Aplix has announced that it reached a licensing agreement with NEC Corp. and Panasonic Mobile Communications on MOAP to offer integrated solutions for Linux-based mobile phones. The license allows Aplix to design and develop software solutions for mobile phones using the MOAP Linux platform co-developed by NEC, Panasonic Mobile and NTT DoCoMo, and to sublicense this technology to other handset manufacturers.
KDDI Corp. appears to have benefited the most from the mobile phone number portability service introduced Oct. 24 to allow people to switch phone companies without changing their numbers. KDDI said Wednesday that it had a net 200,500 new subscribers in October, market leader DoCoMo saw its subscribers increase by only 40,800 while Softbank Mobile said its subscribers increased by 23,800.
Japan mobile industry watchers are awaiting the official October stats from the Telecom Carriers Assoc. (TCA) to be posted this week. Considering the figures already announced by both DoCoMo and KDDI at the end of October it would seem that mobile number portability has – as predicted – provided KDDI the most benefit so far. However, after a quick calculation based on the information already available, SoftBank Mobile may well be in the news as a result of what would appear to be rather ‘disappointing’ numbers.
Gemini Mobile Technologies has announced a new software platform to power mobile communities. The Gemini platform, called eXplo, is the foundation of a new 3D interface from SoftBank Mobile Corporation in Japan, named S! TOWN. SoftBank Mobile’s new S! Town-enabled phones are available today throughout Japan on selected Sharp and Toshiba phone models. Gemini expects to announce new carriers and content providers for eXplo in the coming months.
joint venture with Japanese Internet and telecoms group Softbank Corp. The 50-50 venture, to be called MySpace Japan, will first offer services for personal computers and will eventually allow users to post photos and write blogs via mobile phones. The firms are expected to announce the deal as early as this week after a meeting between News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son. The Japanese version of MySpace is live here however there is still no official announcement from Softbank. [Update: it’s official — Eds]
Napster has announced the launch of Napster Mobile on iMode. DoCoMo is now promoting Napster Mobile, with over-the-air full length songs and ringtones and the Napster To Go PC-to-handset sideloading capabilities through a multi-million dollar integrated marketing campaign comprised of TV, outdoor, print, in-box, online and on-deck promotion. The campaign also includes today’s platform-wide takeover of iMode by Napster. DoCoMo customers can use Napster Mobile to access full-length songs and ringtones that can be delivered over-the-air (OTA), directly to their mobile handset for immediate listening and downloading.
