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Mobile Phones Shake up Shareholder Meetings

Mobile Phones Shake up Shareholder Meetings

What is the sound of one hand tapping? If you are a shareholder in NTT DoCoMo it could be a pretty loud sound indeed reverberating right into the executive boardroom. Shareholders at NTT DoCoMo’s Tuesday, 21 June, shareholders meeting will be able to vote by cell phone through a secure site tapping in ‘yea’ and ‘nay’ at their convenience without trudging all the way down to the New Otani Hotel in Akasaka.

NTT is one of a growing number of Japanese corporations mainstreaming cell phones into shareholder operations. Panasonic, video game maker Taito Corp., [.pdf] and Sony [.pdf] are each allowing M-votes at shareholder meetings this year. Voters receive an access code and password in their voter’s invitation/agenda (generally sent out a couple of weeks in advance). For the Panasonic meeting on 29 June, m-voters connect quickly to the secure site by scanning a QR code (scroll down) which kick starts the password process. DoCoMo shareholders also streamline through with a QR code. Both secure mobile and Internet voting sites may be handled by banks such as UFJ for Sony’s meeting or Chuo Mitsui Trust and Banking at Panasonic’s.

MTV Japan Launches Exclusive Mobile Music Channel

MTV Japan Launches Exclusive Mobile Music Channel

Executives from MTV Networks were in Tokyo to launch their new Japan-exclusive mobile and online entertainment channel, Flux. The service will initially be available exclusively on KDDI through au EZWeb. Subscription fees are set at 315 yen per month. Scheduled to begin broadcasting on June 30th, Flux targets 13-34 year-olds with original Japanese video and animation productions and programming from the global MTV Networks library. Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants will splash down onto Flux as well – his first adventures in Japan outside Nick network here. Nickelodeon and MTV are part of the Viacom Inc. broadcasting empire.

Two locally produced animations already signed on are Lightman, described in a press release as “a superhero who battles against the forces of evil,” (no, you’re kidding? Against evil?) and “Hanamoski”, a series of clips “starring an elephant with a very long trunk”. That’s nice. Clips will be broadcast on mobile in 1-3 minute episodes, see the press release for more programming details.

KDDI Awards Expansion of Nationwide Network Build in Japan to Corrigent

Corrigent Systems, a leading provider of Packet ADM (Add Drop Multiplexer) for next-generation transport networks, today announced that its CM-100 Packet ADM was selected by KDDI for the second phase deployment of its nationwide buildout of packet-based metro transport network in Japan. KDDI will use the 10Gbps Corrigent Packet ADM for its second phase build that consists of expanding its service areas further. The first phase deployment, announced last year and consists of over 1,000 units of the CM-100 packet ADM, is carrying commercial traffic. KDDI’s packet-based metro networks are built to support new services such as Metal-Plus for IP-based telephony and Hikari-Plus, a complete voice, video and data triple-play offering, as well as KDDI’s 3G cellular telephony services.

Mobile Phones Jump and Jive at 3G Wireless Disco

Mobile Phones Jump and Jive at 3G Wireless DiscoHong Kong’s Artificial Life turns 3G handsets into funky dance machines via V-disco, a wireless subscription site combining chat, music streaming and music downloading to mobile phones with interactive 3D graphics and animated virtual avatars. V-Disco will initially launch throughout China, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Japanese 3G handsets should come on line in the very near future. The company plans to take on Japan’s 3G market full throttle and is currently in negotiations over its debut here.

Users and visitors to the virtual disco select an avatar persona for themselves and join the party in the club’s three interactive levels. Club goers select genres and songs from the club list, listening to their tunes while their avatar strolls along chatting – if they choose – with other party people in real time and checking out 3D animated characters moving to the beat. Avatars act as guides, companions or dancing doppelgangers. Though the figures retain a slightly cylindrical, rubbery look the V-Disco has a fun Dance Dance Revolution feel to it with a good backbeat.

Mobile Tetris No. 1 on Verizon

Verizon Wireless is giving classic arcade games new mobile life with Get It Now and the getGAMES shopping aisle. A virtual software store on customers’ wireless phones, Get It Now offers customers a selection of more than 500 games, productivity tools, information services, ring tone providers, wallpaper providers, an IM chat client — Mobile IM — that includes access to Yahoo! Messenger, MSN(R) Messenger, or AOL(R) IM (AIM), and more right at their fingertips. Looking at the most popular game titles from Verizon Wireless, it’s no surprise that the most widely played and famous computer game of all time leads both the top 10 games and top classic games categories. Namco’s Tetris(R) by JAMDAT Mobile gives addicts longing for video game action the freedom to play the game virtually anytime, virtually anywhere. Available on Verizon’s select Get It Now-enabled phones for $2.99 monthly access or $6.99 for unlimited use purchase.

DoCoMo to Sell Nokia 3G Phones

NTT DoCoMo will start selling Nokia Oyj phones as early as October, getting its second foreign handset maker after Motorola Inc. for its high-speed network. Nokia, the world’s largest mobile-phone maker, will produce a model for DoCoMo’s 3G network, which allows users to download music and video clips and access the Internet at a faster rate than older phones, Chief Financial Officer Yoshiaki Ugaki said in an interview in Tokyo yesterday.