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Mobile Monday Tokyo – 1st Birthday Bash

Summer break’s over, and Mobile Monday Tokyo is back to rock your socks! It seems like only yesterday that we announced our launch event! But that was last September — a lifetime in the mobile space — and we’ve since grown from bottle-feed darlings to lovable little monsters getting our fingers into everybody’s (wireless) business! Our 1st Birthday Bash on 5th September will have plenty of room for everyone — including well-wishers from the ACCJ — at the uber-trendy loft-style Warehouse Club in Azabu-Juban. The evening includes presentations from Opera Japan and FreeVerse Partners, with a super buffet by the good folks at Corporate Gourmet. Cya there.. 😎

Renesas Starts Sample Shipments of Dual-Mode Chips Developed With NTT DoCoMo

Renesas Technology Corp. today announced it has started shipping evaluation samples of a single-chip LSI, jointly developed with NTT DoCoMo, Inc. for dual-mode mobile handsets supporting W-CDMA (3G) and GSM/GPRS (2G) systems. Evaluation samples have been available for customers since the end of July 2005. With technological development investment from NTT DoCoMo since July 2004, the jointly developed LSI is expected to promote the global use of FOMA(R) and similar 3G mobile handsets. It also reduces costs by incorporating a dual baseband processor handling W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS systems together with a Renesas Technology SH-Mobile application processor.

DoCoMo Planning Push To Talk Service

DoCoMo Planning Push To Talk ServiceRumours are circulating that NTT DoCoMo will introduce a Push-to-Talk (PTT) voice service by mid-October. Several Japanese trade journals have reported the as-yet-unconfirmed plans, saying that DoCoMo plans to market a cellular phone equipped with a chip made by US Qualcomm in October. With three new carriers set to enter the domestic market in 2006, the dominant telco is said to be considering how to defend its market share by offering new services and incentives. Opinions suggest the company will respond to the popular, though as yet still not widely used, flat-rate voice services launched by Willcom in May this year and the family free-call trial running on Vodafone from July through the end of October.

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.)

Block Cell Phone Peepers with Darth Vader

Block Cellphone Peepers with Darth VaderEver had someone peek over your shoulder to see what’s on your cell-phone screen? Maybe you don’t want to share that latest hot stock tip or expose the lowest possible Tetris skill of all time. Then you’ve got to get a Magic Screen. When viewing the handset display directly, it’s clear and easy to read. However, when viewed at even a slight angle to either side — Abracadabra! — the Magic Screen’s holographic reflective technology blocks nosey parkers.

These simple LCD stickers have started to become pretty popular (think cell-phone straps 2.0) over the last six months or so here and all the usual suspects — from Disney to Kitty to Playboy — have licensed their famous brand characters. We noticed just yesterday that even Star Wars’ Darth Vader can be enlisted (for a paltry 900 yen) to protect all your sensitive info from those pesky subway peepers (the Yoda version — ‘Keep our data safe we must’ — was sold out). WWJ subscribers login for some full-resolution photos.

Mobile Phone Designed for Seniors

DoCoMo will release a new mobile handset able to slow down speakers’ voice speed later this month. The key targeted users are the elderly. The speed converter technology used in the handset slows down speakers’ voice speed up to 0.7x, so the listener can feel like that the speakers’ dialogue goes slowly. By reducing the number of menu items as well as using relatively large icons, screen operation became easier than before. The unit also features an emergency 80 dB alarm system and a built-in pedometer.