DoCoMo Debuts 4 New i-mode NFC Handsets
NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries today announced the July 2004 launch of the i-mode FeliCa Service for mobile wallet applications, which will be used in combination with the company’s first four i-mode smart-card handsets—three 2G mova 506iC series handsets and the 3G FOMA F900iC handset—which also will be launched in early July.
DoCoMo previewed the i-mode FeliCa Service for six months beginning last December [see WWJ video here] using mobile phones equipped with Sony Corporation’s FeliCa NFC technology.
DoCoMo’s new service with NFC smart-card enabled handsets can be used for a variety of familiar functions, including train pass, debit card (electronic money), credit card and personal identification card, applications previously possible only with IC-equipped cards.
The handsets are equipped, for example, to use Sony’s Edy e-money system for purchases at 9,000 participating shops in Japan. Current balances and payment records can be viewed using the handsets.
Initially, 39 mobile service providers will offer m-wallet functions via the i-mode FeliCa Service. Customers will go to the providers’ websites and download i-appli™ applications to use these functions with their DoCoMo i-mode smart-card handsets.
The new i-mode FeliCa Service and mobile wallet handsets are among the latest examples of how DoCoMo is expanding the scope of wireless culture with multifunctional tools for everyday life.
For more details on these new handset models and participating service partners, see Announcement Here in Japanese.
About NTT DoCoMo
NTT DoCoMo is the world’s leading mobile communications company, with more than 48 million customers. The company provides a wide variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services. These include i-mode®, the world’s most popular mobile internet service, which provides e-mail and internet access to over 41 million subscribers, and FOMA®, launched in 2001 as the world’s first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA. In addition to wholly owned subsidiaries in Europe and North America, the company is expanding its global reach through strategic alliances with mobile and multimedia service providers in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America. NTT DoCoMo is listed on the Tokyo (9437), London (NDCM), and New York (DCM) stock exchanges. For more information, visit www.nttdocomo.com