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editors

New Asian Standard for IC Tags

Japan, China, and South Korea are likely to reach an agreement to standardize integrated circuit tags in fiscal 2006, sources said Saturday. A single tag consists of an IC microchip, each side measuring 1 millimeter thick or smaller, which includes an antenna for wireless communication. The product’s details are entered into the chips and can be read by a device through a signal emitted from the antenna. The technology, which may replace bar codes, provides a better method to monitor stock and manage distribution.

Wind to Launch 3G on i-mode's Success

Wind is Italy’s 3rd largest mobile player, with a 16% market share gained in just three years from launch of its mobile service. Wind also runs Italy’s most successful internet Portal (Italia On Line) and is the Italian largest Internet Service Provider (ISP). Wind launched i-mode™, on 28th November 2003 following the signing of the agreement with DoCoMo in June 2002. The partnership between Wind and NTT DoCoMo is a five-year agreement and is exclusive for 4 years for 2G and 3G in Italy.

DoCoMo Does 3G Olympics

WWJ Editors, 16 June 2004
The irony of it all! After taking a 1-trillion-yen ($7.54 billion at the time) charge on overseas investments back in 2002 to seed the world with W-CDMA, DoCoMo today announced that it will set up temporary 3G FOMA base stations in Athens, Greece, from July 30 to September 30, 2004 enabling FOMA subscribers attending the competition to enjoy the service with the same handsets they are currently using in Japan. That’s if the electricity works… and the stadium is built!

Fujitsu's New VoIP/PHS Handset

Fujitsu's New VoIP/PHS HandsetEarlier this week, NTT DoCoMo showcased a prototype 3G/WLAN combination phone carefully configured to make it useless for public hot spots. Against this, Fujitsu Labs and spinoff Net-2Com Corp. have developed something much more useful — a VoIP/PHS phone aimed at the consumer market to be commercialized this fall, with CDMA, GSM, and other versions to follow “depending on market demand.” WWJ treked over to the Fujitsu Solution Forum event in Tokyo recently to have a look at this breakthrough phone; we also took a test ride on Fujitsu Lab’s new PDA unit running a virtual hotspot application that should be coming to reality near you sometime soon.

NEC Introduces 3G Mobile Phone Chip for Rotating TFT Displays

NEC Electronics Corporation and its subsidiary in Europe, NEC Electronics (Europe) GmbH, today introduced the PD161451 bridge IC for 3G mobile handsets, a chip that facilitates development of handsets with rotating high-resolution TFT displays, leveraging the advanced technology of NEC Electronics’ Mobile CMADSTM high-speed serial interface. Recent evolutions in mobile handsets have seen increasing popularity in handset designs with rotating or revolving high resolution thin film transistor (TFT) displays. Compared to previous clamshell designs, the part that connects the display to the main body in these new phones is much narrower, necessitating different design requirements such as a significant reduction in the number of data transmission lines that cross this segment.

Global Industry Leaders to Take Stage At 3GSM Asia

Building on the global success of the world’s leading mobile industry event, the 3GSM World Congress which attracted nearly 30,000 visitors to Cannes last February, the GSM Association & T&F Informa are pleased to announce the 3GSM World Congress Asia. Speakers at the conference, which will be held in Singapore on 29 September to 1 October 2004, include an unprecedented line up of operator CEOs and industry leaders.

Vodafone's FM Handset Launched

Wireless watchers will be aware that the number of FM radio keitai seems to be proliferating. Just this week, KDDI announced that its latest batch of new offerings offer the FM option. Now Vodafone K.K. is tuning into the possibilities with the the V401SA, the carrier’s first handset with a dedicated FM tuner. But does this mean FM will be an optional extra — a bit like having fins on your PDC Cadillac — or will FM become an indispensible, must-have feature for keitai in Japan?

Sony, VeriSign Japan Enter into Alliance for Security FeliCa Card

Under the terms of the alliance, Sony and VeriSign Japan will jointly market Sony’s latest FeliCa card that provides network security using VeriSign’s Managed Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) Service. The network security-enabled card is embedded with Sony’s Dual-interface IC technology, co-developed with Infineon Technologies of Germany, to provide PC users with system authentication and email encryption capabilities.

NTT DoCoMo to Market SH506iC i-mode Smart-Card Handset

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries announced today that they will market the mova SH506iC [.jpg image], the second smart-card handset that is compatible with i-mode FeliCa service for mobile wallet applications. Sales will begin on July 16, 2004. DoCoMo’s revolutionary new service and smart-card handsets may be used for a variety of unprecedented functions that were previously possible only with IC-equipped cards, including train travel, debit card (electronic money) and credit card-based withdrawals and transactions, and personal identification.

Vodafone K.K. Releases V401SA with Stereo FM Radio

Vodafone K.K. announced today that from July 15 it will offer the V401SA by Sanyo [.jpg image] which features a built-in FM radio tuner. The V401SA’s main feature is an FM radio tuner that lets customers enjoy FM broadcasts in stereo sound. Customers can also take photos and enjoy the Vodafone live! mobile internet service while listening to FM radio broadcasts simultaneously. In addition, the V401SA supports the “Now on Air” function so customers can retrieve song titles and artists names in real time while they listen to the radio. The new model features advanced slide-type design, 1.3 megapixel camera and lots of storage to saving photos for easy printing.