<span class="vcard">editors</span>
editors

Symbian Settles Share Structure

Symbian announced today the completion of the preemption process for the sales of Psion’s shares confirming that all the shareholders (except Samsung) were to exercise their rights. The real significance of today’s announcement is the clear roadmap, supported by a cash injection and an increase in headcout of 300 over the next 18 months, to drive the Symbian OS into mid-tier devices by, among other things, bringing down the bill of materials for the OS phone from today’s minimum of $132 to $78 by 2008.

NEC Battles Exploding Batteries

After fake batteries have caused some Nokia mobile phones to explode, IDG reports today that NEC Electronics Corp. said that it has tweaked its — get ready for this — CipherUnicorn-S encryption technology which verifies battery authenticity in cellies, digital cameras, and other gadgets.

Before Pocket Rockets Were Tiny

One of the world’s telecom R&D powerhouses, NTT DoCoMo, has released a fascinating report reviewing the advances in cell phone technologies that enable today’s tiny, portable pocket rockets to surf the Web, transmit multimedia mail, and play sophisticated games. In 1985, the first Japanese mobile phone that could be used away from a car battery supply was called the “Shoulder Phone” and weighed in at about 3 kilograms.

ACCESS Partners with Datang to Power 3G Data Services in China

ACCESS, a global provider of Internet access technologies, today announced that ACCESS has partnered with Datang Mobile Communications Equipment Co., Ltd. (Datang), to provide the enabling technology for advanced mobile services over TD-SCDMA networks. Datang of China is a leading mobile technology provider and the creator of TD-SCDMA, China’s homegrown 3G standard. Under the agreement, ACCESS will work closely with Datang to jointly develop technology specifications and go-to-market business strategies for new client-end data solutions on 3G handsets. Further, ACCESS will provide its industry leading NetFront Mobile Client Suite, including key applications such as the micro-browser, messaging client and Java virtual machine to TD-SCDMA related handset vendors.

New PHS Phone with ACCESS Browser

Japan Radio Co. will release their new AH-J3003S candybar phone [.jpg image], intended for use with DDI Pocket’s Air-H” PHS network, on 15 July. In addition to being loaded with ACCESS’s HTML-supporting Web browser, Compact NetFront, the phone supports up to three POP3 and SMTP email accounts and is SSL-enabled. It also comes equipped with an onboard Mini-B-type USB port for synching data with your home PC.

Vodafone Group's 3G Plan for Japan

Vodafone Group Plc of the UK plans to boost its business in Japan by launching competitively priced 3G cellular phones around autumn and developing more market-focused services. Vodafone Group President Arun Sarin said that in the October-December quarter the company will begin volume sales of its global-model 3G cell phones, which are also used in the group’s 3G services in other countries.

Snapshot of Mobile Internet Usage

An interesting mobile user survey has been posted on the Research+ site, which is run by iBridge KK (Japanese only). The survey includes responses from 1,000 respondents of all ages, from teens to 60-years-and-older, and focused on mobile data usage. It appears that lots of Japanese use the mobile Internet at least somewhat while a few use it quite a lot… And upon such tenuous results DoCoMo et al have built empires. Meanwhile, the police find that bad kids use too much data.

Mogi = Socially Connected GPS Gaming

Mogi: Socially Connected GPS GamingYou may have read about it in Wired or The Feature, but our program today is the first Web video coverage for Mogi, a GPS game that may be The Future of Mobile Content, Version 1.0. Mogi is a multi-player network game in which individuals or teams hunt down virtual treasures hidden in Tokyo’s concrete jungle. Mogi players interact in ways that the much-talked-about i-mode has yet to deliver. It’s new for Japan, even newer for the rest of the world, and there’s no lucrative revenue model. Yet.

Dilithium Enhances Industry-Leading Test Tool For 3G Video Applications

Dilithium Networks, a leading provider of wireless multimedia solutions, today announced a major new release of its industry-leading 3G protocol analysis and test tool. The Dilithium Networks Analyzer (DNA) diagnoses, analyses and monitors all aspects of 3G video telephony calls and enables 3G operators and network equipment vendors to identify and address service issues which are critical to providing a high quality user experience and successful uptake of video telephony. The new release adds the ability to gather key performance indicators of network statistics related to video telephony.