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Ryozanpaku Launches i-mode Pachinko Service in Japan

Ryozanpaku International, Inc., announced today that it has successfully established itself as an authorized Docomo i-mode content provider in Japan. Japanese consumers can now access the latest news and information on the Pachinko industry directly from their mobile phones. In April 2004, Ryozanpaku entered into a service and revenue sharing agreement with MS Communications Co., Ltd. Under the agreement Ryozanpaku is an authorized Docomo i-mode content provider and is permitted to deliver its proprietary content over the Docomo i-mode network.

Macromedia's Flash Lite Shines

Fujitsu's New VoIP/PHS HandsetFlash has been an integral part of the fixed-line Web for years and with its launch on DoCoMo’s 505i-series 2G handsets in spring 2003 (and on FOMA 3G last fall), it has developed into a mobile Web standard in Japan as well; six major Japanese manufacturers are already producing Flash-enabled handsets. Flash has now rolled out on yet another batch of 3G phones, this time from KDDI. We caught up with Macromedia’s senior director of marketing for mobile, Anup Murarka, at KDDI’s launch event in Tokyo and had a fascinating discussion about the past, present, and future of Flash for wireless. Full Program (also available in Real Player and Quick-Time formats) Run-time 20:51

DoCoMo's 1Q Profits Slip 13%

NTT DoCoMo released their first quarter earnings for fiscal year ending March 31, 2005 yesterday. Net income fell to 170.4 billion yen, or $1.53 billion yen, in the three months that ended June 30, from 196.8 billion yen a year earlier. Sales fell 2.5 percent, to 1.22 trillion yen. Despite adding 1.5 million new 3G subscribers they announced a 13% drop in profits over the same period last year. “Our subscriber growth is solid,” Masayuki Hirata, DoCoMo’s senior executive vice president, said at a news conference, “but many of our current initiatives are essentially price cuts, and the migration of customers to FOMA means related costs are increasing.” According to the figures, overall revenue per subscriber dropped from 8,060 yen to 7,400 yen.

DoCoMo Unveil's FOMA N880iES 3G Phone

The new “Easy & Simple” NEC handset [.jpg image] is equipped with a camera that has an effective resolution of 320,000 pixels, and is the first model in the “Raku Raku Phone” series to be compatible with the 3G network. Users can receive voice calls and videophone calls by following the blinking keys and the instructions displayed on the screen. As with previous easy-to-use handsets, this model displays detailed image-based instructions to smoothly walk users through each step of basic operations such as creating and sending mail.

3G Phones with Flash or WLAN

3G Phones with Flash or WLANThis free-for-all program takes you to KDDI’s recent launch event at the Imperial hotel announcing the carrier’s three new WIN handsets, all now making use of Macromedia Flash lite. You’ll get a close-up of these phones in action plus tips on the new 3G flat-rate price plan coming in August. We also highlight NTT DoCoMo’s N900iL dual-mode 802.11b/W-CDMA handset based on the FOMA N900i which, unfortunately, has been transformed into the de facto proprietary, intranet-only “Passage Duple” WLAN phone by NEC and DoCoMo. While future versions may run on the consumer-targeted M-Stage platform, for now this first baby step into the dual-mode 3G/Wi-Fi world is aimed exclusively at corporate-controlled walled gardens.

JCB, AEON Develop QUICPay for FeliCa

JCB, the international payment brand, AEON Credit Service, the retail-affiliated credit card company, and NTT DoCoMo jointly announced today that JCB and AEON have developed the QUICPay payment solution for cards with contactless IC chips. The QUICPay service is also compatible with NTT DoCoMo’s smart-card handsets. A trial project for the new QUICPay solution will begin this autumn.