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Bandai Introduces SmartBerry Handset

Bandai Introduces SmartBerry HandsetBandai, famous for the ’90’s Tamagochi craze, has introduced their new SmartBerry Communicator device. Targeted at young girls, this slider styled touch screen unit offers profile personalization – a virtual business card with blood type and birthdate as given examples – to be shared with trusted friends via real email, including photo attachments and emoji icons of course, with instant chat and multi-player gaming functions, just to name a few.

Available starting this weekend, for about $100, the company has forcasted moving 100,000 units in Japan by spring 2009.

You have to wonder how long it will be before the folks at Mattel catch-up with something like this for Barbie Girls too.. Egad! More details after the jump.

Wireless Japan 2008 at Tokyo Bigsite

The 14th annual Wireless Japan conference and exhibition is set to kick-off at Tokyo Bigsite for 3 full days next week (wOOt!) focused on current and future mobile industry challenges and opportunities. EXPO COMM WIRELESS JAPAN 2008 will cover the fundamental technology that maintains the wireless broadband network and explore recent trends in standardization, hot applications and solutions for wireless network technology. Of course WWJ will be there as we have been in years past.

MCN Selected for Nokia Widsets Search

Tokyo-based Mobile Content Networks announced that Nokia’s WidSets service has selected its white label platform, MobileSearch.net, to power WidSets Search for its millions of mobile users. According to the press release, WidSets Search will allow users to effectively find new widgets, providing a short description and view of the widget for immediate download. WidSets Search has launched in Finland and will be rolled out to European and global users as part of the global WidSets initiative.

3G iPhone in Tokyo – TGIF

3G iPhone in Tokyo - TGIFWell it was a long time coming but this morning at 07:00 the first 3G iPhones started hitting the street here in Tokyo with almost 1,000 die-hard fans in line at the SoftBank Mobile flagship store in Omote-Sando eager to buy the next-generation mobile computing device.. while supplies last.

Wireless Watch Japan was on the scene, last night and all morning for the launch party at Bic Camera in Yurakucho, shooting some video and chatting with the crowd. Doesn’t he look happy!

We have a ton of material to edit down but for the time being we pulled a few screen grab teaser shots. More after the jump.

DoCoMo Establishes Subsidiary in Shanghai

According to this press prelease, NTT DOCOMO has established DOCOMO China Co., Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai, China. DOCOMO China will focus mainly on providing mobile solutions for corporate customers, especially locally based Japanese companies. The office is expected to begin operating from the end of July, once the necessary governmental and commercial approvals have been obtained.

Japan Telecom Equipment Figures FY2007

The final figures published by CIAJ for the Japanese telecom sector in the last full fiscal year (April 2007 through March 2008) show Wireless network equipment posted sales of 236.8 million yen, a positive growth of 11.3% over the previous year. However, mobile terminal equipment earned 1.662 trillion yen down 4.2% YoY, of which cellular phones accounted for 1.546 trillion yen or negative growth of 5.3% over the previous year. Full details Here.