Wireless News
Wireless News

Wireless News

Vodafone Shares Plunge

Vodafone Group Plc warned that its struggling Japanese unit would curb profit margin growth in 2007, casting a pall over strong half-year results and sending its shares plunging almost 10 percent. Further disappointment that Japanese profit margins fell by 6 percentage points in the half-year, coupled with a warning of another "significant reduction" in the year to March 2007 and a cautious group outlook for 2007, helped propel the shares lower. "I think there’s no clear reason for Vodafone to remain in Japan," said Jim Wright, fund manager at the British Steel Pension Fund, a Vodafone shareholder.

Accton Launching Skype Cellphone

Taiwan-based Accton Technology unveiled its Skype-enabled Wi-Fi phone, the SkyFone WM1185-T, in Tokyo at the so-called "Skype day" event. The new unit [.jpg] enables a talk time of up to four hours with a stand-by-time of up to 20 hours and is likely to be initially priced at over US$150 in the retail market, according to sources. Accton also plans to introduce dual-mode mobile phones that support both GSM and Wi-Fi technology in early 2006.

Japan to Grant New Carrier Licenses

Competition in Japan’s already crowded cell-phone market is set to intensify as the government prepares to open the door to new entrants for the first time in 12 years. Softbank, eAccess and IP Mobile will be granted licenses by the government to offer cell-phone services, possibly from next year, Jiji Press and Kyodo News said Tuesday, citing unnamed informed sources.

Web Update: It’s official!

Results of Survey on Cellphone Usage

Online market researcher infoPLANT conducted research regarding mobile phone use among 16,833 phone users (operators limited to NTT DoCoMo, au, vodafone) from September 6 to 13, 2005. When asked how often they access Websites via mobile phones, 73.8% of the respondents answered “almost everyday”, followed by “a few days a week (10.9%)”, “four to five days a week (10.4%)”, and “about one day a week (3.1%)”. More than 70% men and women of every age group except men aged 50 or older and women aged 40 or older replied “almost everyday”.

Sanyo Epson Develops High-Resolution LCDs featuring Photo Fine Chromarich

Sanyo Epson Imaging Devices Corporation (“Sanyo Epson”) has announced the development of three new high-resolution LCDs featuring “Photo Fine Chromarich” technology that achieves more than 100% coverage of the NTSC* color gamut. Mass production of the displays will commence in early 2006. The fusion of telecommunications and broadcasting through digitization and the seamless integration of cable and mobile communication have raised expectations for next-generation mobile devices. Consumers hope such devices will bring more convenience, richer content, and wider service coverage. There is particularly increasing demand for LCDs with higher resolution, a wide color gamut, a wide viewing angle, and quick response, as well as being lightweight, compact, and ultra energy-efficient. The higher popularity and functionality of digital cameras and camera-equipped mobile phones mean that consumer demand for clearer displays are particularly strong in these areas.

Toshiba 803 Handset with Oasis SD

Toshiba Mobile announced an agreement to bring exclusive live and pre-recorded content from Oasis to its music mobile phone, the Toshiba 803T. As part of this agreement Toshiba has been appointed exclusive mobile sponsor for Oasis live dates across major European territories up to Christmas 2005. The 803T handset [ .jpg image ], which will be launched in Europe in October, will be bundled with exclusive audio and video from Oasis on a 512-MB SD card. This content includes video for the new Oasis single “Let There Be Love” as well as five exclusive live audio and video tracks recorded at the Oasis homecoming concert at the City of Manchester Stadium in July 2005.