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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.

Change of Tack Boosts i-mode Overseas

Directly investing in foreign carriers was a fairly hefty blunder for NTT DoCoMo. It took big financial losses, and failed to establish i-mode as a global force. But a new president and a new plan have seen things change significantly. Former DoCoMo CEO Keiji Tachikawa led a number of huge investments in overseas carriers like AT&T Wireless and Three in the UK, in hopes of turning the operators into users of its i-mode system. The plan failed, to say the least, costing the company $17 billion in writedowns — a far cry from its runaway success in its home market.

Insider Visit to Tokyo's Hottest Mobile Players

Wireless Watch Japan will produce the third Mobile Intelligence mission to Tokyo, 17-22 April 2005, providing an in-depth study of the success factors, companies and technologies that have boosted Japan’s mobile Internet into the world’s No. 1 position. Full Press Release Here

In the past year, new third-generation (3G) wireless Internet services have won millions of mobile consumer customers with QR bar-code readers, e-wallet-based m-commerce, mobile TV, and CD-quality music downloading all enjoying fast consumer uptake. Furthermore, flat-rate data pricing, convergence between cellular, VoIP and fixed wireless services, and per-event billing are all fundamentally reshaping mobile business models. Nonetheless, as Japan’s carriers perfect their 3G survival strategies, they find that 3G ARPUs are actually higher than on older 2G systems.

Some of Japan's Cool New Apps

In a telephone interview with a research company in Toronto last night, I was asked for examples of the coolest new applications or services in Japan. Without a doubt, I answered, mobile music and the Chaku Uta Full song download services are really eating up packet bandwidth. The week before last, KDDI announced that the cumulative downloads for EZ Chaku Uta Full (provided via the CDMA 1X EV-DO WIN network) had surpassed 3 million as of 1 March 2005, less than four months after the 19 November 2004 launch. The company added that the 1 million and 2 million milestones were achieved on 5 January and 5 February, respectively.

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Japan Rail, DoCoMo State Mobile Suica Plans

Mobile Suica Launch VideoRecently, East Japan Rail (JR East) and NTT DoCoMo held a press event in Tokyo to announce the January 2006 start of “Mobile Suica” which will allow i-mode phones to serve as train tickets. WWJ’s Gail Nakada filed her report here and today’s video program gives you a ring-side seat to learn how Big D and JR plan to win over the hearts, minds and wallets of millions of mobile-phone using commuters (and most of them are). As you’re watching today’s press conference, there are several key points to keep in mind. First, until now, it has in fact not been possible to use your phoneas a train ticket in Japan. Despite all the live demonstrations, trade show hypeand media speculation around FeliCa, the FeliCa-based Suica cards used by JR andthe FeliCa-based i-mode handsets sold by DoCoMo have been incompatible. Yes, you could use your FeliCa handsets to buy a ticket, but the phone itself was not the ticket.

LG Demonstates 3.5G HSDPA

LG Electronics announced they have successfully demonstrated 3.5G high-speed data transmission at CTIA Wireless 2005, taking place in New Orleans, March 14-16, using Lucent Technology’s 14-Mbps download-supportive W-CDMA system, as well as the company’s own HSDPA-enabled mobile phone. According to the company, the model is the same used in a successful test run at Nortel Lab on 6 March, the first of its kind in the world.