3G
3G

3G

Vodafone's New V804SH 3G Phone

Vodafone K.K. have just announced completed development of the Vodafone 804SH [ .jpg image ], a new 3G model by Sharp, which will be marketed in Japan from mid-January 2006. The 804SH is the second handset which will include the Mobile Wallet (“Osaifu-Keitai”)-compatible function with an embedded Mobile FeliCa smartcard to support the ‘Vodafone live! FeliCa’ service, which lets customers use their handsets in ways relevant to their daily lives such as for transportation ticketing, electronic money shopping and point card services. The 804SH is also Vodafone K.K.’s first 3G handset to feature a Motion Control Sensor that responds to movements, thus enabling customers to enjoy new virtual gaming experiences by moving the handset in corresponding directions.

Starhub's EASi-Mode for Singapore

Even before its official launch, StarHub’s i-mode has more than 50 content providers on board. The list includes MediaCorp TV, MTV, OCBC Bank, Yahoo!, Far East Flora and Zuji Singapore. StarHub hopes to attract 50,000 users within the first year, but i-mode is a unique proposition. The service requires i-mode compatible phones from the likes of Samsung and NEC, so you cannot use other 2G or 3G handsets to access the service. StarHub will reveal full details to the press tomorrow.

Web Update: 18 Nov. DoCoMo PR confirms.

NEC Electronics Announces World's First Implementation of Mobile CMADS

NEC Electronics has announced that its uPD161833M and uPD161605M LCD driver ICs, based on its Mobile CMADSTM (Current Mode Advanced Digital Signaling) high-speed serial data transmission method, will be employed in select NEC mobile handsets from the fall of 2005. This marks the first successful implementation of cutting-edge display drivers with integrated receiver circuits, as well as the first use of NEC Electronics’ Mobile CMADS technology, designed to enhance data transmission speed, performance, and mobile handset design.

Japan Approves Three New Groups for 3G

Japan Approves Three New 3G CarriersBack in 1999, when I was editing Computing Japan magazine, we ran an article entitled “Third Generation Mobile: Three Groups for 3G” looking at the three groups — NTT DoCoMo, IDO-DDI (later, with KDD, KDDI) and IMT-2000 Planning Corp. (later J-Phone) — lining up for a new license. The prediction was that “success for the 3G business depends on the digital content.” Now, 7 years later, three new hopefuls are lining up in a far more mature market, and not only content but also terminals, churn, number portability and voice versus data will be significant factors.

On November 10, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it would grant three new carriers licenses to operate in the 1.7 and 2 GHz bands; BB Mobile of Softbank Corp. and e-mobile of eAccess Ltd. will offer services based on W-CDMA technology while IPMobile Inc. will offer Japan’s first TD-CDMA-based services. The three are expected to launch later in 2006.

The three newcomers are entering a highly competitive market dominated by three existing incumbents: NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K., which reported a collective 89.4 million subscribers as of October 31. The new players are expected to expand the variety of wireless services and pricing levels available, providing more choice and lowering costs — not least of all for terminals — according to one ministry quotation.

2006: Japan's Year of the FeliCa eWallet Phone

2006: Japan's Year of the FeliCa eWallet PhoneAccording to the ancient Chinese calendar, 2006 is The Year of the Dog. More importantly, it’s shaping up to be The Year of the eWallet. Launched last summer, DoCoMo’s FeliCa-based wallet phones are a growing success and competitors Vodafone and KDDI have scrambled to launch their own FeliCa-equipped models.

A recent survey points to wide consumer satisfaction and even the BBC have started reporting on Osaifu Keitai (wallet phones). The BBC’s ‘Click Online’ producer caught up with me last month in Tokyo; they were in town to cover CEATEC, but also wanted the tech and business-model details on DoCoMo’s ‘i-mode FeliCa‘ mobile service, as well as how people are using them. The result was a pretty good TV programme (if I may say so myself), which you can watch on the Click Online site(WWJ subscribers log in for full story).

DoCoMo Subscribers Top 50 Million

NTT DoCoMo have just announced that subscribers to the companies mobile phone services exceeded 50 million today, about three years and 10 months after surpassing 40 million. DoCoMo subscribers refer to 2G mova, 3G FOMA and DoPa Single Service customers. In the first 10 years after DoCoMo began offering cellular services in 1979, subscribers grew at an average net rate of roughly 30,000 per year. From 1993, two years after DoCoMo launched its 2G mova service, the average annual net gain to the present time has been about four million subscribers.