music
music

music

WAMO: Mobile Music Downloads Adding Video Content

WAMO: Mobile Music Downloads Adding Video ContentWarner Music Japan and KDDI Corp. have announced an agreement which will allow access to what is billed as the world’s first mobile music bundle: a package of audio, video, graphic and text content in a single, downloadable file. The service is available on au’s CDMA 1X WIN network and launched on 1 December with Sean Paul’s Za Trinity album. The partners’ press announcement [in Japanese] indicates a steady flow of new material in the pipeline for 2006. The music bundles are available on Warner Mobile – also known as ‘WAMO’ – which aims to allow club members to gain earlier-than-anywhere-else access to the label’s releases, artist interviews and live event schedules.

The downloadable ‘WAMO Packs’ include a variety of mobile music products such as videotones, mastertones and Flash screensavers and menus as part of a single download with the intention of letting customers customize their cell phone with their favorite artist. WAMO Packs also contain bonus material, such as video commentary from the artists, detailed information about the artists and their music, photos, cover art and links to web sites for additional information online.

This evolution in mobile music will come as no big surprise to those who attended the Mobile Monday Tokyo event at KDDI’s Designing Studio in June!

Texas Instruments and DoCoMo JV

Fulfilling a commitment made last year to jointly develop 3G solutions with NTT DoCoMo, Texas Instruments Inc. today announced it has sampled a cost-competitive, multi-mode UMTS chipset developed with NTT DoCoMo to serve the worldwide 3G handset market. Part of TI’s OMAP-Vox architecture, the new OMAPV2230 solution is an integrated UMTS dual-mode digital baseband processor and advanced applications processor based on TI’s high-performance OMAP 2 architecture, TI’s proven GSM/GPRS technology, and NTT DoCoMo’s established WCDMA technology.

Vodafone's New V804SH 3G Phone

Vodafone K.K. have just announced completed development of the Vodafone 804SH [ .jpg image ], a new 3G model by Sharp, which will be marketed in Japan from mid-January 2006. The 804SH is the second handset which will include the Mobile Wallet (“Osaifu-Keitai”)-compatible function with an embedded Mobile FeliCa smartcard to support the ‘Vodafone live! FeliCa’ service, which lets customers use their handsets in ways relevant to their daily lives such as for transportation ticketing, electronic money shopping and point card services. The 804SH is also Vodafone K.K.’s first 3G handset to feature a Motion Control Sensor that responds to movements, thus enabling customers to enjoy new virtual gaming experiences by moving the handset in corresponding directions.

Vodafone Releases the V604SH

Vodafone K.K. just announced that on 19 November 2005 it will commence nationwide sales of the V604SH [ .jpg image ] entertainment handset made by Sharp, which features a 3.2 megapixel mobile camera with 2x optical zoom and auto focus, along with a built-in analog TV tuner. The V604SH also features a host of entertainment functions such as a high-quality, wide-angle view, large-size 2.4-inch Mobile ASV LCD, ‘Custom Screens’ for menu screen and icon customisation with popular characters including ones from Disney, a Music Player that supports AAC and SD-Audio MP3 music files for listening enjoyment and a ‘Motion Control Sensor’ that responds to movements for new mobile gaming experiences.

Japan Approves Three New Groups for 3G

Japan Approves Three New 3G CarriersBack in 1999, when I was editing Computing Japan magazine, we ran an article entitled “Third Generation Mobile: Three Groups for 3G” looking at the three groups — NTT DoCoMo, IDO-DDI (later, with KDD, KDDI) and IMT-2000 Planning Corp. (later J-Phone) — lining up for a new license. The prediction was that “success for the 3G business depends on the digital content.” Now, 7 years later, three new hopefuls are lining up in a far more mature market, and not only content but also terminals, churn, number portability and voice versus data will be significant factors.

On November 10, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it would grant three new carriers licenses to operate in the 1.7 and 2 GHz bands; BB Mobile of Softbank Corp. and e-mobile of eAccess Ltd. will offer services based on W-CDMA technology while IPMobile Inc. will offer Japan’s first TD-CDMA-based services. The three are expected to launch later in 2006.

The three newcomers are entering a highly competitive market dominated by three existing incumbents: NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K., which reported a collective 89.4 million subscribers as of October 31. The new players are expected to expand the variety of wireless services and pricing levels available, providing more choice and lowering costs — not least of all for terminals — according to one ministry quotation.

2006: Japan's Year of the FeliCa eWallet Phone

2006: Japan's Year of the FeliCa eWallet PhoneAccording to the ancient Chinese calendar, 2006 is The Year of the Dog. More importantly, it’s shaping up to be The Year of the eWallet. Launched last summer, DoCoMo’s FeliCa-based wallet phones are a growing success and competitors Vodafone and KDDI have scrambled to launch their own FeliCa-equipped models.

A recent survey points to wide consumer satisfaction and even the BBC have started reporting on Osaifu Keitai (wallet phones). The BBC’s ‘Click Online’ producer caught up with me last month in Tokyo; they were in town to cover CEATEC, but also wanted the tech and business-model details on DoCoMo’s ‘i-mode FeliCa‘ mobile service, as well as how people are using them. The result was a pretty good TV programme (if I may say so myself), which you can watch on the Click Online site(WWJ subscribers log in for full story).