Sharp
Sharp

Sharp

Aplix and DoCoMo to Jointly Develop Doja/Java Prototype for FOMA

Aplix Corporation announced today a cooperative agreement with NTT DoCoMo, Inc. to jointly develop a DoJa/JavaTM platform prototype for FOMA(r) devices. DoJa/Java platform is the application execution environment for NTT DoCoMo’s i-appli(r). The two companies will develop a platform for FOMA based on Aplix’s JBlendTM platform technology. Through this joint development, the two companies will assess performance enhancements of the DoJa/Java platform and the possibility of reducing development costs by standardizing the i-appli execution environment.

Upgrading to a New Cell Phone in Japan Might Depend on Who You Are

Taking a break from the summer heat, this humble reporter was bribed with promises of nomi-hodai, all you can drink at usually unbeatable prices, to tag along as ‘the mobile phone expert’ recently in Shinjuku. So with ice tea-laden backpacks, we embarked on an blistering hot afternoon ketai safari in search of the elusive new V602sh handset from Sharp through Vodafone Japan, only to discover that this ultra-cool model was already sold out at the monster electronic consumer super-store of choice. Or was it? Thus unfolds an interesting look at how the subsidy-driven handset marketplace deals with existing vs. new customers.

Vodafone Releases Sharp TV Keitai

Are they ahead, or behind the curve. WWJ has great coverage coming up of the future showing KDDI au/ Hitachi’s W11-based digital TV tuner concept keitai at Wireless Japan 2004 in action. For the present, however, Vodafone continues to press on with analog TV tuners, and massive TV advertizing. The latest offering is Sharp’s V402SH, which will be on sale tomorrow, armed with a swivel screen that allows punters to watch TV (reception willing) even when the phone is closed. The V402SH comes with a 2.2-inch QVGA (240 x 320 pixel) LCD screen and a 1.3 megapixel CCD camera. Happy viewing! [.pdf here]

Vodafone K.K. Unleashes Sharp V602SH

Here in Tokyo, the tension is killing us – waiting for Vodafone to break out of its bolt hole and unleash its global-spanning battlewagon of 3G W-CDMA phones. While new management here does whatever it’s supposed to be doing to sweeten up Vodafone’s sour performanceof late, Little-V still has the muscle, and Sharp always the technology, it seems, to pull something out of the hat; this time its the V602SH, packing a 2.02-megapixel camera (small yawn) plus a real eye opener – an optical zoom! See for yourself in our video program from the Tokyo Business Show in May.

Vodafone's ex-CEO: The Pre-Postmortem

The news out of Vodafone today is that Darryl E. Green, CEO of both Vodafone KK and Vodafone Holdings KK, has resigned for personal reasons. An interim CEO has been appointed while the companies search for a permanent replacement. Green’s departure is not unrelated, we suspect, to Vodafone’s recent grim Japanese financial results. While it’s too early for a full postmortem, it might help bring perspective to the situation to point out a number of successes that Vodafone achieved on Green’s watch.

KDDI to Slash Fee for 3G Data

KDDI Corp., provider of the “au” mobile phone service, said Wednesday it will slash the fixed-amount charge for data transmission services such as email and Internet access, starting on Aug. 1. The au service has lagged behind the FOMA service of its archrival NTT DoCoMo in net increases of subscribers to third-generation high-speed, large-capacity data transmission services.