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Fujitsu's New VoIP/PHS Handset

Fujitsu's New VoIP/PHS HandsetEarlier this week, NTT DoCoMo showcased a prototype 3G/WLAN combination phone carefully configured to make it useless for public hot spots. Against this, Fujitsu Labs and spinoff Net-2Com Corp. have developed something much more useful — a VoIP/PHS phone aimed at the consumer market to be commercialized this fall, with CDMA, GSM, and other versions to follow “depending on market demand.” WWJ treked over to the Fujitsu Solution Forum event in Tokyo recently to have a look at this breakthrough phone; we also took a test ride on Fujitsu Lab’s new PDA unit running a virtual hotspot application that should be coming to reality near you sometime soon.

DoCoMo Drops Consumers from WLAN/3G

NTT DoCoMo took the wraps off its NEC FOMA N900i combi WLAN phone, the N900iL, today and quickly did its best to shut down the possibilities of the terminal actually being any use outside of narrowly defined office environments. According to their press release “The handset, which is scheduled to be marketed in Fall 2004, has been specifically designed to support the new PASSAGE DUPLE™ system that was developed by DoCoMo to integrate the two-network operation. Under the PASSAGE DUPLE system, the N900iL may be used as a standard FOMA handset, as well as an in-house VoIP phone utilizing a company’s internal wireless LAN network. The dual-network solution targets corporate users, and will be marketed through DoCoMo’s corporate business division and partner companies. The system will not be available through DoCoMo shop locations.”

Nation-Wide VoIP Network by Stealth?

My discussion with Steven Graff, who recently joined WWJ as marketing guru and maker-of-all-things-happen, suddenly turned technical. “Imagine being able to throw the switch on a network of several million WiFi hotspots located all over Japan. What if Yahoo’s modems permitted Yahoo to pass traffic through the user’s DSL connection and WiFi air interface independent of the home network? Today’s Viewpoint is a fable which, were it true, would shake Japan’s mobile market to the core.

Hello Hot Spots: Wi-Fi Sniffing

Hello Hot Spots: Wi-Fi SniffingDo you need hassle-free WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity? Of course you do (so do we, come to think of it!) and Hiromasa Takato, product manager at Toshiba’s Global Strategic Planning Group, claims that their ConfigFree software will soothe you into a seamless WiFi connection wherever and with whatever Bluetooth-enabled device(s) you have at hand. WWJ took Hiro, his Pocket PC e805 PDA, his laptop, and a Toshiba A5504T (au) cellie for a test run — and a beer — in downtown Shinjuku. With hotspots multiplying like tribbles and all the buzz about VoIP and Bluetooth-enabled keitai about to boom, this is definitely a WWJ peek at the future — right here and now. Subscribers read on to get the full skinny! Full Program Run-time 12:51, also available in Real Player and Quick-Time formats.

Qualcomm's Strong 3G Growth

Reporting net income up nearly 400% year-over-year, Dr. Irwin Mark Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm said “Our financial results reflect the strong acceptance and rapid global growth of 3G CDMA”. Early 3G CDMA entrants continue to perform well, KDDI, the first CDMA operator in Japan, announced its sixth consecutive month as the leading Japanese operator in net subscriber additions, and now has approximately 14 million subscribers on its 3G network.

NEC to Develop Wireless IP Phones Based on Windows CE Running Intel Hardware

NEC Infrontia Corp. has announced plans to develop wireless IP phones based on Microsoft Windows CE operating system. The plan was announced today, in accordance with the technical cooperation of Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corporation, at the Spring 2004 Voice on the Net (VON) Trade Show & Expo in Santa Clara, California. NEC Infrontia’s wireless IP phones will run Windows CE, Microsoft’s advanced real-time operating system, and leverage a new innovative hardware platform from Intel.