LG Electronics announced they have successfully demonstrated 3.5G high-speed data transmission at CTIA Wireless 2005, taking place in New Orleans, March 14-16, using Lucent Technology’s 14-Mbps download-supportive W-CDMA system, as well as the company’s own HSDPA-enabled mobile phone. According to the company, the model is the same used in a successful test run at Nortel Lab on 6 March, the first of its kind in the world.
Vodafone K.K. today announces that, as part of its new 3G lineup, it plans to offer the Vodafone 902T handset by Toshiba in late April. The Vodafone 902T features an Active Turn Style design, which allows the display to swivel 180 degrees clockwise while the handset is open, so customers can enjoy the most suitable style when taking pictures or making video calls. Using a concept called Switch to Fun!, the Vodafone 902T’s design was conceived to enable customers to fully enjoy 3G services. The Vodafone 902T is a high-end model in the Vodafone 902/802/702 series that takes full advantage of Vodafone 3G services, with features that include an auto focus 1.92 megapixel camera, a 2.4-inch QVGA screen, twin stereo speakers and Bluetooth support.
DoCoMo, Inc. announced the launch of the N700i and P700i, the last two handsets in the new 3G FOMA 700i series, through DoCoMo sales channels nationwide on March 11. The N700i comes in three stylish body colors, which can be combined with any of ten snap-on Style Plus custom jackets for a total of 33 color combinations. Both the handset body and custom jackets have antibacterial surfaces. The P700i, the lightest FOMA handset available, features an expansive 2.2″ QVGA LCD screen and high-performance 1.25-megapixel camera. The body is stylishly texturized and color choices are thoughtfully matched to preinstalled icon-based menus and standby screens.
KDDI has opened an Alpha Pup playland for its mobile universe right in the heart of Tokyo fashion central — Harajuku. Five floors of interactive phones and games, KDDI Designing Studio sits strategically at the mouth of Takeshita Dori at one of the area’s busiest intersections.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony on 3 March, we listened to KDDI’s President Tadashi Onodera describing the strategy behind the choice of locations, saying the company has to synch with the needs and wants of its customers and their changing lifestyles: “It is Harajuku that draws the opinion leaders of Japan’s youth culture.” Youth culture is a prime focus for Japan’s top 3G provider. Their Chaku Uta Full music download system and EZ Game Street mobile gaming portal are exactly what the pediatrician ordered for young mobile slackers looking for portable fun. The company hopes a flood of trendy pop princes and princesses will wash through Designing Studio’s sliding glass doors, reaching out for KDDI’s cutting-edge techno fun as they flow on through.
Sony Ericsson today kick-started its entry into the mobile music market with the announcement of the W800 [ .jpg image ], the first Walkman-branded mobile phone. It will now be possible to listen to music, handle phone calls and take pictures and video — all with one device and with, according to company claims, no compromise in quality. The Sony Ericsson W800 is the first device that combines a mobile phone, a high-quality digital music player (with up to 30 hours’ battery life), and a 2-megapixel camera.
In today’s program, we speak with Yutaka Nakamae from Panasonic’s Corporate External Relations Group who met with us during last fall’s CEATEC consumer electronics show in Tokyo. While there’s plenty of eye candy, including Panny’s 900iV (released in mid-2004), some skin-able models to please those who can’t decide on their favorite color and the very cool GSM X700 (now on sale in Europe), the real intelligence relates to finding our who’s boss in the carrier/manufacturer relationship (Hint: Who owns the customer?). Today’s proggy is not only a fun one — showing some great cellys from the October CEATEC show — but it also reconfirms the reality of the relationship between cell-phone makers and cellular operators in Japan — in this case, Panasonic and DoCoMo.
