DoCoMo announced today that from September 6, 2003 the service area for DoCoMo’s FOMA(R) third-generation (3G) mobile phones will cover 99% of the population in the Kanto-Koshinetsu region. Its eight regional subsidiaries will also expand the FOMA service area to 96% of the population nationwide by the end of September.
DoCoMo announced today they will market the F672i (Raku Raku PHONE III) from September 5, 2003. This is the latest in DoCoMo’s easy-to-use handset series offering a range of innovative and convenient features. As with earlier handsets in the series, three large buttons on the outside of the closed phone each enable one-touch calling to an assigned number without even opening the phone.
Talking to an analyst friend today, we came across the question, how many packets are there in a typical 10-minute video clip encoded for a 3G phone? We asked ourselves this question because, just now, the local press in Japan has caught up with DoCoMo’s plans to roll out HSDPA in late 2004, about a month after WWJ reported on it..!!
Putting its money where its mouth is, NTT DoCoMo is establishing DoCoMo Communications Laboratories Beijing Co. Ltd. to further research on fourth-generation wireless technology. The wireless communications research center will be tasked with researching the technology, as well as promoting it in Japan and China.
In Shibuya – the heart of Japan’s wireless revolution – the mobile Internet is high-tech, uber sophisticated, and cutting-edge. It’s also… Irish. Normally, we wouldn’t make much fuss over three Ireland-based outsiders trying to break into the mobile market here, but one of them – e-settlement software developer Network365 – recently inked a break-through deal with the local heavyweight, NTT DoCoMo; the other two (Parthus Ceva and Polar Lake) also appear to have some real prospects. Our program provides an interesting, behind-the-scenes look at how out-of-town players are making a dent in Japan’s mobile market. Full Program Run-time 19:27
DoCoMo and its eight regional subsidiaries announced today that the companies will limit the number of e-mail i-mode(R) users can send to 1,000 messages per day, beginning October 20, 2003. The move is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to counter the growing amount of spam mail being sent via the i-mode network.
