DoCoMo
DoCoMo

DoCoMo

Vodafone KK Trials 3G Symbian Apps

Vodafone has greenlighted two new Symbian OS applications for their 3G 702NK (Nokia 6630) handset –- at least on a trial basis. Connecting through the Vodafone live! Web service, users can create custom design packages (by Taito and Creek & River Co.) for the 702NK user interface at a cost of 420 yen per download (or get the NetFront mobile browser software from ACCESS to reach PC websites at 2625 yen). Matthew Nicholson, Vodafone Japan International Media Relations Manager, told WWJ “Though a number of handsets here are running the Symbian OS, we believe this is the first time Symbian content has been offered on a portal in Japan.”

DoCoMo Unveils Motorola Tri-Band 3G Smartphone

DoCoMo Unveils Motorola Tri-Band 3G SmartphoneNTT DoCoMo has partnered with Motorola to roll-out a hybrid FOMA/PDA handset with global roaming, full Internet browsing, PC mail and wireless LAN access. Launched today at a low key Tokyo press conference, the new M1000 [.jpg image] is aimed squarely at Japanese business users looking to integrate a lot of functionality into one pocket-sized package. DoCoMo has dumped both i-mode and its new FeliCa applications to make room for a tri-band system (W-CDMA, GSM and GPRS) and Internet access via Opera’s 7.5 browser. The company’s trophy handset opens Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint programs as well as PDF files, and allows multiple email functions including POP and IMAP email. It’s also compatible with 80211.b WiFi (Wow!). While equipped with pre-requisite Bluetooth compatibility, this new Motorola is not loaded with DoCoMo’s flagship product, i-mode access — a first for a major handset since 1999, as far as we can determine. Will this be a cool crossbreed or Frankenstein monster?

QUALCOMM Comples Interoperability Testing on DoCoMo's 3G Network

QUALCOMM Incorporated, pioneer and world leader of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) digital wireless technology, today announced the successful completion of WCDMA interoperability testing (IOT) on NTT DoCoMo’s 3GPP WCDMA-compliant FOMA network. The IOT began in June 2004 using QUALCOMM’s Mobile Station Modem(TM) (MSM(TM)) MSM6250(TM) chipset and software solution. The successful testing included extensive network performance, standby-time and talk-time evaluations. In addition to the existing interoperability of QUALCOMM’s solutions with global WCDMA networks, the successful conclusion of IOT with DoCoMo ensures that the software for the MSM6250 chipset and all future QUALCOMM WCDMA chipsets will also be fully compatible with the FOMA network.

Mitsubishi Electric Selects ACCESS NetFront i-mode Global Profile

ACCESS announced that its NetFront(r) i-mode(tm) Global Profile integrated software solution was selected by Mitsubishi Electric for deployment in its M430i i-mode handset. The M430i is currently offered by leading i-mode operators such as Bouygues Telecom, COSMOTE, E-Plus, Far EastTone, KPN Mobile, Telefonica Moviles, BASE, Telestra, and WIND, with additional i-mode operators to follow. NetFront i-mode Global Profile is a comprehensive, integrated solution specifically optimized for the i-mode Global service. It offers operators and their handset partners seamless i-mode Global deployments while reducing overall cost and time-to-market.

Japan's Most Popular Cell Phones

According to research done by Idomco that surveyed handset sales in the greater Tokyo area for the week ending 3 April, the NTT DoCoMo NEC 901ic in white pearl is No. 1 in the ranking of top 20 models. The survey also notes a new entry on the charts, in 4th position, for DoCoMo’s SH700i by Sharp in black; 17 of the 20 are 3G handsets. Log-in to access the full list.

Sports Geek Heaven — Live Baseball for the Mobile Screen

Sports Geek Heaven -- Live Baseball for the Mobile ScreenThe weather is warming up and that means a lot more than Cherry Blossoms in this country — bring out the beer and bentos! Baseball season is back! The new season also brings some cool new technology that will knock pro baseball off the TV screen, out of the ballpark, through the sports bar doors’ and right onto your keitai screen. Like many traditional staples of entertainment here, pro baseball is going mobile — but with a decidedly animated twist.

Tokyo-based Craftmax’s Digital Stadium broadcasts select American and Japanese pro-ball games over DoCoMo 3G cell phones transforming live action into an animated play-by-play, pitch-by-pitch rendition of the game right down to ball speed and trajectory, complete with an electronic scoreboard, the roar of the crowd and sound effects for hits, runs and score changes. This is not fantasy baseball, and not an online game, but rather The Real Thing — rendered into animated avatars standing in for flesh-and-blood players. Check-out this quick video preview below of our upcoming program including a product demo and chat (which was for the most part in Japanese) with the company founder Mitsumasa Etoh.