NEC and Panasonic have developed three Linux-powered 3G mobile phones to be introduced in Japan in the coming months — NEC’s N900iL, NEC’s N901iC, and Panasonic’s P901i. Of the three, only NEC’s N900iL [see WWJ’s video] is currently shipping. The N900iL is a dual-network 3G/VoIP handset that works as a 3G mobile phone (using DoCoMo’s W-CDMA/FOMA technologies), VoIP terminal, or both simultaneously.
F-Secure just posted they’ve had “some isolated reports of users who’ve been hit by the new Skulls trojan on their phones.” It has been distributed on some Symbian shareware download sites as “Extended Theme Manager” by “Tee-222”. If you see it, don’t install it on your phone. According to the article “the most obvious symptom of the trojan is that the typical programs on the phone won’t work any more, and that their icons get replaced with a picture of a skull.”
Tokyo’s best and brightest mobilistas gathered for Mobile Monday Tokyo in October, and WWJ was shooting! MoMo is a monthly networking event designed to… well, to get everyone together! What a blast! Folks were there from carriers, handset makers, technology vendors, application developers, and content providers on both the foreign and Japanese side. We spoke with knowledgeable insiders on mobile games, music, and video, and today’s episode brings you the highlights.
Japan’s NHK has announced they will broadcast one of the first programs to accept input from both remote control and cellular phone. A special Christmas Edition of the “Two Way TV World * Go Round” quiz show will add capabilities to accept input from up to four people per household. One person in the household will use the TV’s remote controller to respond to quiz questions, while three others will use their cellular phones. [in Japanese]
QUALCOMM Incorporated, pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced that a number of compelling BREW-based wireless applications currently available via operators with CDMA2000® 1X services, can now be downloaded live and run on the BenQ S80 WCDMA (UMTS)/GSM/GPRS dual mode handset. The applications are being downloaded live over a WCDMA network, and shown on this BREW-enabled WCDMA device to operators throughout the Asia-Pacific region, at 3G World Congress, November 15-19 in Hong Kong. This functionality validates the BREW solution’s flexibility and value for the entire mobile marketplace value chain, including publishers and developers, handset manufacturers and operators in the emerging WCDMA market. The compelling selection of applications are running on handsets built upon QUALCOMM’s MSM6250™ Mobile Station Modem™ (MSM™) chipset providing developers with a feature-rich, multimedia environment for their innovative content.
NEPRO Japan published a report [in Japanese] giving results of a study into mobile phone GPS usage. At the moment, KDDI/au has more than 15 GPS-enabled models (DoCoMo has 2; Vodafone has none). In December 2003, au introduced their NAVI-Walk personal navigation service with an aggressive TV campaign presenting the advantages of mobile-phone GPS.
A Reuters report cites yesterday’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun (newspaper) as saying that Apple Computer plans to start a music download service in Japan by March 2005. The Nikkei said Apple aimed to offer more than 100,000 songs with an emphasis on Japanese music at its “iTunes Music Store,” which is expected to be the largest music download service in the country. But it’s unlikely to happen exactly as Apple might wish, and here’s why.
DoCoMo have just launched their next generation FOMA handsets at a splashy event at Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel — complete with bikini-clad beauties, big-name stars, and a sound and light show that blasted their five new 901i handsets into the spotlight. The D901i, F901iC, N901iC, P901i, and SH901iC models all come equipped with a 2-megapixel camera, stereo speakers, and enhanced audio and video for even more multi-slacking fun. In a ‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!’ press event move, DoCoMo announced that only the SH901iC will be ready for nationwide release on 26 November. Other handsets will ‘follow’ with no specific release dates given. DoCoMo says sales of FOMA cellys stand at 7.3 million. Sales of i-mode-compatible FeliCa e-wallet handsets stand at 600,000 units; infrared signal-compatible handsets, 27.2 million, and bar-code reader terminals, 14 million. Watch our video report here.
KDDI Corp., a leading CDMA2000 mobile operator in Japan, has deployed Starent Networks’ high-performance core network platform for its 1xEV-DO network at 800 Mhz. The Starent ST16 Intelligent Mobile Gateway is providing high-speed data services to KDDI’s subscribers through its CDMA 1X WIN broadband service. KDDI has the largest CDMA network in Japan with more than 18 million subscribers and has the most 3G subscribers in the country with over 16.1 million. The Japanese mobile communications market has long been one of the largest and most progressive, with a projected $13.4 billion in data revenue for 2004. This makes it the world’s largest market with two to three times the revenue of other leading countries according to analyst firm Ovum.
The latest word from Tokyo street-level retailers for the Top 20 DoCoMo mobile phones sold between 4-10 November. Sorted by maker, model, and color (and link to product site), this interesting tidbit should give marketers a clear snapshot of what customers are actually buying. It’s no surprise that NEC scored 8 of the 20 positions with 6 in the top 10.
