4G
4G

4G

DoCoMo Testing 2.5Gbit Wireless Network

According to a recent report, DoCoMo is testing a new network standard that could send DVDs to handheld devices in about 10 seconds! The prototype uses a combination of Multiple In Multiple Out (Mimo) technology and a tweaked version of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and is capable of delivering 2.5Gbits/sec to users travelling at 20Km per hour. Mimo, which is used in a the draft 802.11n Wifi standard and turbo versions of existing Wifi products, uses a combination of several antennas and clever processing to boost data rates.

Au Announces New Handset & Service

According to a press release from KDDI/au today, the company has just announced a new handset, the W43T [.jpg] from Toshiba. Also just announced: this Toshiba unit will incorporate the company’s new 3D Navi GPS service functions and that both will be introduced to the market starting in late April. This latest CDMA-1X unit also offers LISMO mobile music and touts a 3.2-megapixel camera, although it does not have a 4GB HDD, like the recent W41T, or the mobile commerce ‘FeliCa’ chip.

DoCoMo Achieves 4G Field Trial

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. announced today that it achieved 2.5Gbps packet transmission in the downlink while moving at 20km/h. The fourth-generation (4G) radio access field experiment took place in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture on December 14, 2005. DoCoMo achieved a maximum 1Gbps speed in a similar field experiment on May 9, 2005. This time, by increasing the number of MIMO*1 transmission antennas from four to six and by using 64-QAM*2, data volume per transmission was increased from four bits to six bits. As a result, DoCoMo achieved a maximum speed of 2.5Gbps, which is faster than the International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R)’s proposed standard.

New W950i Walkman Phone

Sony Ericsson has introduced the W950, an ultra-slim, ultra-stylish, UMTS-enabled device with 4GB of onboard storage complete with touch screen for simple navigation through music genres, playlists, individual songs or music albums. The music player within the W950 has the functionality and sound quality of an equivalent standalone device. Its 4GB storage can take up to 4,000 songs and the sound quality, delivered on high quality headphones, makes listening to music a real pleasure. A new graphic-rich interface on the Walkman player makes it easy to navigate around the music library by song, artist or playlist and now it’s possible to search visually by browsing through album covers using the stylus and touch screen.

3G Mobile Future: Exclusive Interview with Tomi Ahonen

3G Mobile Future: Exclusive Interview with Tomi AhonenTomi Ahonen is a smart guy who’s done a lot of observing and thinking about the 3G future. He reports that planet Earth has 2 bn mobile phones, with more phones in use than cars, credit cards or televisions, and that advertisers, businesses and governments are all trying to understand how the mobile future will download. For a glimpse into the future, Tomi was in Tokyo last month for the 3G Mobile World Forum 2006 where he observed that Japan already has the handsets, the networks and users who have migrated to 3G, while “the rest of the world is just starting to understand and discover this opportunity.”

He points out that in Japan, roughly 30 percent of all mobiles are 3G phones, compared to the UK, where it’s only 8 percent. “We have a long way to go to catch up.” WWJ’s Lawrence Cosh-Ishii caught up with Tomi for a tightly-focused interview covering 3G, 3.5G, consumer service definition, key technologies and how marketing and advertising are starting to recognize the potential of mobile.

KDDI Introduces Seven New 3G Handsets

This week was a new-cell-phone-announcement triple-play! Following DoCoMo on Tuesday and Vodafone yesterday, KDDI’s au brand held a press conference this afteroon at the super-swank New Otani hotel to unveil an impressive spring line-up. From L. to R. (below): Toshiba’s W41T with Japan’s first built-in 4GB HDD, the slick-styled Neon, is the latest addition to the in-house Design Project; Hitachi’s W41H ‘One-Seg’ digital TV phone; Casio’s W41CA, featuring a FeliCa mobile wallet; Kyocera’s W41K is a ‘Full Function’ camera phone with a 3.2-megapixel cam; SonyEricsson’s W41S is also FeliCa IC-enabled; and finally the Sanyo W41SA, which has an interesting handwritten character scanning application. The new fleet will hit store shelves starting in February along with the introduction of an enhanced Listen Mobile Service.

KDDI Introduces Seven New 3G Handsets by Mobikyo KK

CES 2006 Preview

Said to be the world’s largest consumer electronics tradeshow, CES, gets underway 5-8 January, in Las Vegas. While not open to the general public, CES previews consumer electronics and wireless technologies, devices and networks from over 2,500 exhibitors. The conference program, keynotes, SuperSessions, exhibitor news and press releases announce thousands of products. Announcements for new products are available for broadband, home networking, mobile/vehicle electronics, personal electronics, satellite systems, telephones, video, WiFi and wireless communications, as well as mobile entertainment and consumer VoIP. Check out the Wireless TechZone for the full list of upcoming presentations.

Integration Associates and Oki Electric Enable ZigBee One-Stop Solution

Integration Associates and Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. today announced a one-stop Solution for ZigBee, considered the next generation low data rate wireless network technology. This one-stop solution consists of Oki’s LSI, the ML7065, and the ZigBee Stack by Integration. The solution has received its ZigBee Compliant certificate from the ZigBee Alliance, and will be available globally in December 2005 from Oki and Integration. Oki provides and supports the CompXs ZigBee Stack in Asia, including Japan, while Integration provides and supports the ZigBee Stack in N. America and Europe.

Japan, China to Cooperate on 4G

The Japanese and Chinese governments have finalized plans to cooperate in developing technology for fourth-generation cellphones, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Wednesday. The report said Japanese and Chinese government representatives will meet in Tokyo on Friday and are expected to sign an agreement to cooperate in research and development of 4G cellphones, which are expected to come into practical use around 2010.

When 3G Becomes 4G

HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) is an enhancement to W-CDMA, a technology that is also referred to as UMTS, the 3G path chosen by most GSM operators around the world. Today, there are already some 75 UMTS networks in operation around the world. Globally, many UMTS operators are planning on the HSDPA upgrade, and operators that have not deployed UMTS yet are likely to go directly to HSDPA. (Ed’s Note: We’ve been following the evolution to next-gen high-speed mobile for at least 18 months now. Google WWJ for more on this topic.)