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Felica TownPocket Project

NTT DoCoMo has teamed up with Urahara.org and TechFirm to launch a new Felica-enabled service called TownPocket in Harajuku. Customers with RFID chip handsets will have access to easy registration for coupon campaigns, contests and prizes at 153 participating stores in the youth-trendy downtown shopping district. The campaign is set to launch on 8 August and organizers are targeting a total of 300 participating locations in the area by the end of September. [Japanese Press Release]

New Japan Alliance for RFID

Internet Initiative Japan Inc., IIJ Technology Inc., and Hewlett-Packard Japan, Ltd., have formed a business alliance for the commercialization of an RFID platform using networks based on international RFID standards called the EPCglobal Network. Through this alliance, the three companies will offer global real-time SCM (supply chain management), which can be put to practical use for intercompany and international logistics.

JR & DoCoMo Co-Op for Mobile Wallets

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (DoCoMo) announced today that they have signed a basic agreement to discuss joint development and management of common infrastructure for JR East’s Suica e-money and DoCoMo’s upcoming “Osaifu-Keitai” credit card service, both based on FeliCa smart card technology. [Ed’s note: They announced the tie-up at this presser back in March]

Fujitsu Develops New RFID Tag Chip

Fujitsu announced on June 28 that it has added an RFID tag chip with 256B of FRAM (ferroelectric random access memory) to its FerVID family of RFID tag chips. Designed using a 0.35-micron process, the MB89R119 runs at a clock speed of 13.56MHz and supports a wireless communications range of 70cm and a data speed of 26.48Kbps. The chip is sample-priced at 50 yen (46 cents). Fujitsu will launch sales on August 1, aiming to sell 5 million units per month.

Suica IC Cards Make a Splash with Electronic Posters

Suica IC Cards Make a Splash with Electronic PostersJapanese IC cards have pop posters grooving to a techno beat this summer. Fans of hunky J-Pop star Shogo Hamada just flash their Suica rechargeable RFID train commuter card at specially designed high-tech poster displays around town to reserve a copy of his newest album, My First Love. Japanese are calling this new interactive ad medium, “Denki Posta” (electronic posters). Popping up in all sorts of variations, most have plasma-display panels and flat-panel speakers.

Suica’s IC card technology has been a runaway hit in Japan. More than ten million are in circulation around the country and the service has brought in numerous retail partners for cashless payments at shops and restaurants within the stations. It was developed by Sony together with Japan Railways East Corporation and will soon migrate from hands to handsets. In January 2006, DoCoMo plans to combine their Felica smart card e-money platform with the Suica commuter card into a series of mobile handsets.

Renting Skis with RFID

EM Microelectronic has developed in cooperation with Skidata and EC-Passage a transponder chip, the EM4026, which greatly facilitates the handling and identification of rented skis or snowboards at ski resorts. The battery-less transponder, which contains the chip connected only to a small antenna, is integrated into the ski at manufacturing time and powered by the reader field that can operate at temperatures down to -40C.