Japan Market
Japan Market

Japan Market

DoCoMo's F900iC Price Comparisons

The sale of DoCoMo’s F900iC, the only FeliCa-enabled FOMA (3G) terminal, started in Japan the first week of August. Herewith, we present a rough translation of a useful chart showing price breakdowns for all F900i-series handsets now available. We’re (more than a little bit) surprised at how much the upgrade charge (to get the latest model) varies by region. At one electronic retail chain, the new contract price on an F900iC in Tokyo is 33,375 yen; in Osaka, 15,700 yen.

DoCoMo to Launch i-mode Disaster Message Board Service in English

NTT DoCoMo Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries announced that they will add English language capability to the i-mode® Disaster Message Board service beginning September 1, 2004. DoCoMo set up this electronic bulletin board service in Japanese last January, to be activated in the event of a major calamity such as a high-magnitude earthquake. The bulletin board will enable i-mode subscribers within the disaster area to post messages in order to notify family and friends of their personal safety and whereabouts. The service was launched in order to ensure communication and prevent a degradation in network performance, since an overflow of voice calls and data packet transmissions would likely follow a major disaster.

Mobidec 2004 Wireless Tradeshow

The Mobidec 2004 annual event is back for their 4th year, slated to run Aug. 26 – 27th in Tokyo’s Aoyama Diamond Hall. Discover the future for fusion of cybermoney, music distribution, rich contents, and broadcast. As the cellular phone and mobile web usage are increasingly expanding, this two day seminar will explore the affects of the wireless domain on the real economy. The key players in Japan’s cellular phone business and technology sectors will make presentations, and display company exhibits, of their unique experiance in this field.

KDDI Announces the Merger of Four Subsidiaries, Launch of 'KDDI Network & Soluti

KDDI has announced the impending merger of four subsidiaries to form KDDI Network & Solutions Inc., to strengthen management efficiency and improve response times for corporate customers requiring broad and comprehensive solutions. The new company is expected to become a pillar of the corporate fixed communications business for the KDDI group. K-Solutions Inc., KCOM Corporation, OSI Plus Corporation, and KDDI Msat, Inc. will be merged into the new company on October 1, 2004, to strengthen the KDDI Group base and enable greater corporate-wide deployment in the communications service market where the Group expects an intensification of competition in the future.

Cellphones to Track Farm Produce

Japan’s farm ministry will begin a project in fiscal 2005 to create a tracing system enabling consumers to know the “history” of farm products by means of mobile phones, ministry officials said Wednesday. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to complete the system, which will cover half of agricultural products, in three years, they said.

Subways Disable Cell Phone Service

Japan’s suffering subway and train commuters may welcome this news although it might be a bit heart-stopping for communications (as opposed to people) carriers. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper, the transportation bureau of Nagoya city government has decided to relocate relay base stations that were installed near the ticket gates at the 72 below-ground stations in the 80-station system so that commuters cannot use their mobile phones on trains and in stations.