Vodafone KK said today the company would implement measures to prevent the display of disguised incoming call numbers. For calls that originate on other networks and terminate on Vodafone KK handsets, the company will identify calls suspected of stemming from disguised call number displays, and not display them to the receiver based on meeting predefined conditions. The system will start operation today and is due to be completed nationwide by 22 March.
Three Japanese consumer electronics giants have created a new technology to transport Internet and media signals around the home via the electricity network, Panasonic said on Thursday. Sony, Mitsubishi and Matsushita-owned Panasonic have set up the SECA powerline alliance. They have developed a system to transfer 170 Megabits per second of data through the power lines of a home, Panasonic researcher Ingo Chmielewski told journalists at the electronics trade fair CeBIT.
Software developer Open Source Japan Ltd. will market a server system that simplifies the task of building and managing Web sites for wireless Internet phones. Using the new server system, municipal governments can easily set up Web sites for posting information, conducting surveys and sending mass e-mailings. According to the press release, the sites are easy to build, and data can be easily updated using a PC or a cell phone.
Last fall, Sharp released the SL-C3000, a Zaurus model with a built-in hard drive. Now they have announced a version of that device without the microdrive. It will not include Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, but the SL-C1000 will have an SD card slot and a CompactFlash Type II slot, allowing the use of wireless networking cards. Running Linux on a 416-MHz Intel XScale PXA270 processor with 64 MB of RAM, the SL-C1000 will go on sale in Japan on March 18.
Two vendors, one American and the other Japanese, said they have plans to deploy a citywide WiMAX wireless broadband network in Tokyo. U.S. vendor Airspan and Japanese communications operator Yozan said they will start trials for the network in the second quarter of this year. They said that commercial rollout will begin in the fourth quarter, with a fuller-scale launch in December. Japanese telecom operator NTT said earlier in the week that it plans to deploy metro-scale Wi-Fi networks in a number of locations.
Cute is a way of life for the Japanese regardless of age — and occasionally gender. Rather like George Lucas’ The Force, it permeates all life, binding consumer and corporate galaxies together. The undeniable mistress of power in this universe is Sanrio’s Hello Kitty. It was inevitable that Kitty would join in a fearful synchronicity of marketing with Apple to create a limited-edition Hello Kitty iPod mini.
Vodafone K.K. today announces that, as part of its new 3G lineup, it plans to offer the Vodafone 902T handset by Toshiba in late April. The Vodafone 902T features an Active Turn Style design, which allows the display to swivel 180 degrees clockwise while the handset is open, so customers can enjoy the most suitable style when taking pictures or making video calls. Using a concept called Switch to Fun!, the Vodafone 902T’s design was conceived to enable customers to fully enjoy 3G services. The Vodafone 902T is a high-end model in the Vodafone 902/802/702 series that takes full advantage of Vodafone 3G services, with features that include an auto focus 1.92 megapixel camera, a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, twin stereo speakers and Bluetooth support.
Adobe Systems Incorporated and NTT DoCoMo, Inc. today announced an agreement for DoCoMo to adopt Adobe Reader LE software for its 3G FOMA handsets, providing customers of the popular i-mode™ service with access to high-impact, reliable content delivered in the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Utilizing Adobe Reader LE technology, i-mode customers will be able to view and interact with a wide range of new business and entertainment content, making their mobile Internet experience easier, more productive and more secure.
ACCESS and Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co., Ltd. (Datang Mobile) announced a licensing agreement to bring ACCESS’ data application suite to Datang Mobile’s client end TD-SCDMA offerings. Datang Mobile is one of the major mobile communication technology, equipment and service providers in China, and is recognized as the creator and leader of TD-SCDMA, China’s homegrown 3G standard. ACCESS’ data application suite is a comprehensive solution for 3G that includes NF browser, a full- featured mobile browser, a Java Virtual Machine as well as multimedia mail clients.
Last Thursday, Takafumi Horie, billed as the guy who “has Japan talking,” was guest lunch speaker at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club (FCCJ) in Tokyo. There has been a lot of coverage lately of his company’s plans to acquire Nippon Broadcasting System, Inc. (Nippon Hoso), a long-established, old-line Japanese media company. WWJ is fast forming the opinion that, whatever the outcome of Livedoor’s takeover bid, the company may not have much of a mobile strategy — a fatal flaw, in our opinion.
