Wireless News
Wireless News

Wireless News

DoCoMo Announces 9 Search Partners

DoCoMo just announced that their users will be able to do keyword searches from the top page of the Japanese i-mode menu for easier access to official i-mode sites. In addition, the search results page will provide links to nine search engines so users can view non-official i-mode sites and other websites with the same keyword. The new service will be offered from October. No special set-up is required, and the search box will be automatically displayed from the service launch according to the statement.

HTC to Open Japan Branch Office

It seems that Taiwan’s High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) will soon set up a branch office in Japan, paving the way for the company to support their debut on DoCoMo announced earlier this year. The Japan office location would be HTC’s newest overseas foothold; the company has already set up branches in Europe, the U.S., and Hong Kong. HTC is the world’s largest manufacturer of cell phones that run on Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Softbank Shares Fall on Merrill Rating

Shares of Softbank Corp., the company that bought Vodafone Group Plc’s Japanese mobile phone unit, had their biggest drop in a month after Merrill Lynch & Co. told investors to sell the stock and forecast a loss this fiscal year. Softbank, the worst performer this year on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average, slid as much as 7 percent in Tokyo. Merrill analyst Yasumasa Goda said in a note today the company will have a 7.1 billion yen ($62 million) net loss, compared with a forecast for a 30 billion yen profit by Toyo Keizai, a financial information publisher.

DoCoMo to Launch Mobile Auction Service

NTT DoCoMo and Rakuten Inc., the operator of Japan’s leading online shopping mall, will develop a mobile phone Internet auction system and begin operating it from autumn, company officials said. The system will allow customers to use cameras on their mobile phones to take photos of goods and put them up for auction. Users can also use the “Osaifu Keitai” (wallet phone) system to make payment for goods they buy. DoCoMo holds about a 40 percent stake in Rakuten Auction.

More Internet Users Mobile than Wired in Japan

The number of Internet users in Japan accessing from cellphones exceeded those using it from personal computers in 2005, according to a government report published Tuesday. At the end of the year there were 69.2 million people using the Internet from mobile devices, compared to 66 million conventional PC users, the Ministry of Information and Communications’ annual “Information and Communications in Japan” white paper said.

Japan Telecom Forms Mobile Division

Japan Telecom and Vodafone K.K. just announced they have formed a new Mobile Business Division aligned with Vodafone K.K.’s Corporate Sales to jointly conduct business activities. The move stems from an organizational change made on 1 July 2006 to align with Vodafone K.K. Corporate Sales to strengthen mobile solutions and realize FMC. Previously Japan Teleco focused mainly on ICT solutions for business customers. However, in order to maximize business synergies with Vodafone K.K., which recently was recently aquired by SoftBank Group, the main functions of Vodafone K.K.’s Corporate Sales division have been aligned with Japan Telecom’s.