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 NTT DoCoMo has announced that it will stop accepting customer applications for it’s 2G “Mova” service from 30/11. It has also announced that it is waiving charges for those porting to it’s 3G “FOMA” service.

NTT has said it is eventually looking to shut down the Mova service, and concentrate on FOMA (and I would assume it’s 4G-LTE counterpart).

Unlike Europe, this speaks volumes about the quality of coverage that the 3G networks have in Japan. I wouldn’t like to guess about the amount of at least partly-2G handsets in the Euro market, and hence when any 2G networks might be realistically shut down - but it won’t be soon…!

[Via: DMAsia.com]

Well it’s not all bad news in the financial stakes for companies in the Mobile Industry. Following Sharp’s bad news, and O2’s mixed news, comes pretty good news for NTT DoCoMo - their profits are up 41.3% in the quarter just ended!

DoCoMo is attributing this rise to both strong sales of handsets, and an increase in their subscriber numbers. In terms of money, this meant net profit was at 173.5 billion yen ($1.6 billion).

[Via: telecomasia.net]

Japan has long been known as the land where advanced mobile phones pack features that would have the average American dizzy with wonderment. Japanese handset makers have been concentrating on stuffing as much techno-gadgetry in to their dumb-phones in an attempt to woo as many Japanese tech-heads as possible.

But, there’s a problem. Japan has seen handset sales plummet 20% as the island-nation’s largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo, pulls back on handset subsidies. NTT DoCoMo reported a 41% increase in mobile phone profits, which is directly tied to their decision to charge more per handset. So, it’s not all bad news.

But, the Japanese handset market’s reduced consumption of new cellphones could point to an even more pressing issue - feature-phones packed to the gills with, well, features, have become saturated in Japan.

As smaller handset makers dumped R&D resources in to developed the latest and greatest feature phones to attract customers, the market has become so saturated with cellphone choices that Japanese population has been spread thin. So thin, in fact, that few handset manufacturers have been able to capture enough of the Japanese market-base to recoup their R&D costs.

We’re likely to see a significant shake-up in the Japanese handset market. Smaller handset makers may need to combine operations in order to stay alive in an increasingly more competitive market. And, with Samsung and Apple breaking in to the game, Japanese companies are going to be hard pressed to turn a profit.

[Via: MocoNews]

Japan’s NTT DoCoMo and AT&T announced that the extension of a 3G network to all principal islands in Hawaii has been completed. Using AT&T’s 3G network, DoCoMo customers now have access to data and voice roaming services in the main populated areas of Oahu, Hawaii, Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kauai.

NTT DoCoMo began providing 3G roaming services on Oahu in October of last year and then extended the services to other islands including Hawaii and Maui.

Even before that, in July, the Japanese mobile operator helped AT&T build the 3G network in the summery U.S. state.

[Via: slashphone]

During the Wireless Japan 2008 conference held this July 22 to 24, NTT DoCoMo exhibited its intelligent Li-ION battery for mobile phones. The idea is to detect troubles within the Li-ION battery and relay it to the user. For that purpose, a 8-bit microcomputer has been embedded onto the pack and is responsible for monitoring such battery conditions as current, voltage, temperature, state of deterioration, remaining battery level. Once a problem is detected, user would get an information projected on screen.

Best of all, the battery’s status is stored on the battery itself, so even if a user change (buy used) phones, he/she can still view prior recorded data.

In the development process, NTT DoCoMo has been working alongside Mitsumi Electric. The leading Japanese mobile operator plans to use the new intelligent batteries on its next year’s phone models.

[Via: GearLog]

AuthenTec, the “world’s leading provider of fingerprint sensors and solutions” has announced that Fujitsu’s new FOMA F906i ultra-thin world phone has integrated an AuthenTec fingerprint sensor for Power of Touch(R) features including security, convenience, personalization and navigation.

The feature-rich F906i, recently offered to subscribers of Japan’s leading wireless carrier NTT DOCOMO, utilizes AuthenTec’s new small form factor AES1710 low power fingerprint sensor. While millions of NTT DOCOMO’s mobile phones have incorporated an AuthenTec sensor to authorize contactless mobile payments and for protecting access to stored files and the user’s personal information, this is the first time a Fujitsu phone has added the benefits of AuthenTec’s TrueNav technology.

The F906i features 3G/GSM international roaming, GPS map navigation, HSDPA, “One-Segment” mobile TV, DCMX(R) mobile credit card and iD(TM) mobile credit payments, full wide VGA LCD screen. The F906i also features two cameras (3.2 megapixel and 320 kilopixel) and enables access to diverse video content and services, including DOCOMO’s Music & Video Channel which provides more than 100 channels of downloadable broadcasts spanning 14 genres.

AuthenTec’s AES1710 fingerprint sensor is based on the Company’s patented TruePrint technology, which reads below the surface of the skin to the live layer where a person’s true fingerprint resides. This unique subsurface approach enables AuthenTec sensors to read virtually every fingerprint, every time — a critical requirement in any fingerprint-enabled device. Other device features include TrueNav menu navigation, TrueFinger anti-spoofing security, and TrueMatch pattern matching to ensure the industry’s highest level of security, usability and convenience.

Crumbs! Well the technology sounds good, phones sounds nice - from my experience of touchpads with finger recognition, the key thing is ease of use - the sensor needs to get it right first time every time, else it can become an annoyance. Everything above though points to a great system!

Yesterday, NTT DoCoMo announced that it has established DOCOMO China Co., Ltd. as a wholly owned subsidiary in Shanghai, China. The new office is expected to begin operating from the end of July, as soon as the necessary governmental and commercial approvals have been obtained.

According to the official release, DOCOMO China will focus mainly on “providing mobile solutions for corporate customers, especially locally based Japanese companies.”

Now, everything would be fine and we wouldn’t suspect a thing if this happened last year. However, with Chinese telecom industry in the midst of consolidation, we’re sure DoCoMo looks forward to acquire, invest or partner with some of the players. The leading Japanese mobile operator certainly have the expertise needed… As usual, we’re watching closely.

As a response to requests from individuals and small to midsize businesses, NTT DoCoMo is launching BlackBerry Internet Service for direct connection to the Internet without the need for a dedicated server on August 1st.

The device that will “do the work” is the BlackBerry 8707h, which will be sold through the mobile operators’s online shop, corporate business division and DOCOMO Shops’ corporate business sections on August 1.

The BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) will cost 3,045 yen (around $29) per month with taxes. The FOMA basic monthly fee and normal packet charges will apply separately.

In addition, DoCoMo is preparing a discount packet-billing plan to be launched on September 1. The so called BlackBerry Data Transmission Package will enable users to transmit up to 80,000 packets of data per month for a flat charge of 1,680 yen (about $16). Data exceeding this limit will be charged at 0.0525 yen per packet.

The carrier will demonstrate the new BlackBerry Internet Service during Wireless Japan 2008 at Tokyo Big Sight from July 22nd to 24th.

[image from FarEastGizmos]

For the average person, the prospect of controlling your mobile phone’s music player and camera with a flick of the eye-balls is just a ridiculously lazy alternative to a swift finger jab or two. For the disabled, however, eye-controlled mobile tech opens the doors to a whole new world of productivity and independence.

NTT DoCoMo, always pushing the innovation envelope in the mobile field, is working on just the sort of eye-tracking tech that could eventually give disabled persons a working alternative to button-based handsets. The Frontier Technology Research Group, headed by Dr. Masaaki Fukumoto, is a research arm within NTT DoCoMo that explores new technologies - especially in “wearable computing.”

With the aid of the cumbersome-looking headgear that you see pictured above, Fukumoto is able to control a music player with eye movements alone. The head-mounted contraption tracks eye movement by way of the electrical impulses that are used by the brain to control the eyes. And, the technology can even be used to actively aim a cameraphone’s camera at a specific object, say a QR code, and take a picture.

Combined with the carrier’s other research initiatives like UbiButton, the wristwatch that detects finger movements (which has possible applications as a virtual keyboard), and the Yubi-Wa, a wearable device that turns the fingers in to a cellphone, DoCoMo is poised to redefine what we have come to expect from mobile devices and how we interact with our environment.

Commercial applications for Fukumoto’s eye-tracking technology are a few years off, and we’re looking forward to doing away with these awkward appendages called fingers.

NTT DoCoMo

Thanks, Ami! 

Apologies for the shocking pun in the title - just for a microsecond, I was feeling a bit funny…

Synaptics announced today that its ClearPad™ solution is driving the interactive touchscreen in NTT DOCOMO’s new Sharp SH906i clamshell handset. The SH906i uses Synaptics’ ClearPad technology to enable finger-input character recognition capabilities for Japanese character entry. The combination of the SH906i character recognition software and Synaptics ClearPad solution improves usability for regions with more complex alphabets. Capacitive sensing-enabled text entry allows the user to access and control any number of applications and menus on a handheld device in an efficient and intuitive manner — it is fast, easy to use, and accurate without a stylus. Synaptics’ ClearPad sensors recognize a variety of gesture input for an effortless user interface. OEMs can customize their device user interfaces using Synaptics’ growing gesture library, which includes gestures such as flick and pinch. The SH906i, for example, uses flick to flip though channels and adjust volume on its mobile-television application.

Hmm, well nothing revolutionary in terms of touch control, save for perhaps the ability to deliver Japanese character entry - something I imagine that would have taken some coding to enable!

[Via: 3G.co.uk]