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DoCoMo Announces Five New 3G Wallet Phones

DoCoMo Announces Five New 3G Wallet Phones

With little fanfare and no press conference, NTT DoCoMo has released five new 3G FOMA 901iS FeliCa-enabled handsets into the digital world: D901iS (Mitsubishi), F901iS (Fujitsu), P901iS (Panasonic), N901iS (NEC) and SH901iS (Sharp). All have certain features in common with other 901i models, including music players, “3D Sound,” Deco-Mail to decorate email, G-GUIDE interactive TV guide and recording programmer (see the .pdf for full specs). New features include a 4-megapixel recorded resolution camera for the D901iS and a full Web browser on the N901iS. The company says that the 901iS-series is DoCoMo’s first in which all models are equipped for mobile-wallet functions, but the five handsets actually do a lot more than drain virtual bank accounts. The pre-installed Adobe Reader LE, for example, enables 901iS phones to view PDF files downloaded from i-mode sites. The application includes access to all basic PDF functions including scrolling, paging, text searches, bookmarks and page rotation and users can easily email files, dial a number or navigate to a Web link in the file. But wait, there’s more…

France Telecom & ACCESS Develop Rich Media Solutions

ACCESS announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with France Telecom for the joint development of a complete wireless Internet solution based on ACCESS’ products and services. This R&D partnership will enable both companies to collaboratively design and deploy innovative, rich media mobile Internet technologies for France Telecom mobile customers. The R&D department of France Télécom and ACCESS are committed to leveraging resources and sharing expertise to develop products based on the NetFront browser framework. The technologies that will be supported within the browser framework include SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics), streaming video, SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language), and other rich media and animation technologies.

Credit Cards Go Wireless on DoCoMo Felica Handsets

Credit Cards Go Wireless on DoCoMo Felica HandsetsImpulse credit card purchases are set to take a frighteningly mobile turn in Japan after NTT DoCoMo and the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group ended several days of speculation to formally announce a strategic business and capital alliance to bring credit card payments onto DoCoMo’s Felica IC-equipped handsets. DoCoMo plans to invest nearly 100 billion yen in the venture, acquiring 34 percent of Sumitomo Mitsui Card’s (SMC) common shares for approximately 98 billion yen (over $942 million), including new shares to be issued by SMC. The technology will be enable users to swipe their Felica handset in front of a code reader and confirm credit card purchases automatically. No definite rollout date was given.

Sure, it’ll be convenient — but is it secure?

Japan Study Finds Cellphones Safe

Japan’s four mobile operators have announced interim findings [.PDF] that radio-frequency energy from mobile-phone base stations does not affect human cells. The World Health Organization has recommended further research with respect to the safety of these waves and, in response, the companies started examining the biological effect of microwave exposure from mobile phones and base stations in November 2002. The results will be announced at the Bioelectromagnetics (BEMS) Annual Meeting, 19-24 June, 2005, in Ireland, and have also been submitted to the BEMS Journal.

BenQ Chooses Renesas SH-Mobile for its Latest 2.5G GSM Phones

Renesas Technology Corp. and BenQ Corporation today announced that Renesas Technology’s industry-leading SH-Mobile application processor will be incorporated into BenQ’s latest models of 2.5G multimedia GSM mobile phones. With the first launch of Z2 in April, followed by another model in June, both models will be available in Mainland China, Taiwan, Europe and other Asian areas. Mr. Dai Hirasawa, Chairman & CEO of Renesas Technology Taiwan Co., Ltd. said: “We are pleased to provide our SH-Mobile solution to BenQ, one of the world’s leading mobile phone manufacturers. With this successful collaboration and promising business relationship in the future, I believe we will bring mobile phones powered by SH-Mobile to market faster and further increase our share in the mobile phone market.”

Livedoor Plans Tokyo Wi-Fi Venture

Internet service provider Livedoor is reportedly partnering with PoweredCom to set up some 100 WLAN access points in central Tokyo around the busy Yamanote train line according to a report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. PoweredCom is the fixed-line service arm of TEPCO, the Tokyo Electric Power Company. Though Tepco dominates PoweredCom with a share of 83.81 percent, other powerful investors include Mitsui and Mitsubishi. The Nikkei reports Livedoor’s investment in this venture is expected to hit 2-3 billion yen. The service, based on IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g WLAN standards, will be available for a monthly fee.

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?

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.

SECA Powerline Alliance

Three Japanese consumer electronics giants have created a new technology to transport Internet and media signals around the home via the electricity network, Panasonic said on Thursday. Sony, Mitsubishi and Matsushita-owned Panasonic have set up the SECA powerline alliance. They have developed a system to transfer 170 Megabits per second of data through the power lines of a home, Panasonic researcher Ingo Chmielewski told journalists at the electronics trade fair CeBIT.