Terminal Technology
Terminal Technology

Terminal Technology

Kyocera Wireless and PCTEL Collaborate

Kyocera Wireless and PCTEL Inc. announced their collaboration on a Voice Call Continuity (VCC) solution for dual-mode Wi-Fi/CDMA handsets. The solution, which incorporates PCTEL’s Roaming Client – Voice Enabled (VE), is being demonstrated on a prototype Kyocera handset. VCC technology allows a dual-mode handset to make seamless handoffs of active calls while moving between Wi-Fi and CDMA air interfaces. The new VCC solution integrates Kyocera’s CDMA voice, user interface and SMS features with PCTEL’s VoIP, SMS Over IP, single-number roaming and active-call handover functionality.

DoCoMo Announces New Business Handset

DoCoMo just announced they will begin marketing the F903iBSC, by Fujitsu, business-use to enable companies to address security issues such as information leaks and non-work-related use of corporate phones. Security is enhanced by a tool that automatically locks all functions when the handset is shut. Unlocking can be handled with biometric fingerprint authorization or a password. DoCoMo will market this new 3G FOMA handset in Japan from March 19 exclusively through corporate business divisions, and will not be available at DoCoMo shops.

DoCoMo Reports Roaming Glitch

According to this report on Reuters, DoCoMo has said that as many as 240,000 users may not be able to use their phones overseas because of a software glitch. Faulty SIM cards on certain models are apparently preventing connections for messages and voice calls on networks outside Japan. DoCoMo said the glitch and it will replace faulty SIM cards for free.

Sharp Holds Top Handset Market Share

According to a report issued Feb. 28 by IDC Japan, Sharp continued to lead sales in the Japanese handset market, for the third consectutive quarter, with 21.2% share during Q4 2006. The investigation also noted that domestic shipments increased 11.2% year-on-year with 12.9 million handsets sold during the period. Panasonic claimed 11% with NEC, SonyEricsson and Toshiba all coming in close behind at 9 – 10% of sales volume each.

Raku-Raku Basic Handset Announced

DoCoMo has announced the newest model in their so-called ‘easy phone’ series, the Raku-Raku Basic, targeted at seniors who require user-friendly handsets equipped with special functions. Specific features include “Slow Voice”, which improves comprehensibility through embedded software that slows the other person’s voice speed, and “Clear Voice” noise-detection, which automatically adjusts voice and ringtone volume according to surrounding noise level. Enhanced “Read Aloud” audibly announces the name of the caller or e-mail sender and provides audio readouts of i-mode pages, while “Simple Mail Generation” offers preset messages for quick replies to e-mails.

Most Popular Japanese Handsets in 2006

We caught a feature article on a domestic mobile news site that ranked Japan’s most popular selling models for last year. For KDDI/au the W41CA by Casio was put on the market in February and maintained top place for almost 33 weeks. The continued success of that model was attributed to the feature set which includes; EZ FeliCa (mobile wallet), FM radio tuner, PC Site Viewer (Opera browser) and 2.6-inch wide screen display. The second half sales were dominated by the W43S “Walkman Phone” by Sony Ericsson. See the full ranking list after the jump.