Mobile Users
Mobile Users

Mobile Users

New 3G Phone Designed Just for Kids

New 3G Phone Designed Just for KidsNTT DoCoMo have just announced a new ‘child-friendly’ 3G mobile phone, the FOMA SA800i made by Sanyo. The SA800i’s functions and compatible services are designed to help keep children safe, according to company PR. It is configured for easy use by children, and its rounded shape resembles a cocoon to emphasize the phone’s child-oriented security features. The handset has an alarm of about 100 decibels that children can quickly switch on in the case of an emergency and parents signed up for the new “imadoco search” location service can set their phones to automatically receive email announcing the child’s physical location, and the emails will continue at regular intervals.

If the child activates the alarm, the handset will call up to three registered numbers with a voice message alert at regular intervals until all registered numbers pick up, or until a password is entered into the child’s handset. In addition, DoCoMo has established the Kids’ Advisory Board of people with expertise in children’s issues, who will advise the company on the development of products and services beneficial to children. The parents who are signed up for imadoco search can also set their phones to receive an automatic email of the child’s location when the child’s handset is turned off. Moreover, even after the child’s handset is switched off, it is possible to receive e-mails of the phone’s whereabouts in 15-, 30- or 60-minute intervals. The emails continue until a password is entered into either the parent’s or child’s handset.

IC Tag Child Protection Service

NTT DATA Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., its communications Inc., Tokyu Security Co., Ltd., and TRENDY Corporation announced that they have developed an expanded IC tag ‘i-safety’ Service that is expected to help reduce traffic accidents involving children, in addition to help protect them from crime. The expanded service, which is still in the experimental stage, alerts drivers to the presence of children in the vicinity thanks to a voice-recording from an electronic information device in the car that warns ‘Children nearby. Please be careful.’

Japan Approves Three New Groups for 3G

Japan Approves Three New 3G CarriersBack in 1999, when I was editing Computing Japan magazine, we ran an article entitled “Third Generation Mobile: Three Groups for 3G” looking at the three groups — NTT DoCoMo, IDO-DDI (later, with KDD, KDDI) and IMT-2000 Planning Corp. (later J-Phone) — lining up for a new license. The prediction was that “success for the 3G business depends on the digital content.” Now, 7 years later, three new hopefuls are lining up in a far more mature market, and not only content but also terminals, churn, number portability and voice versus data will be significant factors.

On November 10, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it would grant three new carriers licenses to operate in the 1.7 and 2 GHz bands; BB Mobile of Softbank Corp. and e-mobile of eAccess Ltd. will offer services based on W-CDMA technology while IPMobile Inc. will offer Japan’s first TD-CDMA-based services. The three are expected to launch later in 2006.

The three newcomers are entering a highly competitive market dominated by three existing incumbents: NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K., which reported a collective 89.4 million subscribers as of October 31. The new players are expected to expand the variety of wireless services and pricing levels available, providing more choice and lowering costs — not least of all for terminals — according to one ministry quotation.

Toshiba and NEC to Collaborate

Toshiba Corporation and NEC Electronics Corporation announced that they have agreed to collaborate on the development of CMOS logic process technology for the 45-nanometer (nm) generation. Under the terms of the agreement, engineers from Toshiba and NEC Electronics will collaborate at Toshiba’s Advanced Microelectronics Center in Yokohama on development of fundamental CMOS process technology, which both companies will be able to implement at their manufacturing facilities.

Accessibility for JIS Standard

The CIAJ has announced that the "JIS X 8341-4: Guidelines for Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities – Information and Communications Equipment, Software and Services – Part 4: Telecommunications Equipment" has been deliberated by the Japan Industrial Standards Committee, established as a JIS standard, and notified in an official government gazette. These guidelines define items which are essential and items which are desirable from an accessibility standpoint in the planning, development and design stages so that telecommunications equipment can be operated without difficulty by all people, including older persons and persons with disabilities.

Japan Mobile Users Survey

InfoPlant performed a survey of mobile phone users, carried out through the main menus of internet-enabled phones from DoCoMo, au and Vodafone which was at least somewhat focused on flat-rate data trends [.pdf in Japanese]. 16,833 people replied during the survey, 67.4% of respondents were female, and iMode users, Ezweb users and Vodafone Live! users were 57.4%, 20.9% and 21.7% respectively. WWJ subscribers login for the English translation.