SoftBank
SoftBank

SoftBank

New 3G Phones from Vodafone Japan

New 3G Phone from Vodafone JapanJapan’s lost souls and the musically minded are targets for two new W-CDMA 3G handsets from Vodafone Japan, the 903T and 803T, both by Toshiba. Scheduled for an October release, the 903T finally puts Vodafone on the real-time mobile GPS navigation map (rivals DoCoMo and KDDI have had network GPS phones for some time). Vodafone’s “Live Navi” navigation portal goes the competition one better with the addition of GPS global roaming options in the UK, Hong Kong, Holland, Spain and Germany — with more countries to follow. Of course, international roaming and Vodafone live! communication charges will apply, which might make it cheaper just to buy a guidebook.

Here in Japan, the navi service will map out routes according to specialized needs — like fewer stairs or covered access for when those typhoons hit. Vodafone’s main partner in mapping is well-known navigation data supplier Zenrin, which handles most of the live walk-through navigation and panorama shots via a split screen to show users just what they should be seeing on their route. Other partners specialize in train and subway routing, area-based restaurant maps or shopping information, as well as an international travel info site.

WLAN's Merge into BB Mobile Point

Japan Telecom and Softbank BB have agreed to integrate their public WLAN systems. The merger combines Softbank BB’s “Yahoo! BB Mobile Zone” service in cities and Japan Telecom’s “Mobile Point” service in train stations of the Japan Railway group. The combined service will become know as “BB Mobile Point” according to the companies’ joint press release.

Web Giants Aim at Mobile Frontier

Yahoo Japan is an Internet superpower on personal computers here, but when surfers use the browser on their cellphone, that famed Yahoo logo rarely pops up. In Japan, the phone screen and the Internet content underneath is almost always controlled by the mobile carrier. But Yahoo and the other major Japanese portals, like Excite Japan, MSN and Goo, see that barrier breaking down, and they are investing heavily in their mobile phone content.

Successful WLAN to 3G Trials

Ericsson and the Softbank Group said they have succeeded in a trial experiment for seamless handover of circuit-switched voice data using an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) on a 3G mobile network and wireless local area network (WLAN). This live demonstration was executed on a mobile WCDMA 3G network operated in the 1.7-GHz radio band.

Fujitsu Launches USX Field Connectivity Software Solution

Fujitsu Limited today launched its new USX(TM) field connectivity software package, which is designed to help accelerate customer innovation in the field and bring ubiquitous connectivity to the front lines of businesses. The new software package will be commercially available in Japan beginning today. The USX package is comprised of server software and client software. It leverages sophisticated presence management(*1) functions developed by Fujitsu, capable of delivering ubiquitous networking phone features that automatically route calls over the optimal network, such as wireless LAN (via internet or intranet) or internal or external phone lines, depending on the location of the mobile handset user. It also supports an optional Push-to-talk over Cellular/Wireless (PoC/W)(*2) function, enabling a user to transmit voice or data messages to multiple recipients simultaneously.

Where's Vodafone Japan's ex-CEO?

One year — almost to the day — after the dramatic power shift at Vodafone KK, we couldn’t help but wonder ‘where is Darryl Green now’..?!? So after a bit of digging it turns out that the former head of J-Phone (and then Vodafone Japan) has actually landed a new gig — in India! While speculation was rife that he would end up (like many others) moving to Softbank, it seems this next challenge — and potential reward — is even more interesting. WWJ wishes him all the best building another telco in that future mass mobile market.