAX Forum Technical Working Group and Board.