New Tech & Services
New Tech & Services

New Tech & Services

Multimedia Cellys: FM Keitai Rocks!

The “FM Keitai,” the most successful FM radio cell phone on planet Earth, is rocking the airwaves in Tokyo. There are over 450,000 users and DJs and announcers are voicing special messages intended just for phone listeners: “Please press the ‘Star’ button to get more information on product X.” Audio-loving mobilers can also download a digital clip of the currently playing song, thanks to BREW. It’s a media marketing dream come true, and it’s only the beginning. Full program run-time: 3:58

Portable Reportable audio updates are short, 3- to 5-minute news items in MP3 format. You can listen via PC or download and copy to your portable player for tomorrow morning’s commute. — Eds.

FeliCa-Enabled Wireless Watch

JCB, a leading international credit card brand, in cooperation with Casio, today launched a two-month trial of its new “Offica” wristwatch-based corporate solution. The Offica Watch [image] contains employee ID, access control, and cashless payment functions using Sony’s FeliCa contactless interface chip. Twenty-five JCB employees will use the Offica Watch instead of the current Offica card to access the JCB tower in central Tokyo, make purchases at company restaurants and stores, and carry out a variety of administrative functions.

Digital Broadcast to Mobile Phones

Satellite Broadcast to Mobile PhonesKDDI R&D Laboratories have jointly developed a mobile-phone terminal that receives digital terrestrial TV broadcasts with interactive services in conjunction with NHK Science and Technical Research Labs. The two companies are the first in Japan to develop such a product in advance of digital TV broadcasting aimed at mobile terminals, which is due to commence in fiscal 2005. We visited NHK’s open house for a peek at the prototype, a modified Hitachi W11H 3G handset. The demonstration allowed users to watch a newscast and scroll through a menu of relevant links to view different segments, like weather forecasts or sports highlights. Full Program Run-time 4:26, also available in Real Player and QT formats.

Multimedia Cellys: TV and FM Go Mobile

If you’ve been watching Japan technology news lately — or better yet, logging onto WirelessWatch.jp — you’ll have noticed an increasing amount of coverage devoted to the new multimedia cell phones. These are basically cell phones that have been adapted to include analog TV and FM radio broadcast receiver chips. The idea is to integrate the TV or radio receiver chip into the phone to enable mobile users to watch regular terrestrial TV broadcasts or listen to FM radio. Full program run-time: 4:52

Portable Reportable audio updates are short, 3- to 5-minute news items in MP3 format. You can listen via PC or download and copy to your portable player for tomorrow morning’s commute. — Eds.

Mobile Wallets for 1 Billion People

DigitaLife ’04, a consumer electronics exhibition to be held in the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, will offer patrons the ability to carry their wallets, digitally, inside their mobile phones. Upon purchase of their tickets, visitors will be able to carry their event tickets, business cards, ShowCash debit cards and a loyalty card, all in their phones. Tickets will be issued via SMS, and ID cards saved as address book entries. These tickets and ID cards can then be scanned, as if they were physically presented in their paper or plastic form.