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Report: Wireless Japan 2003

Report: Wireless Japan 2003Japan’s wireless broadband networks are rapidly accelerating with the development of cutting-edge technologies and Wireless Japan 2003 is the place to see it all. We’ve put together quite a package from this year’s show, including an on-camera interview with Vodafone Global Content Services’ Tim Harrison on his view on how V-Live is different from i-mode. We grabbed shots of Sanyo’s OLED 3G concept-model handsets and KDDI Labs’ new TV-Mobile unit; and caught up with Gartner Japan’s Mitsuyama-san who gave us her take on this year’s conference. Full Program Run-time 15:35

Europe Is Going Mad for i-mode

Content providers like i-mode because it’s easy to program for — the format is nearly identical to regular Web pages — and they get 86% of the carrier’s take from content sales. Also important, i-mode runs on upgraded wireless networks, known as 2.5G or GPRS, that offer faster, always-on connections. What’s the attraction? Unlike the often-shoddy WAP offerings of a few years back, i-mode is a tightly woven, easily navigable package of preselected services.

AT&T Wireless Moves Ahead With 3G Network

AT&T Wireless today announced agreements with Nortel Networks and Ericsson to deploy what is expected to be the first commercial W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple band Access) wireless network in North America. The W-CDMA network can support high speed VPN access, audio and video applications, as well as advanced location-based and m-Commerce features.

NEC America Releases HDM Handset

NEC Corporation today announced, through its subsidiary NEC America, a leading provider of innovative communications products, solutions and services, the launch of its 515 High Definition Mobile+ (HDM) handset to be sold through AT&T Wireless retail outlets. This exclusive relationship offers the benefit of AT&T Wireless’ powerful network combined with NEC’s global experience in handset development and manufacturing. Available to U.S. consumers on July 28, the 515 HDM will serve as a premiere gaming handset delivering both enhanced game play capabilities and multimedia messaging.

DoCoMo finds software glitch on SH505i

Japan’s largest mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo said it is offering a free software update to users of its latest SH505i mobile phone handset due to software bugs that could erase certain data. The software problems involve the i-APRI service, which allows users to download games and other types of application software from NTT DoCoMo’s network.

What's Being Switched On in Japan's Wireless Biz

If any of you begin to note a slightly limey tone to future Viewpoints, it’s because the WWJ team has a new member, moi – Paul Kallender, as Tokyo correspondent. Take a look at my my bio. below and you will see that I am fully capable of deploying my creative weapons of article construction well within 45 minutes! I’ll be filing weekly with my take on the trends animating Japan’s mobile biz, as well as offering insight you can’t get from our competitors -most of whom either don’t live in Japan or are not actually independent journalists. I can’t follow in ex-editor-in-chief Daniel Scuka’s footsteps (partly because he’s in Germany and I’m in Japan), but I do hope you’ll bear with meas I attempt in my own way to “rip the faceplate” off Japan’s wireless industry. Given my Aikido background, I will be doing my best to at least throw some of the PR pap journalists have to rewrite into the digital dustbin of history. In short, come to WWJ for the stuff you can’t get elsewhere.