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Vodafone Flips for Felica in 3G Fall/Winter Lineup

Vodafone Flips for Felica in 3G Fall/Winter Lineup

Vodafone follows DoCoMo and KDDI into the brave new revenue world of Osaifu Keitai [wallet phone] introducing its first Felica-equipped handset at a press conference for the Japanese carrier’s Fall/Winter 3G lineup [.PDF]. Four handsets: the 702NK II from Nokia, 703SHf and 604SH both from Sharp plus the 703N by NEC are scheduled for release in October and November. The company is counting on this lineup’s smooth design esthetics, sophisticated hardware and contents to re-ignite consumer interest in the Vodafone brand.

At just 47mm wide the 703SHf is Vodafone’s slimmest 3G handset yet. Besides Felica it has a 1.3 megapixel camera, 2-inch ASV LCD screen and the music player supports AAC and SD-Audio MP3 music files. But who cares. It’s really all about the chip. The Felica IC chip system developed by Sony allows users to swipe Felica-equipped mobile handsets over designated readers and pay for everything from a bottle of ice tea to an airline ticket. DoCoMo started loading it onto their 3G phones in July 2004 and has sold around 5 million Felica-equipped phones so far. The other carriers have seen little choice but to follow. These Sony IC chips have become ubiquitous not by Felica but through the Suica JR train commuter cards which can also be used at shops inside designated train stations and at platform kiosks. Thanks to DoCoMo, Suica is going mobile next year and there are plans to incorporate private train lines and subways into the Suica system as well. KDDI began selling their first Felica handset, the W32S from Sony Ericcson, this month.

Vodafone Spain Selects Dilithium Networks 3G Multimedia Gateway

Dilithium Networks, the leading supplier of 3G multimedia solutions, announced today that Vodafone Spain has selected the DTG 2000 multimedia gateway for delivery of enhanced 3G services across mobile and IP networks. The system will extend the capabilities of Vodafone Spain’s 3G mobile network and enable seamless real time conversational video telephony calling to personal computers over broadband networks. The advent of 3G video telephony services are an important differentiator to 3G operators planning to migrate their user base to higher revenue generating services. The DTG 2000 performs all the necessary negotiation and mediation between network entities and client devices to allow effortless communications across network boundaries.

i-mode Launches in Russia

NTT DoCoMo just announced that Mobile TeleSystems OJSC (MTS), NTT DoCoMo’s partner in Russia, began offering i-mode services in the Moscow and St. Petersburg areas as of today. Services will eventually be expanded to other business areas of MTS. Russia’s i-mode is being offered via MTS’s GPRS network and represents the twelfth global market for i-mode, following Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Australia and Israel (in order of introduction). MTS is Russia’s leading mobile operator both in terms of subscribers and profitability, according to the DoCoMo press release.

DoCoMo to Offer Info-Capture FeliCa

DoCoMo has announced plans to offer an information-capture function, called ToruCa, in their new “Osaifu-Keitai” (Wallet-Phone) compatible handsets to be released this winter. ToruCa will enable users to obtain information by simply waving their phones in front of dedicated reader/writers installed at restaurants, theaters, music stores, arcades and other establishments. For example, when a user buys a CD at a store using the “Osaifu-Keitai,” they can simply wave their DoCoMo phone in front of the store’s reader/writer to retrieve extra information about the CD, artist, etc., and possibly even a promotional coupon offered by the artist’s recording label.

Yozan, Livedoor Announce Wi-LAN Deal

Yozan and livedoor announced yesterday that they have signed a basic agreement on the provision of livedoor Wireless, a wireless LAN servicve. Under the terms of the agreement, Yozan will deploy and provide maintenance support for a wireless network. Although the partners have yet to decide on the number of base stations and where to install them, Yozan will initially set up 4,000 base stations and gradually deploy them at more locations. The partners have also yet to decide a service launch date.

Japan Broadband Wireless Network JV

GlobeTel Communications Corp. announced that its subsidiary, Sanswire Networks LLC, has signed a Letter of Intent with Kashiwabara Token Corporation of Iwakuni City, Japan, to enter a joint venture in the establishment of a terrestrial ground-based wireless broadband and communications system, a prelude to the deployment of the Sanswire Stratellite Airship broadband network in Japan. Kashiwabara Token Corporation holds a controlling interest of a major cell phone system in the Hiroshima and Yamaguchi prefectures as well as the ICAN Cable television system in Japan.