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DoCoMo Announces 702i-series 3G Handsets

DoCoMo Announces 702i-series 3G HandsetsNTT DoCoMo held a press conference in downtown Tokyo this afternoon to announce the spring roll-out of five new handsets in the 702i-series for FOMA 3G phones (Sharp, NEC, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi and Panasonic). The series includes three ‘designer’ models — a first for DoCoMo. The carrier invited three prominent designers to work on the SH702iD, the N702iD and the F702iD. If the solid success with designer models enjoyed by competitors KDDI and Vodafone is any hint, DoCoMo should do modestly well with this new low-budget series.

Big D appears unconcerned over the potential conflict in the series’ naming. The three designer 702s are dubbed “iD” — possibly for “i-mode designer” or “independent designer.” However, the Fujitsu model is also FeliCa- and mobile Suica-compatible, and all FeliCa models to date have been dubbed “iC” (indicating ‘IC chip’). Should the Fujitsu therefore be the F702iCD? The giant carrier also seems keen on promoting its new iD credit-card (website) having created this cool ‘Vitruvian Man’ logo that we’ve noticed splashed all over Tokyo the last few weeks. That new m-commerce application is included on the Fujitsu 702iD model (but not the SH702iD or the N702iD) and we expect there could well be some confusion in the marketplace between these unrelated iD brands.

This is the first 70x-series to offer automatic Security Scan, which uses automatic downloads in the background to update phones with the latest security software from DoCoMo. The five models will be exhibited at Aoyama Spiral from January 17 to 22. More details on today’s press conference after the jump

DoCoMo Orders Axalto USIM's

Axalto announced it has been selected by DoCoMo to supply advanced USIM cards for DoCoMo 3G services. The Axalto USIM proved to be an ideal vehicle to solve national and international roaming issues of DoCoMo, while providing strong support to its 3G migration process. Designed to ensure the continuity of service for DoCoMo’s subscribers regardless of the network technologies, DoCoMo users will be able to connect with PDC network when in Japan, as well as internationally with W-CDMA and GSM networks when overseas.

Sanyo and KDDI Introduce 3 New Sweet Handsets

Sanyo and KDDI Introduce 3 New Sweet HandsetsBuilding on the original teen-targeted Sweet handsets first introduced in January 2005, the companies have just announced three new models for release starting 1 February. One of the key features included in the first series was a GPS-aided application that included user location data in email sent from the phone (so that parents would know whether young Yukiko-chan was actually at juku (cram class) — or not). The second gen of these handsets goes a few steps further to include that function as well as the new Voice Input application and Hello Messenger, for starters. The latest CDMA 1X (3G) Sweet-series all have 1.3-megapixel cameras, are both BREW- and Flash-enabled and include a built-in security buzzer that boasts a screaming 98dB alarm in case of emergency.

Perhaps the most interesting new feature that was announced, and missed by most other mainstream media, was the new OCR feature. You use the phone’s camera to scan text, such as an email address, URL or phone number, which can then be easily added to the onboard address book; this is a very handy feature. There is also a new “Camera Dictionary” BREW application that will also scan — and translate — English text into Japanese kanji characters as well. Now that is Sweet!

Safety features for children is a growing market niche and this series should prove very popular with both youthful customers and their parents (subscribers log in for full feature descriptions from the press release).

KDDI Launching New Voice App

KDDI and Okinawa cellular have announced what they claim to be the world’s first “Voice Input” function of a decentralized voice recognition feature. To be released in cooperation with the popular GPS service EZ Navi walk, the new offering will become available for their au customers as of early February 2006. Based on a server-side application, “voice recognition on large-scale can achieve high accuracy compared to past versions” (which ran processed commands on the handset) according to the company press release.

Willcom taps Sonus Solutions for VoIP

Sonus Networks, Inc., a leading supplier of service provider Voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions, announced today that WILLCOM, Inc., a major Japanese provider of wireless data and voice services and the largest operator employing Personal Handyphone System (PHS) technology in Japan, has selected Sonus Networks as the foundation for its new nationwide long-distance network to support WILLCOM’s PHS system. This agreement marks the development of Japan’s largest VoIP network for PHS subscribers. WILLCOM will utilize key components of the Sonus solution including the GSX9000 Open Services Switch, the PSX(TM) Call Routing Server, and the Sonus Insight(TM) Management System, which includes the Element Management System (EMS).

KDDI Posts December Sales

KDDI have just posted their December net adds: 348,300, based on an increase of 398,300 in CDMA 1X users and a loss of 50,000 cdmaOne (2G) customers. This compares to DoCoMo’s presumed increase of 1,422,700 based on their public November FOMA count of 18,588,300 and their statement last week that they surpassed 20 million on 29 December. No word yet from Vodafone nor from the TCA website. Link to full details after log-in.