Goin' Mobile Japan

1. 3G, 3.5G and 4G

7/13/2007
DoCoMo and KT Freetel to jointly purchase HSDPA data terminal products and services
www.nttdocomo.com (English Release)
DoCoMo will develop a USB-interfacing High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) data terminal for PCs together with Korean wireless operator KT Freetel as part of their joint purchasing tie-up. DoCoMo and KTF will conduct the development project through their Business and Technology Cooperation Committee; a body dedicated to promotion of joint purchasing established when the partners signed a strategic alliance in December 2005. The terminal will be market in Japan as FOMA A2502 HIGH-SPEED, and will be available as early as autumn 2007. Downlink speeds of up to 3.6Mbps will be available in Japan in HSDPA service areas ("FOMA HIGH-SPEED Areas"). International roaming on 3G will also be possible.

7/23/2007
Sumitomo Electric Networks succeed the field test on mobile WiMAX
www.sei.co.jp (Japanese Release)
Sumitomo Electric Networks conducted a field test using the controlled handover technology defined by the WiMAX forum. The test proved that downloading and uploading video images without interruption between cruising automobiles and WiMAX base-stations is possible. Passengers in a cruising automobile were able to communicate and videoconference with other Internet users via Skype. Both ends were able to simultaneously download VGA quality video, in addition, voice and image data was delivered to both parties without any interruption. The speed was recorded at more than 10Mbps while stationary and 5Mbps while driving. The company says that they will increase performance stability by using MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) technology that will be defined as Wave 2 by the WiMAX forum in the near future.

8/7/2007
Hitachi and Alvarion collaborate on development of mobile WiMAX system
www.hitachi-com.co.jp (Japanese Release)
Hitachi Communication Technologies and Israel based Alvarion reached an agreement to jointly develop a new WiMAX system. The purpose of the venture is to combine OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) based mobile WiMAX base station technology, developed by Alvarion, and CDMA2000 1xEV-DO based mobile high-speed data transmission system technology developed by Hitachi. The companies plan to provide a carrier level mobile WiMAX system without complicated deployment.

9/13/2007
DoCoMo develops and tests low-power LSI incorporating MIMO signal-processing technology
www.nttdocomo.com (English Release)
DoCoMo has developed and successfully tested a trial large-scale-integration (LSI) chip incorporating advanced power-saving signal-processing technologies that enabled the chip to work at sufficient, low power consumption and to be made small enough to fit into forthcoming Super 3G handsets and beyond. In the test, DoCoMo's LSI achieved a transmission rate of 200Mbps with high precision over a high-speed wireless network, while power consumption did not exceed 0. The LSI demodulates and separates MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) -multiplexed OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) signals transmitted in the 20MHz bandwidth from four antennas. Signal processing is based on MLD (maximum likelihood detection) technology that DoCoMo has originally developed for 4G wireless access. DoCoMo will continue to develop Super 3G and 4G technologies in combination with its LSI technology, as well as cooperate in the establishment of related international standards.

9/18/2007
A joint venture, based on mobile WiMAX technology, is formed for wireless broadband business
www.kddi.com (English Release)
KDDI, Intel, East Japan Railway (JR), Kyocera, Daiwa Securities Group, and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ have agreed to invest in a joint venture, Wireless Broadband Planning K.K. (WBPK). The joint venture has been established to bid for the 2.5GHz frequency band for Mobile Broadband Wireless Access System (BWA). Subsequent to obtaining a license, it will develop and operate a wireless broadband network based on mobile WiMAX technology. Under the agreement, WBPK intends to commence license application procedures for BWA base-stations based on mobile WiMAX technology. Should the company be successful in obtaining a license, the company plans to swiftly launch a mobile wireless broadband business. Share of the new joint venture will be consisted with KDDI (32.26%), Intel Capital (17.65%), East Japan Railway (17.65%), Kyocera (17.65%), Daiwa Securities (9.8%) and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (5%).

2. US Wireless companies in Japan

7/13/2007
Nextwave Wireless to purchase Mori Trust interest in IPMobile
www.nextwave.com (English Release)
NextWave Wireless Inc. (NASDAQ: WAVE), a global provider of mobile broadband products and technologies, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all shares of IPMobile, a Tokyo-based telecommunications company, held by Mori Trust. Upon closing of the transaction, NextWave will hold a 69.2% stake in IPMobile. The agreement is subject to required government approvals. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

7/17/2007
DoCoMo begins marketing BlackBerry 8707h with Japanese-language support
www.nttdocomo.com (English Release)
DoCoMo's corporate business division will distribute exclusively BlackBerry 8707h which has capability of Japanese input for e-mails (including text prediction) and other personal information management (PIM) applications and a Japanese screen menu. The launch of Japanese-language support will include localization of BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The company will also provide services along with the product sales.

9/17/2007
Google starts advertisement service of mobile website contents
www.google.com (English Release)
Google announced the availability of AdSense for Mobile, a program that contextually targets ads to mobile website content. AdSense for Mobile also allows AdSense publishing partners the ability to earn revenue from their mobile websites through the targeted placement of mobile text ads. With this program, advertisers can connect with the growing number of mobile publishers, ultimately providing users with an enhanced mobile experience that helps them find what they are looking for more quickly and efficiently on the go. AdSense for Mobile is intended for AdSense partners who have created websites specifically for mobile browsers, and who want to monetize their mobile content via contextual advertising. Like Google's other AdSense products, mobile text ads run on an auction model. The system automatically reviews the content of publishers’ mobile websites and delivers text ads that are relevant to the websites’ audience and content. Publishers earn money whenever mobile users click on the ads.

3. GPS

8/1/2007
New SNS linked with GPS is introduced
www.futurescope.jp (Japanese Release)
Futurescope opened a GPS-based mobile SNS site called “mincle”. The location of registered (free) users is identified via GPS and nearby restaurants, entertainment spots and retails stores are displayed on the mobile phone. GPS retrieves the information along with comments about the location posted by other users. Users may register their favorite location into their account and share information with friends and other users. “mincle” also has blog functionality so that designated or other registered users, depending on restriction levels, can share information as well.

8/13/2007
DoCoMo adopts Advanced Media’s voice recognition system for its Raku-raku Phone
www.advanced-media.co.jp (Japanese Release)
DoCoMo has incorporated AmiVoice voice recognition technology, developed by Advanced Media, for its Raku-raku Phone IV. The Raku-raku phone handset series is geared toward elderly users and have limited functionality and are easy to operate. Raku-raku phones equipped with GPS have a “Speak and Search” feature with that allows users to speak into the handset/GPS to obtain search results. The voice recognition technology is called DSR (Distributed Speech Recognition). DSR executes pre-processing on the handset to create so-called “characteristic volume data”, which is one thirtieth of the original data size, and is then transmitted to the server so that it enables high-quality voice recognition while limiting processing that is done on the handset.

9/12/2007
MIC revises the article on privacy protection of mobile handsets
www.soumu.go.jp (Japanese Release)
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications released a guideline revising article 26 that defines privacy protection. In this revision, the handling of information obtained by GPS on the mobile phone is specified. The Ministry decided upon the revision during the “Privacy information in the telecommunication industry” summit that was held from July 10 through August 10. The guideline sates that privacy with location data has to be based on the consent of the user every time prior to the GPS-based service provided and that the user may cancel such a service at anytime. Moreover, the service provider needs to inform that it provides such location-information to the user each time of the service.

9/20/2007
DoCoMo starts easy location search service for mobile users
www.nttdocomo.co.jp (Japanese Release)
The new service provided by DoCoMo allows the current location of a mobile phone user to be searched by friends and family members. For those who have GPS mobile phones, latitude and longitude information will be transmitted; and for those without GPS, the approximate location of the user can be obtained via base stations. These services are only available for DoCoMo FOMA users. It requires users’ consent before providing location information.

4. Mobile Commerce

7/3/2007
Casio and DoCoMo establish joint venture to Provide Digital Payment Systems Partnerships
www.nttdocomo.com (English Release)
Casio and DoCoMo have agreed to form a joint venture company to provide digital payment systems, mainly for DoCoMo's iD mobile credit-card platform, and related customer relationship management (CRM) services that enable proprietors to systematically manage and analyze sales information. The joint venture, to be named CXD NEXT, will begin providing services on September 1. Combining Casio's digital cash-register technologies and retail support know-how with DoCoMo's expertise in mobile payments, CXD NEXT will develop services centered around Casio's new cash register with virtual private network (VPN) capability and reader/writer compatibility for mobile e-wallet services. The register, which also supports magnetic credit cards, will connect via the Internet VPN to servers provided by CXD NEXT.

7/30/2007
McDonald and DoCoMo establish a new venture for mobile commerce
www.mcd-holdings.co.jp (Japanese Release)
www.nttdocomo.co.jp (Japanese Release)
McDonald holdings Japan and DoCoMo established “The JV Company” that will promote membership-based marketing activities for mobile commerce using DoCoMo’s Osaifu Keitai (electronic wallet) services. McDonalds’ owns 70% of the new company while DoCoMo owns 30%. McDonald will install the reader/writer equipment of DoCoMo iD (credit-card platform) at 50 stores from October 2007 and will deploy to more stores in the Tokyo and Kansai areas in the future. The new company plans to promote the new service to its 3.5 million members on their mobile site operated by McDonald.

9/5/2007
Survey says one out of four high-school students shop on their mobile phone
www.bandai-net.com (Japanese Release)
According to the results of a survey of 1,107 (21% male, 79% female age between 13 and 18) young mobile users, 25.2% (21.1% male, 26.3% female) of high-school students have shopped on a mobile handset. Those users are broken down to 47% KDDI au, 33% DoCoMo and 20% Softbank users. The most popular products for those young shoppers are CD’s/DVD’s (37.3%) followed by fashion items include apparel and shoes (34.4%) and accessories (28.7%). Bandai networks, VIBE and Tokyu Agency conducted the survey.

5. New Applications, technologies and alliance

7/3/2007
Oticon releases hearing aid with smooth interface with MP3 and mobile phone
www.oticon-jpn.jp (Japanese Release)
Denmark based Oticon released a new hi-end hearing aid called the “Epoch” series in Japan. The new Epoch series enables users to hear a more natural sound by synching devices in both ears wirelessly. Users can also listen to MP3 music and use mobile phones with the new device and the hearing aid is also Bluetooth compatible with an adaptor called “Streamer”. Up to now, the most advanced hearing aids make noise or echoing when connected to musical devices or the mobile phones, which led to many complaints. With the Epoch hearing aid, users can enjoy mobile phone conversations and listening music on MP3 players in a more natural state. The company said that it has invested 6 years, 100 engineers and 10 billion yen to develop the device.

7/3/2007
Geminium provides β version of mobile communication tool
www.geminium.com (Japanese Release)
Geminium released the beta version of its free blog, SNS and chat service called “frienger” for mobile users. This service allows mobile users to converse in real time dialogue using a 150-letter short message blog so-called “Twister” to express feelings, impression, current activities, etc. Geminium plans to add email and image upload capability as well as GPS based games in the future.

8/8/2007
Tokyu railroad starts service to monitor commuting kids
www.tokyu-security.co.jp (Japanese Release)
Tokyu’s “Kid Security - Train Station” provides service to allow parents to monitor their kids during their commute to and from school. Whenever a child uses PASMO (IC card based train pass) to pass through the ticket gate at a train station, the gate automatically captures the information and sends an email to notify to their parents. Notification emails contains the name of the child, the name of the station in addition to the time the child passed through safely. This new service will start in December 2007.

8/9/2007
English version of comic development tool is released
www.celsys.co.jp (Japanese Release)
Celsys released an English version of “ComicStudioEnterprise”. ComicStudioEnterprise is a content development tool for Book Surfing (an electronic book) that enables users to create/convert mobile contents from an original draft in both analog and digital format. The English version is available for Window Vista/XP/2000.

9/14/2007
Art school and Soft Bank host Film festival for mobile movie producers
www.softbank.co.jp (Japanese Release)
Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music and Softbank will jointly hold the film festival comprised of movies made by mobile handsets in December. Similar film festivals have been held in Paris since 2005. The festival is open to the public submission to those who have films that were shot by mobile handsets. The festival offers a 500,000 yen cash prize to the winner of the festival.

9/20/2007
D3Publisher selects Nokia's SNAP Mobile to expand global mobile game offering (English Release)
www.nokia.com (English Release)
www.nokia.com (English Release)
Nokia announced that D3Publisher, a leading Japanese publisher of hit console and casual games, is using the SNAP Mobile platform to develop connected games for Java-based mobile phones. The mobile version of D3Publisher's hit game Earth Defense Force, already available on Xbox and PlayStation 2, is expected to be available by the end of 2007. D3Publisher will also introduce new mobile connected functionality, as players can battle against alien invaders and jockey for high score fame in an online community while on-the-go.

6. Market trends

7/13/2007
Most wanted feature for iPhone is One-Seg, Japanese consumer survey says
blog.ishare1.com (Japanese Release)
According to the survey result by iShare, 70% of respondents are aware of the iPhone. 53.0% of respondents said that they believe the iPhone will be sold through Softbank In Japan. In regards to what they think the iPhone lacks, 44.6% of respondents said that One-seg (44.6%) followed by fast communication (37.1%), GPS (36.2%), thin design (34.6%), high quality camera (33.1%) and memory exchange (33.1%).

7/24/2007
Research predicts the size of mobile contents market will reach 1 trillion yen
www.mcf.to (Japanese Release)
According to a study conducted by the Mobile Contents Forum (MCF) and Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), total revenue of mobile content sales and mobile commerce have reached 928.5 billion yen in 2006 which represents a 129% increase compared to the previous year. It is expected to reach 1 trillion yen in 2007. Within the mobile contents business, while ring-tone sales declined by 20% (84.3 billion yen), ring-song and complete song sales increased by 35% (75.9 billion yen) signifying that music content sales has shifted from ring-tones to full song sales. The fields that show the most rapid growth are “decoration mail” (5.5 billion yen) and “mobile books” (6.9 billion yen). Mobile commerce as a whole increased by 68% (258.3 billion yen). That figure includes sales of goods and services such as event tickets and online financial transactions.

7/25/2007
Survey proves that mobile SNS market has expanded
www.impressholdings.com (Japanese Release)
Impress Group conducted interviews with users of 15 different SNS networks such as “mixi” and according to the survey results; the SNS market in Japan will reach 9 billion yen in March 2008. This represents growth of 7.5 times from that of the previous year and will reach 20 billion yen in March 2008. Users of SNS sites said that if SNS site security is at an acceptable level, they do not care too much about the participation method by either invitation or self-entry basis.