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NTT DoCoMo and Motorola Announce 3G FOMA Handset Developement

NTT DoCoMo, Inc., Motorola Inc. and Motorola Japan Ltd. announced today that they have signed an agreement to jointly develop a FOMA handset targeting business users by taking advantage of high-speed 3G FOMA technologies. Commercialization is scheduled for spring 2005. The new handset, which is compatible with GSM/GPRS technologies, will be the first FOMA model that may be used outside of Japan. Unlike i-mode®-capable phones, the handset will enable access to the internet through mopera® or any other available internet connection service. What’s more, its browser will be able to display standard web pages. Full Press Release Here.

DoCoMo to Launch i-mode Disaster Message Board Service in English

NTT DoCoMo Inc. and its eight regional subsidiaries announced that they will add English language capability to the i-mode® Disaster Message Board service beginning September 1, 2004. DoCoMo set up this electronic bulletin board service in Japanese last January, to be activated in the event of a major calamity such as a high-magnitude earthquake. The bulletin board will enable i-mode subscribers within the disaster area to post messages in order to notify family and friends of their personal safety and whereabouts. The service was launched in order to ensure communication and prevent a degradation in network performance, since an overflow of voice calls and data packet transmissions would likely follow a major disaster.

Aplix and DoCoMo to Jointly Develop Doja/Java Prototype for FOMA

Aplix Corporation announced today a cooperative agreement with NTT DoCoMo, Inc. to jointly develop a DoJa/JavaTM platform prototype for FOMA(r) devices. DoJa/Java platform is the application execution environment for NTT DoCoMo’s i-appli(r). The two companies will develop a platform for FOMA based on Aplix’s JBlendTM platform technology. Through this joint development, the two companies will assess performance enhancements of the DoJa/Java platform and the possibility of reducing development costs by standardizing the i-appli execution environment.

Ryozanpaku Launches i-mode Pachinko Service in Japan

Ryozanpaku International, Inc., announced today that it has successfully established itself as an authorized Docomo i-mode content provider in Japan. Japanese consumers can now access the latest news and information on the Pachinko industry directly from their mobile phones. In April 2004, Ryozanpaku entered into a service and revenue sharing agreement with MS Communications Co., Ltd. Under the agreement Ryozanpaku is an authorized Docomo i-mode content provider and is permitted to deliver its proprietary content over the Docomo i-mode network.

DoCoMo NOT to Drop i-mode in Japan

UPDATE 2: The Feature has “sort of” come clean, admitting their original story that DoCoMo was going to “drop i-mode” was utter rubbish. Of course, we smelt a rat as soon as the story, written by someone poorly translating a Japanese source, flashed around tech pages, as noted from the text following this update…”This story sounds a little fishy to us, since the reference to a Nikkei Shimbun story came from Total Telecom via Techdirt we’ve done some quick fact checks and seems that perhaps its a translation issue and/or a mis-understanding of terms.”

While it is true that DoCoMo is beginning to push migration of 2G (PDC) users to their 3G (W-CDMA) network, that has nothing to do with the i-mode service itself. Most telling is that NE AsiaBP who run the english side of Nikkei have no mention of what would be perhaps one of the most significant stories coming out of Tokyo this month.

UPDATE FINAL: We asked for clarification from DoCoMo PR and will set the record straight. “There is definitely no plan to end the i-mode brand in Japan,” according to the company’s Masanori Goto Saturday on July 24 at 16:00 JST.

3G Phones with Flash or WLAN

3G Phones with Flash or WLANThis free-for-all program takes you to KDDI’s recent launch event at the Imperial hotel announcing the carrier’s three new WIN handsets, all now making use of Macromedia Flash lite. You’ll get a close-up of these phones in action plus tips on the new 3G flat-rate price plan coming in August. We also highlight NTT DoCoMo’s N900iL dual-mode 802.11b/W-CDMA handset based on the FOMA N900i which, unfortunately, has been transformed into the de facto proprietary, intranet-only “Passage Duple” WLAN phone by NEC and DoCoMo. While future versions may run on the consumer-targeted M-Stage platform, for now this first baby step into the dual-mode 3G/Wi-Fi world is aimed exclusively at corporate-controlled walled gardens.