ESPN and The Walt Disney Internet Group are to launch the Japanese version of X Games Mobile, a new content-based service for wireless consumers. KDDI and Vodafone have agreed to make X Games Mobile available to their customers. X Games Mobile will offer X Games-branded content including news and information, screensavers, ring tones, wallpaper, photos, logos, and streaming audio and video.
ACCESS Co., Ltd., a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced that its products will be available within the initial handsets selected by Telstra for the launch of i-mode. The profile deployment includes ACCESS’ NetFront browser, messaging client, JV-Lite(TM)2 Wireless Edition (a Sun-authorized Java client), SSL client and TCP/IP protocol stack. Handsets available for Telstra’s new i-mode service include NEC’s N410i and Panasonic’s P342i, with additional handsets to follow.
After a quick check to make double sure this isn’t some twisted April Fool joke (guess not), it seems that the folks over at Sanrio have managed to license their famous Hello Kitty character to (gasp!) Nokia [.jpg image]. Apparently coming in mid-December for Cingular “Pay-as-you-Go” customers, this predictably pink handset touts exclusive games, wallpapers and ring-tones. We bet there will be a rush of Oba-san shoppers rushing around to get a hold of one here in Japan.
Hitachi Ltd., a major electrical machinery manufacturer, and Renesas Technology Corp., a microcontroller producer equally owned by Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric Corp., have developed system-chip technology that can reduce the power consumption of cellular phones during standby time by 90%, the companies said Monday. The technology will enable mobile phone batteries to last 10 times longer with a single recharge, thereby extending their standby time to a maximum of about 30 days from the current two to three days, they said.
Since October 2001, when DoCoMo turned on its 3G network, the company’s revenue from data services has risen 27.9 percent, with customers now spending 1,970 yen, or $18.69, a month on average. Data now makes up nearly one-quarter of DoCoMo customers’ monthly bills. But the extra sales did not make up for the decline in revenue from voice calls over that period. As a result, overall spending by DoCoMo customers has fallen 6.9 percent in the past three years.
Sony’s new-wave handheld PSP game device breaks on Japanese shores 12 December, see the WWJ video here. Unfortunately, anyone beyond the Land of the Rising Sun will have to wait until March (maybe) to get their hands on one. Those with a wad of yen (dollars or Euros) to spend, though, can plunk it down right now on another Sony entertainment gizmo — one that sits on your lap instead of in your palm. Enhanced wireless connections have Sony’s newest version of their PC pooch Aibo sitting up and playing music, taking photos and dancing to a wireless beat.
Admittedly, ‘Robot as Pet’ is still a difficult concept to get around. Sure, some people prefer the touch of cold, hard metal on their skin rather than fluffy fur — but generally they don’t answer to the name ‘Pet Lover.’ (Though they may follow similar commands, “Sit! Beg!”) Even Sony seemed to realize their dog ‘bot needed more to justify its high price than just playing fetch and lurching slowly (very slowly) after its little plastic ball. The company has redesigned and repositioned the shiny ERS M2 version of Aibo as an enhanced audiovisual machine.
