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Nokia

Japan Prepares to Export 3G Phones

Originally published as a guest column in Fierce Wireless, 9 June – Ed.
If 2001-2003 has been Phase 1 of Japan’s 3G era (all three major carriers launched W-CDMA or CDMA 2000 networks in this period), then 2004 is definitely shaping up to be Phase 2 — and the difference is that now Japan 3G is moving overseas. The assault is being led in part by Japan’s keitai makers who, under NTT DoCoMo’s lash, have invested heavily in sophisticated new terminals and are now looking to markets further afield in order to generate additional ROI.

Japan Cell Phones: Most Individualized, Intimate Technology

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) isn’t particularly renowned for exciting, fun-to-read reports. The global standards body tends to produce authoritative but somewhat plodding publications that delve into the arcana of topics like radio spectrum management and regulatory trends. But a recent case study examining how Japan’s mobile Internet works and highlighting some of the key technology and applications driving 3G is refreshingly non-academic, not to mention pretty darn accurate.

New Nokia 3G Mobile Phone for Japan

The dual-mode GSM / W-CDMA “Nokia 7600” handset which was announced last October will finally hit the streets in Japan by middle of June. At the suggested retail price of 73,290 yen (or approx. $700 usd) and apparently not supporting Vodafone Live, although it conforms to the .3gpp standard, we wonder just how well this will be recieved. The unit does have a camera built-in its stylish Euro design [.jpg image] to compliment the bluetooth and global roaming sim card functions, and will be available at Nokia shops online and at Narita airport.

Vodafone Launches 3G in Europe

Vodafone has chosen South Korea’s Samsung to provide its first 3G phone for their kickstart launch of services in Germany and Portugal, but hopes to expand its range over the coming months to include handsets from Sony Ericsson. People close to the operator said Vodafone was also in discussions with LG of Korea and Japan’s Sanyo to purchase additional phones, highlighting Asian manufacturers’ lead in 3G technology. However, Finland’s Nokia is also developing a phone for Vodafone.

Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Forge 3G Handset Alliance

Here’s one for the books: Symbian OS proponent Fujitsu and Mitsubishi (which makes decent handsets for the domestic market but is unknown outside of Japan) have announced that they are getting together to develop new FOMA handsets. The press release today appears to be dressed up in terms of Fujitsu offering its expertise to Mitsubishi with Symbian, but it also hints that the two will combine on hardware development too. Given the fact that Fujitsu is a leading proponent of Symbian, and that DoCoMo president Keiji Tachikawa hinted that Symbian will be the OS of choice, the announcement looks as if Mitsubishi has figured the lay of the land and jumped on the bandwagon.