TTPCom and NEC Collaborate to Develop Dual-mode 3G/2G Chips
TTP Communications and NEC Electronics Corporation, the leader in single-mode (W-CDMA) 3G baseband chips in Japan, today announce that they are joining forces to develop dual-mode chips that will include TTPCom Limited’s EDGE/GPRS/GSM silicon and software architecture. This fast-track route to the development of 3G/2G chips will help NEC Electronics increase its presence in the global market. NEC Electronics is developing a dual-mode 3G/2G chipset to address the growing world market for dual-mode wireless products that can handover to EDGE/GPRS/GSM networks outside pockets of 3G coverage.

The 901i-series of 3G FOMA cell phones is DoCoMo’s latest tactical weapon in Japan’s escalating “lighter and smarter” mobile arms race. The four 901i handsets come packed with sophisticated go-go fun: twin stereo speakers and spatially enhanced sound; fat video and music files (500KB); pre-loaded games from Square Enix, Capcom and others; FeliCa smart-card e-wallet functions (in three models); 2-megapixel cameras; a TV guide for accessing TV program listings as far as eight days in advance (in one model) with genre and keyword searches including customized settings and registration for favorite TV shows plus it doubles as a remote control for TVs, DVD-Ds and VTR machines. Wow!
Vodafone raised the competitive bar a couple a couple notches today with the announcement of two new killer swivel clamshells phones: the V603T and V603SH (from Toshiba & Sharp; both 2G). The company said the V603SH is the first phone to feature a Motion Control Sensor that recognises and responds to movements. Jointly developed by Aichi Steel Corp. and Vodafone, the one-chip sensor allows customers to perform menu operations by moving the handset up, down, left or right. Vodafone think this will allow new possibilities with mobile gaming, such as aiming a gun by moving the handset while playing shooting games or swinging the phone like a golf club to hit a ball in golf games. Watch our video clip of the new V603SH above taken at the press event (shot with a V902SH handset); use Quick Time or Real Player to view