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Sharp

DoCoMo 901i – Next Generation FOMA Handsets Debut

DoCoMo have just launched their next generation FOMA handsets at a splashy event at Tokyo’s Imperial Hotel — complete with bikini-clad beauties, big-name stars, and a sound and light show that blasted their five new 901i handsets into the spotlight. The D901i, F901iC, N901iC, P901i, and SH901iC models all come equipped with a 2-megapixel camera, stereo speakers, and enhanced audio and video for even more multi-slacking fun. In a ‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!’ press event move, DoCoMo announced that only the SH901iC will be ready for nationwide release on 26 November. Other handsets will ‘follow’ with no specific release dates given. DoCoMo says sales of FOMA cellys stand at 7.3 million. Sales of i-mode-compatible FeliCa e-wallet handsets stand at 600,000 units; infrared signal-compatible handsets, 27.2 million, and bar-code reader terminals, 14 million. Watch our video report here.

Cell-Phone Soap Opera a Cool New Genre

Love comes to the really, really small screen in a mobile, only-in-Japan, soap opera made exclusively for KDDI 3G cellys. The live-action soap opera, Yokohama 80s, follows the predictable lives, loves, and losses of young, beach-loving Japanese boys and girls back when Madonna was still Like a Virgin. Eighties’ big hair, big shoulders, and big hits have been downsized to tiny, two-and-a-half-minute broadcast bites. The story is adapted from Shogakan Shukan’s weekly Big Comic Spirits-series “Tokyo Eighties” (published as a serial manga) but features all-new original characters and storylines by the same author. Can the mobile laundry soap commercials be far behind?

Sharp's IC Module for E-passports

Sharp Corporation has developed a large-capacity, high-transmission-speed contactless IC module for electronic passports (e-passports). The world’s first IC module based on the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) e-passport recommendations, this product has just been put into use by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) for an e-passport pilot program that began this October.

Sharp's New 4GB Hard Drive PDA

Sharp will begin marketing November 10 the latest model in the Personal Mobile Tool Zaurus series of PDAs. The SL-C3000 PDA [.jpg image] is the first in the industry to feature a built-in 4GB hard drive to enable users to carry large-volume data such as business documents, photo images, music and video. It can also be doubled as an external hard drive when linked to a PC via a bundled USB cable.

Japan Cellphone Sales Off 8.5%

IT researcher and consulting firm Gartner Japan has announced sales in Japan of cellular phones between January and June. Sales reached 22,133,100 units, down 8.5% over the same period last year. The company attributes the decline in sales to the fact that demand for camera phones was not as brisk as a year ago. Gartner also reports that W-CDMA phones accounted for almost 15% of total cellphone sales.

ACCESS Announces Mobile Professional Version of NetFront Internet Browser

ACCESS, a global provider of mobile content delivery and Internet access technologies, today announced the availability of NetFront v3.2 for the Nokia 6670 smartphone and other Series 60 smartphones. NetFront v3.2 for Nokia Series 60, the latest version of the world’s most widely deployed and actively used embedded browser, provides an optimum browser solution for Series 60 mobile professionals. NetFront v3.2 for Nokia Series 60 will be available as a preinstalled application on the MMC (MultiMedia Card) included with the new Nokia 6670 phone and will also be available from Nokia Software Market (www.softwaremarket.nokia.com) and Handango (www.handango.com) later this month.