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3G Fashion Show Launches i-Channel

3G Fashion Show Launches i-ChannelToday’s WWJ video is full of gorgeous, uhm.. mobiles. This fall, DoCoMo introduced their new 701i models using… models. The 701i-series are stripped down (sans FeliCa) and sexed-up with the carrier’s new ‘i-Channel’ push service for customers too contrarian to even try i-mode. DoCoMo also introduced two hybrid FlashCast enabled designer units; the ‘stylish’ FOMA Dolce from Sharp and the GPS-enabled SA700iS from Sanyo. The Flash lite-based system delivers scrolling news, weather and other information and comes pre configured and already switched on thus showing how easy i-mode really is, according to Mr. i-mode, DoCoMo’s Takeshi Natsuno who took center-stage after the lovely ladies had everyone’s attention.

Feature Film Mobile Marketing

Mobile phone technology is at the cutting edge of studio advertising — though less in the U.S. than in certain foreign territories, where it is far more advanced than here. “What we did for (the June actioner) ‘Batman Begins’ was we developed our first fully dedicated WAP,” Warners international marketing president Sue Kroll says. “We did that in the U.K., France, Germany and Spain and basically promoted a short code that allowed people to access the site and had all kinds of video vignettes, interviews and information about the movie. We are working to do something in Japan that’s similar for (the recently released) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Nice to See WWJ Being Aped…

Your ever-vigilant editors noticed this weekend – see below – that Engadget is looking for a video producer. Now, why do all the other cool mobile media sites pick up $26 mn in funding from the AOLs of the world.. and then decide they should start producing online video? We’ve being doing it for years — without the deep pockets. To Engadget’s credit, they often pull the latest WWJ reports. End of rant; we now return to our regular, video-enhanced, programming… 😎

NEC Electronics Announces World's First Implementation of Mobile CMADS

NEC Electronics has announced that its uPD161833M and uPD161605M LCD driver ICs, based on its Mobile CMADSTM (Current Mode Advanced Digital Signaling) high-speed serial data transmission method, will be employed in select NEC mobile handsets from the fall of 2005. This marks the first successful implementation of cutting-edge display drivers with integrated receiver circuits, as well as the first use of NEC Electronics’ Mobile CMADS technology, designed to enhance data transmission speed, performance, and mobile handset design.

Japan Approves Three New Groups for 3G

Japan Approves Three New 3G CarriersBack in 1999, when I was editing Computing Japan magazine, we ran an article entitled “Third Generation Mobile: Three Groups for 3G” looking at the three groups — NTT DoCoMo, IDO-DDI (later, with KDD, KDDI) and IMT-2000 Planning Corp. (later J-Phone) — lining up for a new license. The prediction was that “success for the 3G business depends on the digital content.” Now, 7 years later, three new hopefuls are lining up in a far more mature market, and not only content but also terminals, churn, number portability and voice versus data will be significant factors.

On November 10, Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said it would grant three new carriers licenses to operate in the 1.7 and 2 GHz bands; BB Mobile of Softbank Corp. and e-mobile of eAccess Ltd. will offer services based on W-CDMA technology while IPMobile Inc. will offer Japan’s first TD-CDMA-based services. The three are expected to launch later in 2006.

The three newcomers are entering a highly competitive market dominated by three existing incumbents: NTT DoCoMo Inc., KDDI Corp. and Vodafone K.K., which reported a collective 89.4 million subscribers as of October 31. The new players are expected to expand the variety of wireless services and pricing levels available, providing more choice and lowering costs — not least of all for terminals — according to one ministry quotation.

Accessibility for JIS Standard

The CIAJ has announced that the "JIS X 8341-4: Guidelines for Older Persons and Persons with Disabilities – Information and Communications Equipment, Software and Services – Part 4: Telecommunications Equipment" has been deliberated by the Japan Industrial Standards Committee, established as a JIS standard, and notified in an official government gazette. These guidelines define items which are essential and items which are desirable from an accessibility standpoint in the planning, development and design stages so that telecommunications equipment can be operated without difficulty by all people, including older persons and persons with disabilities.