3G
3G

3G

Japan Prepares to Export 3G Phones

Originally published as a guest column in Fierce Wireless, 9 June – Ed.
If 2001-2003 has been Phase 1 of Japan’s 3G era (all three major carriers launched W-CDMA or CDMA 2000 networks in this period), then 2004 is definitely shaping up to be Phase 2 — and the difference is that now Japan 3G is moving overseas. The assault is being led in part by Japan’s keitai makers who, under NTT DoCoMo’s lash, have invested heavily in sophisticated new terminals and are now looking to markets further afield in order to generate additional ROI.

3G Up to Speed in Japan

Next-generation telephone services — collectively: 3G — are finally turning the corner on profitability in Japan after years of loss-making investment. Pyramid Research says this will the the year for high speed telephone data networks in Japan as subscribers are beginning to buy seriously into 3G technology.

Telstra Brings i-mode to Australia

Telstra expects more than one million Australians will pay $500 for new handsets, plus an extra $10-$17 per month for content, when the telco launches its own version of the i-mode mobile phone content service before Christmas. The Australian carrier became the first telco in the English-speaking world to sign up with the Japanese telco, NTT DoCoMo, which claims 41 million subscribers for the service in its own country.

ACCESS Announces First Full-Featured Browser for QUALCOMM'S BREW

ACCESS, a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced that its NetFront v3.0 microbrowser is now available for QUALCOMM’s BREW(R) solution. With NetFront for BREW, mobile operators and handset manufacturers will have access to the some of the most advanced mobile browsing technology in the world. The company announced the product at the BREW 2004 Developers Conference being held June 7-9 in San Diego, California.

Fujitsu for FeliCa F900iC 3G FOMA

Yet another important pre-launch milestone for FeliCa, the break-through IC chip technology we feel is going to turn Japan’s mobile phones into e-wallets from next year, has been announced by Fujitsu: The company will incorporate the hardware it its next-generation F900iC handsets a scant 8 weeks from now. These new handsets, as we have argued in a series of articles over the last six months, have a very good chance of sparking a revolution in the way keitai are used in Japan.

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.