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Mobile TV Rocks!

In his 14 September WWJ Viewpoint, Philip Sugai raised some valid criticisms of the new TV cell phones and points to both technological and end-user behavior limitations that he believes doom TV phones to “DOA” status. Of these, the behavioral problems appear to be the most difficult to overcome. These criticisms, however, seriously underestimate both the technological developments that the devices will undergo in the next 18-24 months as well as the imagination and creativity that Japan’s end-users and broadcasters will apply to receiving and delivering, respectively, useful content via mobile TV (and FM radio).

Part 2 of a two-part series. Previously: MobileTV: Hype or Reality?, by Professor Philip Sugai.)

ACCESS Announces Global Profile for NTT DoCoMo's i-mode Service

ACCESS Co., Ltd., a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced the immediate availability of its new i-mode Global Profile, an integrated software solution that is optimized for the i-mode services deployed NTT DoCoMo’s i-mode alliance partners. i-mode Global Profile is a new profile that forms part of ACCESS’ NetFront Mobile Client Suite. i-mode Global Profile includes ACCESS’ market-leading NetFront technology as well as a Multi-Media Messaging Client, Java Virtual Machine (JVM), and an SSL encryption module. All technologies comprising i-mode Global Profile were developed by ACCESS and offer tight integration and functionality optimized specifically for i-mode.

Panasonic and Beyond 3G

The Japan booth at ITU Telecom Asia 2004 is showing off a super-cool concept model by Panasonic, and we’re jealous..!!! No doubt they will have it on display here in Tokyo during CEATEC next month as well, and WWJ’s looking forward to taking a test-drive with video. Also on display: a few GSM models, made by Sanyo, which are apparently much more likely to roll-out overseas sometime soon.

Single-Chip FM Tuner for Mobile Phones

Sanyo Electric recently announced a new tuner IC that integrates an FM radio receiver circuit into a single chip. It is forecast that a radio tuner will be built into 30 percent of cell phones on sale in the market in the near future, with shipments of 500 million units per year expected, said an official of Sanyo Electric.

3G Phones with Flash or WLAN

3G Phones with Flash or WLANThis free-for-all program takes you to KDDI’s recent launch event at the Imperial hotel announcing the carrier’s three new WIN handsets, all now making use of Macromedia Flash lite. You’ll get a close-up of these phones in action plus tips on the new 3G flat-rate price plan coming in August. We also highlight NTT DoCoMo’s N900iL dual-mode 802.11b/W-CDMA handset based on the FOMA N900i which, unfortunately, has been transformed into the de facto proprietary, intranet-only “Passage Duple” WLAN phone by NEC and DoCoMo. While future versions may run on the consumer-targeted M-Stage platform, for now this first baby step into the dual-mode 3G/Wi-Fi world is aimed exclusively at corporate-controlled walled gardens.

Vodafone K.K. Releases V401SA with Stereo FM Radio

Vodafone K.K. announced today that from July 15 it will offer the V401SA by Sanyo [.jpg image] which features a built-in FM radio tuner. The V401SA’s main feature is an FM radio tuner that lets customers enjoy FM broadcasts in stereo sound. Customers can also take photos and enjoy the Vodafone live! mobile internet service while listening to FM radio broadcasts simultaneously. In addition, the V401SA supports the “Now on Air” function so customers can retrieve song titles and artists names in real time while they listen to the radio. The new model features advanced slide-type design, 1.3 megapixel camera and lots of storage to saving photos for easy printing.