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NEC to Supply Platform and i-mode Mobile Handset for MTS Russia

NEC announced today that it has received orders of Mobile Internet Platform and mobile handsets for Mobile TeleSystems (MTS)’s i-mode(TM) service. MTS Russia’s largest mobile phone operator in Russia and CIS which is currently holding over 40 million subscribers and over 35% market share. i-mode operation in Russia is scheduled to start in September 2005, and further operation is scheduled in Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Belarus in the future. Expansion of high-level functionality for the mobile Internet services in Russia is moving forward, and advanced and rich services are becoming a reality in near future. “Russia is one of the important markets for NEC.” said Noboru Wakita, Senior General Manager of NEC’s Mobile Solutions Operations Unit.

Japanese Use Cell Phone QR Bar Code Readers to Check Food Safety

Japanese Use Cell Phone QR Bar Code Readers to Check Food Safety

Belly up to the Bar Code: QR codes are reducing the fear factor for foodstuffs in Japan as agricultural associations embrace the new wireless technology tagging fresh produce for quick access to mobile information Web sites. A new English-language report [.PDF] released this month by NTT DoCoMo on QR code use in agriculture reveals the growing popularity of this medium.

Forget any assumptions about Hicksville. Japanese farmers have little fear of technology. Rural Ibaraki Prefecture has turbo charged their QR coding for agricultural products tagging a wide variety of vegetables grown in that prefecture. Ibaraki Prefectural authorities and the JA Ibaraki Prefecture Central Union of Agricultural Cooperative cooperating with other farming and agricultural associations are adding QR code labels right at the point of origin. In the supermarket, consumers use camera equipped cell phones to scan the QR code on the label. The code links to a mobile website detailing origin, soil composition, organic fertilizer content percentage (as opposed to chemical), use of pesticides and herbicides and even the name of the farm it was grown on. Consumers can also access the same information over the Ibaraki Agricultural Produce Net website by inputting a numbered code on each label.

Giant Beetles Barge onto Mobile Gaming with QR Codes

Giant Beetles Barge onto Mobile Gaming with QR CodesGiant beetles are big business and big fun in Japan. Toy maker Tomy is capitalizing on the current Japanese craze for all things beetle by introducing a mobile game and information site for their line of spring-wound Kabuto Borg GU toy battle ‘bots (Kabuto is short for Kabuto Mushi, horned beetle) that battle Sumo style until one is knocked over. Two collectible Kabuto Borg cards — a beetle card and power up card — are included with each of the newest series of Kabuto Borg toys (819 yen/$7.80) and custom part sets. Cards are stamped with a QR code that links to a mobile website compatible with all the carriers. The site has an information center for battle Borg news; a list of Borg ‘bots and their custom parts; and a Kabuto Borg GU battle game. The game is an “java-appli” so once it’s downloaded users can play without worrying about connection time and fees. QR codes on different cards allow access to a variety of playable battle beetles and power-ups on the mobile game site. More cards equals more beetles, fun and Kabuto Borgs sold.

Tomy is just one of many mobile game makers that use QR codes to draw users into mobile game sites. At the last Tokyo Game Show DoCoMo partnered with game makers like Square, Taito and Atlus, to create a stack of collectible Game Cards stamped with QR codes linked to DoCoMo game sites. Collectors received one card for every game they tried on the cell phones at the giant DoCoMo booth.

Asia's Mobile Advertising Model

Perhaps it’s news to some WSJ readers that Asian youth “are hooked on their cellphones, yet they hardly ever talk on them,” but the paper is really looking at mobile phones as an advertising platform. Just as i-mode is cited as a role model for every Western mobile data, evidently now Asian ad agencies are sharing their experiences on advertising to mobile devices, and US marketers are eating it up. While Asian marketers have a head start on their counterparts around the globe when it comes to mobile marketing, there’s the perpetual “if it’s Asian, it must be excellent” trap in to which the Western mobile industry falls.

BenQ Chooses Renesas SH-Mobile for its Latest 2.5G GSM Phones

Renesas Technology Corp. and BenQ Corporation today announced that Renesas Technology’s industry-leading SH-Mobile application processor will be incorporated into BenQ’s latest models of 2.5G multimedia GSM mobile phones. With the first launch of Z2 in April, followed by another model in June, both models will be available in Mainland China, Taiwan, Europe and other Asian areas. Mr. Dai Hirasawa, Chairman & CEO of Renesas Technology Taiwan Co., Ltd. said: “We are pleased to provide our SH-Mobile solution to BenQ, one of the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. With this successful collaboration and promising business relationship in the future, I believe we will bring mobile phones powered by SH-Mobile to market faster and further increase our share in the mobile phone market.”

Omron's Face Recognition for Mobile

OKAO Vision Face Recognition Sensor technology for camera-enabled cell phones and other devices is an alternative to passwords or fingerprint scanners for security and access control. “The technology detects 80 points on the face” explained Mr. Masato Kawade, Senior Manager of Sensing & Control Technology Lab. The sensor tests successfully more than 99 times in 100, and is fully Symbian, BREW, embedded Linux, and ITRON OS compatible. “We feel there is a large potential in overseas markets.” said Kawade.