CDMA
CDMA

CDMA

DoCoMo 3G Overtakes KDDI

As WWJ predicted last month, the latest Telecommunication Carriers Association numbers confirm that DoCoMo has indeed gone on to ‘Grab [the] 3G Lead from KDDI.’ OK — so the news isn’t startling given that the trend for the past several months has been growing in DoCoMo’s favor. The news that has been below almost everyone’s radar screens, however, is the exceptional performance of upstart PHS carrier Willcom and its success in attracting new customers compared to third-place 3G carrier Vodafone. The folks over at Willcom posted a net subscriber gain of 80,200 in January compared to Vodafone’s paltry 17,600 result.

NTT Planning WiMax Tests

NTT, Japan’s largest telecommunications group, plans to test WiMax technology as early as next month. Group companies will work together on trials of WiMax technology, said Masao Nakamura, president and CEO of NTT DoCoMo. Nakamura, who shared only a few details of the planned tests, confirmed that NTT DoCoMo would be one of the participants. Previously, NTT DoCoMo said it intended to push the 3G technology WCDMA to faster speeds. The “Super 3G” service will offer data transmission rates as high as 100Mbit/s and could be available in metropolitan areas as soon as 2008.

W-CDMA 900-MHz Calls Achieved

Nortel and QUALCOMM have successfully completed HSDPA calls in the 900-MHz band, a spectrum capable of delivering wireless broadband such as mobile TV, video-on-demand, video telephony and DSL-like services to rural areas. W-CDMA in the 900-MHz band is a cost-effective way to deliver nationwide high-speed wireless coverage. It achieves a 60-percent reduction in cell sites required to serve rural areas and delivers improved quality of service in urban areas by enhancing in-building penetration by 25 percent, according to the technology’s proponents.

DoCoMo: 3G Phone with Windows OS

NTT DoCoMo and High Tech Computer Corp. (HTC) announced today they have agreed to market HTC 3G FOMA handsets with Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 operating systems. DoCoMo and HTC aim to launch commercial sales sometime in the second half of 2006. The phones will be targeted at corporate users and offer enterprise services such as synchronization with MS Windows Server and MS Exchange Server. The phones will also provide dual-mode W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS connectivity, Wireless LAN and a QWERTY keyboard. (Looks like another nice boost for Microsoft in the Japan mobile space — Eds.)

DoCoMo Orders Axalto USIM's

Axalto announced it has been selected by DoCoMo to supply advanced USIM cards for DoCoMo 3G services. The Axalto USIM proved to be an ideal vehicle to solve national and international roaming issues of DoCoMo, while providing strong support to its 3G migration process. Designed to ensure the continuity of service for DoCoMo’s subscribers regardless of the network technologies, DoCoMo users will be able to connect with PDC network when in Japan, as well as internationally with W-CDMA and GSM networks when overseas.

Sanyo and KDDI Introduce 3 New Sweet Handsets

Sanyo and KDDI Introduce 3 New Sweet HandsetsBuilding on the original teen-targeted Sweet handsets first introduced in January 2005, the companies have just announced three new models for release starting 1 February. One of the key features included in the first series was a GPS-aided application that included user location data in email sent from the phone (so that parents would know whether young Yukiko-chan was actually at juku (cram class) — or not). The second gen of these handsets goes a few steps further to include that function as well as the new Voice Input application and Hello Messenger, for starters. The latest CDMA 1X (3G) Sweet-series all have 1.3-megapixel cameras, are both BREW- and Flash-enabled and include a built-in security buzzer that boasts a screaming 98dB alarm in case of emergency.

Perhaps the most interesting new feature that was announced, and missed by most other mainstream media, was the new OCR feature. You use the phone’s camera to scan text, such as an email address, URL or phone number, which can then be easily added to the onboard address book; this is a very handy feature. There is also a new “Camera Dictionary” BREW application that will also scan — and translate — English text into Japanese kanji characters as well. Now that is Sweet!

Safety features for children is a growing market niche and this series should prove very popular with both youthful customers and their parents (subscribers log in for full feature descriptions from the press release).