3G
3G

3G

DoCoMo Partially Denies Hutchinson 3UK Pullout

NTT DoCoMo has denied media reports here that it is pulling out its stake in Hutchinson 3G UK Holdings Ltd. after Hutchinson failed to roll out i-mode. In a statement today, DoCoMo said it “has made no decision about ending its investment in Hutchison 3G UK Holdings Limited,” but stopped short of fully denying local reports that it was pulling the plug on its July 2000-acquired 20% interest in Hutchison 3GUK for about 186 billion yen, the book value of which has withered to under 40 billion yen as the joint venture struggled to launch its 3G service.

FOMA's IT-House 3G Field Testing

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today it will field test a controller that enables home appliances to be operated with 3G FOMA® handsets. The controller enables operations such as programming the recording of a TV program and then viewing the playback on the phone, turning air conditioners and lights on an off, and viewing live video from the controller’s built-in camera. WWJ’s video program from CEATEC in Oct. ’03 features a demo. of the technology.

InnoMedia Debuts MTA 5000 Videophones with Advanced Features for Mobile

InnoMedia today unveiled the new generation of videophones with innovative features such as Wireless LAN, PSTN fallback and 3G interoperability. This MTA 5000 series of videophones feature a stylish look, designed by world-class industrial design house GE/Fitch. InnoMedia sets precedence in combining IP and PSTN services in a single device – MTA 5000 videophones enable both incumbent and competitive operators to offer innovative and competitive video telephony services, including wireless LAN and 3G compatibility.

GoForce Tie-up for 3D Mobile Games

HI Corporation and NVIDIA Inc. have announced a new agreement for a worldwide alliance on advanced interactive 3D games for mobile phones. The companies will cooperate in the porting and marketing of the Mascot Capsule Engine Micro3D Edition on NVIDIA’s newly-announced GoForce architecture.

Survey of Japan's Wireless Market

Survey of Japan's Wireless MarketResearch house and consumer survey firm INFO PLANT recently held a seminar on the main themes and directions of Japan’s wireless market in 2004. INFO PLANT’s C-News editor-in-chief Tomoki Sakaino began with some interesting comparisons between the Korea and Japan markets before offering unique insights into the prospects for FOMA and FeliCa this year; he also reviewed studies into attitudes about DoCoMo’s new 900i-series 3G handsets and TV broadcast content for mobile devices. Full Program Run-time 19:28

DoCoMo 3G FOMA Goes (partially) Flat Rate June 1

It’s official: the switch to flat rate for packet communications by NTT DoCoMo starts on June 1 at 3,900 yen per month—300 yen cheaper than KDDI. Is this the start of a new era of price wars that rapidly commoditize 3G services—reminiscent of what happened on Japan’s ADSL market a few years ago? Not if DoCoMo president Keiji Tachikawa can help it. Our first observation today was how few subscribers the flat rate will apply to—only heavy users who are used to price plans starting at 6,700 yen. The second point was DoCoMo’s opinion that perhaps only a third of heavy users might take advantage of the flat rate option this year.