Just when you thought that cellphones could not possibly get any smaller! Check-out the latest lineup of DoCoMo FOMA 903i models, now available online from Strapya World, which are 40% smaller than scale and selling for less than a mere $3 usd each. You can’t choose which model will be sent when ordering a single unit so the company suggests buying the whole collection. I think we will.. š
Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) has announced [in Japanese] the development of an information delivery terminal for mobile phones equipped with FeliCa. This so-called Electric Wave Poster system is composed of their ‘PetitPorta’ reader unit and a dedicated URL management server which is configured to deliver information related to the POP (point of purchasing advertisement) to RFID enabled handsets. The total number of accesses for each Petit-Porta location can be tracked and, if desired, a membership prompt is also possible in order to collect user information for loyalty programs or future marketing campaigns.
DoCoMo just announced that subscribers to their flat-rate data communication billing plans “pake-hodai” and “pake-hodai full” surpassed the 10 million mark on May 1, 2007. The pake-hodai plan, launched on June 1, 2004, allows 3G FOMA i-mode subscribers unlimited viewing of i-mode content for a flat monthly subscription fee of 4,095 yen (including tax). The pake-hodai full plan, introduced on March 1, 2007, enables subscribers with full-browser handsets to view not only i-mode sites but also browse PC websites for a flat monthly subscription fee of 5,985 yen (including tax). Neither plan applies to data surfing using connected devices, such as PCs, and cannot be used outside Japan.
On Monday 23 April NTT DoCoMo unveiled their latest 3G handsets, the 904i-series, at a press conference held here in downtown Tokyo.
WWJ pointed to this webcast of their presentation, which clearly stated from the very beginning the new “DoCoMo 2.0” campaign theme.
We shouldnāt really be surprised that the main message, from Japanās dominant mobile operator, contained in the announcement somehow managed to get 2.0 attention from the mainstream media. With few exceptions, the entire tech web focused on the motion-sensor for gaming application. Few if any noted how ironic it was that while the company insisted it was going to āfocus on offering unique applications and services that will be difficult for the competition to duplicateā they were in fact introducing a functionality which was originally made available in Japan [video here] by Vodafone and Sharp over two years ago.
Perhaps the gritty details — such as the fact that all five new models will (of course) ship pre-installed with the Osaifu-Keitai FeliCa mobile wallet together with related security services — are less appealing to the overseas media than Nokiaās recent announcement that they, too, have the mobile wallet urge?
To be sure, there were a few interesting new offerings in Natsuno-san’s presentation, such as the 2-in-1 dual-identity option and flat-rate access to Napster’s full music library service. However, one of the main observations we take away from this news is that the rest of the world still tends to focus only on the most quirky headlines (wait until the MSM find out about this one). WWJ subscribers login for our thoughts on this latest development.
As we had hinted here last week, DoCoMo has just announced their latest 3G FOMA handsets – the 904i-series – this afternoon at a downtown Tokyo hotel. While you may not be able to attend the event in person, they will have a video broadcast of the presentation online here starting at 18:45 (GMT+9).
Following this press release on March 15, which indicated that DoCoMo would introduce a new 3G handset developed with award-winning designer Stefano Giovannoni, the company has announced the N904i, produced by NEC, will make its world debut during Milan’s celebrated Design Week. The exhibition will take place at Superstudio PiĆ¹ in Zona Tortona, a popular area of the city.
The recent round of international press devoted to āthe next big thing for mobileā has an interesting, and recurring, theme. It started with a fair amount of mainstream media attention devoted to the statements made at CTIA during Visaās keynote address regarding the evolution of mobile payments. Around the same time we notice that Capt. Kirk went boldly where no ex-pat Canadian would dare go (Toronto in March) to attend this presser with Ted Rogers promoting a new fangled mobile web-cam handset, which the company breathlessly hailed as āa landmark in wireless communicationsā.
We also noticed this special op-ed from Card Technology about how Sony is potentially challenged to get their m-commerce product outside of Japan. The article did some great work, however thereās plenty of room for a counter-point discussion. One thing rings true, both of these technologies were deployed here in Japan years ago and like the camera-phone will begin making their way into markets overseas in due course.
We’ve noticed an unusually agressive ad campaign for the new P903iTV phone from Panasonic over the last few weeks. This latest handset, which was released in late February as the follow-up to the Japan’s original 1Seg. digital tv debut unit for DoCoMo, touts an improved “vibrant screen” display. Like Sony with the Bravia line or Sharp’s trendsetting Aquos brand before them, Panasonic has based this product on the same “PEAKS” processor technology used with their home television offering. Check-out this video from their website which is running here in prime-time TV slots.
DoCoMo just announced that the company will begin marketing (only via their Internet online sales channels and for a limited time) the exclusive special-edition M702iS DOLCE & GABBANA handset developed jointly with Dolce & Gabbana and Motorola. The designer model, which costs 75,000 yen (including tax), will be available for purchase via PC and i-mode Japanese language portals from 08:30 on April 20, 2007 until May 31 at 10:30 pm, or while supplies last.
Adobe just announced that DoCoMo’s i-channel news and information service, powered by FlashCast technology, has surpassed 10 Million subscribers in Japan. DoCoMo hit this important milestone just 18 months after the launch. The rapidly expanding data service is delivered through 25 channels to almost 20 percent of all NTT DoCoMo customers. i-channel allows subscribers to automatically receive five basic channels, including news, entertainment, weather, horoscopes and sports.
