WIRE REPORTS

NTT DOCOMO Announces “Xi” LTE Service Brand IEWY News NTT DOCOMO is the world's leading mobile operator and provider of advanced mobile services. The company serves over 56 million customers in Japan, ... and more » Mobile operators pursue app store plans Screen Digest (press release) (subscription) ... Orange-France Telecom, Vodafone, AT&T, China Mobile, NTT Docomo, Telefonica, Softbank Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, SK Telecom, Verizon and Telekom Austria. ... and more » MTS launches commercial LTE in Uzbekistan Mobile Business Briefing (blog) Major operators such as Japan's NTT Docomo and Verizon Wireless of the US are planning launches later this year. and more » Profit Falls at Japan Telecoms Firms Wall Street Journal TOKYO—Japan telecom operators Softbank Corp. and NTT DoCoMo Inc. Thursday reported a decline in net profit for the April-June quarter, ... and more » IntoMobile (blog) Ultrabrief: Say hello to “Xi”, NTT DOCOMO's name for their LTE service IntoMobile (blog) Japanese operator NTT DOCOMO today unveiled “Xi”, the name for their LTE network due to launch in December of this year in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. ... and more » DoCoMo books 3.5% fall in net income on lower voice call traffic TeleGeography Japan's largest mobile operator by subscribers, NTT DoCoMo, booked a 3.5% fall in net income for its fiscal first quarter ended 30 June 2010, ... Softbank says net profit down 29% on higher tax expenses TeleGeography However, the near ubiquitous iPhone is likely to face increasing competition in the country as rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI launch new smartphones based on ... Docomo unveils LTE brand Mobile Business Briefing (blog) Japanese operator NTT Docomo has unveiled 'Xi,' the brand name for its forthcoming LTE service due for launch in December. Pronounced 'crossy,' the 'X' is ... and more » Fujitsu and Toshiba merge mobile businesses Inquirer Fujitsu manufactures handsets for Japan's biggest mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo while Toshiba mainly supplies cell phones to KDDI, Japan's number two ... and more » AFP Softbank net profit dented by tax demand AFP Separately Japan's top mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. said net profit for the first quarter declined 3.5 percent year on year to 142.15 billion yen, ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Jul 22 Japanese cellphones lead in 'smarts' Cellphones in Japan are smarter than their U.S. counterparts, but blame it on U.S. service providers, not the phone manufacturers, industry experts say. Japanese mobile phone operators, led by the country's largest, NTT DoCoMo, have long provided Japanese consumers with services allowing phones to be used as key cards, personal IDs, transit passes, credit cards and more, LiveScience.com reported Tuesday. (UPI) Jul 15 Cell phone service option On June 30 the communications ministry issued a guideline calling on cell phone operators to remove carrier-specific locks, or SIM locks, so that customers can change from one cell phone operator's services to another's without having to buy a new phone. In accordance with this guideline, NTT DoCoMo announced on July 6 that it will not install SIM locks on its cell phones in and after April 2011. But it is unclear whether other cell phone operators will follow suit because the ministry's guideline is not mandatory. (Japan Times) Jul 13 Android Phone Coming from Fujitsu, Headed to DoCoMo? Following on the Fujitsu / Toshiba mobile merger, reports have bubbled up saying that they've already started on their first handset, which is headed to Japan's NTT DoCoMo and will be running Android. Little beyond that is known, but the platform choice is significant, given Toshiba had already put significant time and effort into some rightly impressive Windows Mobile hardware. Though the bulk of Fujitsu's previous experience in mobile revolved around feature phones, they've worked with DoCoMo on getting LTE ready in Japan. (intomobile.com) Jul 9 DoCoMo plans new app platform for phones Japan's number one mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo has said it will add a new application platform to its "i-mode" handsets this year as it tries to catch up with Apple's runaway iPhone success. NTT DoCoMo will allow third-party individuals to develop applications for the company's 50 million "i-mode" users, spokeswoman Makiko Furuta said. DoCoMo revolutionised Japan's mobile phone market with the 1999 launch of its i-mode service, which brought internet services to mobile phones. However, DoCoMo restricted the number of app developers, citing quality control issues. (AFP) Jul 8 DoCoMo platform to mimic Apple's NTT DoCoMo is to launch an Apple-style application platform for its mass market "i-mode" mobile handsets, a move seen as a reaction by Japan's biggest mobile operator to the success of the iPhone. Ryuji Yamada, DoCoMo chief executive, said the group was planning to add the platform to its closed i-mode data service. Strict quality control has helped ensure i-mode's success in turning Japanese subscribers into some of the heaviest users of mobile data services. (FT.com) Jul 7 Docomo to release SIM locks on mobile phones, other companies still cautious NTT Docomo has announced they will be the first cell phone company in Japan to release the SIM locks on their phones that prevent users from using their phones with other carriers. Other cell phone companies, however, are cautious, suggesting users will have to wait some time before they can freely choose a carrier separately from their phone. (Mainichi) Jun 13 Japan's BeeTV draws big buzz by only broadcasting to mobile phones In a country where almost every facet of daily life is lived on some of the world's most-advanced cellphones, Japan's year-old BeeTV broadcasts only to mobile phones. BeeTV is a joint venture by NTT Docomo, Japan's largest mobile phone carrier, and Avex Group Holdings, the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan. BeeTV broadcasts more than 20 short programs in eight genres like drama, music and comedy and plans to add shows on cooking, fashion and beauty for a total of more than 50 programs. The two most-popular are drama series "Love Letter in Five Years" and "Death Game Park." (adage.com) Apr 26 Japan firms to standardize mobile software Four major Japanese electronics companies will standardize their core software platform for next-generation cellphones aimed at reducing costs and raising competitiveness, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday. The firms -- Sharp, Panasonic, Fujitsu and NEC -- will apply the software system, used to drive animations and music, in the next-generation cellphones developed by NTT DoCoMo, the newspaper said without citing any sources. The unified software will be loaded in NTT DoCoMo's next-generation model set to be launched during the financial year ending in March 2012, Nikkei said. (Reuters) Apr 2 DoCoMo goes gunning for iPhone NTT DoCoMo Inc. released its Xperia smart phone Thursday, taking direct aim at the Apple iPhone's dominant share of the Japanese market. "While we think the iPhone is a really good phone, this can match it," NTT DoCoMo President Ryuji Yamada told reporters after an event at the Yodobashi Camera store in Tokyo's Akihabara district to celebrate the Xperia's debut. (Japan Times) Feb 19 Eye controls developed for phones & MP3 players Japanese telecom giant NTT DoCoMo showed off a new pair of headphones that give users the ability to control mobile phones or MP3 players using their eyes. Designed to look like a set of regular earbuds, the NTT DoCoMo customized headset is able to read electrical changes on the surface of the human eye. A user who looks from right to left can pause music, right and then left glances skip to the next track, and rolling the eyes clockwise helps raise the volume. (myce.com) Jan 21 NTT DoCoMo to launch Xperia smart phone Japan's top mobile phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. on Thursday said it will launch Sony Ericsson's Xperia smart phone in April, in a direct challenge to heavyweight Apple's iPhone handsets. With the touchscreen Xperia, a model that the Japanese-Swedish enterprise will introduce globally in the first quarter, NTT DoCoMo hopes to catch up with its smart phone rivals in Japan's already saturated market. (Economic Times) Jan 13 Is your cell phone leaking? / Data thieves exploiting new Docomo browser software functions Cell phone technology experts are warning that NTT Docomo Inc.'s latest cell phone models with i-mode Browser 2.0 software installed could expose users' personal information without their knowledge. Docomo has asked operators of Internet sites accessible from cell phones to take precautions to safeguard personal data, such as asking users to input passwords. (Yomiuri) Dec 4 DoCoMo takes major share of German unit Japan's top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Thursday it had secured an almost 80 percent stake in Germany's mobile applications and service company net mobile AG. The Japanese mobile phone giant, facing tough competition at home and looking to expand in Europe, announced in September that it planned to launch a tender offer through its wholly owned subsidiary DoCoMo Deutschland. (AFP) Nov 30 The Japanese Love Chocolate So Much They Made a Chocolate Phone This Japan-nly NTT Docomo Melty Chocolate phone is ridiculous. It's a working phone-it has 8-megapixel camera, digital TV tuner, Bluetooth and such-but the menus are designed to look like chocolate, and the outside looks like chocolate. (gizmodo.com) Nov 19 'Go global', Japanese mobile makers told Japan's mobile handset makers may have only two years left to expand abroad or risk being left behind in the technology race, one of the industry's most respected figures warned yesterday. Takeshi Natsuno - the strategist behind NTT DoCoMo's "i-mode" data service and a professor at Keio University - said the end of network operator subsidies on new handsets meant that Japanese manufacturers would soon lose their technical lead. The comments are a wake-up call to an industry that is still the world's most technologically advanced, but where handset sales have all but halved since the state subsidies ended in 2007. (FT.com) Nov 18 Sharp reportedly to offer Google-based phone in Japan Sharp Corp. will offer mobile phones in Japan that run on Google Inc.'s Android operating system as early as the first half of next year, according to a company executive cited in a report Wednesday. DoCoMo currently offers a Google-based phone made by Taiwan's HTC Corp. (MarketWatch) Nov 10 Japan's Softbank to launch Google phone in spring Softbank Corp, Japan's No.3 wireless carrier, said it will add to its lineup its first phone using Google Inc's Android operating system in the spring, following similar launches by NTT DoCoMo and Verizon Wireless. Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son declined to say on Tuesday who will manufacturer its Android phone, but said the phone would feature an OLED (organic light-emitting diode) screen and that it had yet to go on sale. (Reuters) Nov 6 DoCoMo to rely on dividends to boost stock NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's largest mobile-phone operator, aims to rely on dividend payments and strategic investments to raise its share price from record lows, Chief Financial Officer Kazuto Tsubouchi said. DoCoMo fell to as low as 128,600 yen in Tokyo trading today, the lowest since listing in October 1998, as handset sales decline and industrywide data-transmission rate cuts sap profit. (Bloomberg) Sep 26 NTT Docomo unveils wood-based cell phone concepts Japan's leading cell phone giant NTT Docomo is joining the growing trend of ecology-as-cool with the introduction of the new TOUCH WOOD concept phones. Made from real surplus wood, the project was spearheaded by noted musician Ryuichi Sakamoto and uses an interface inspired by the photographer Mikiya Takimoto. (dvice.com) Sep 10 The Internet Revolution, Japan Style Japan's mobile-Internet guru, the man behind DoCoMo's iMode, talks about phones, competition, and his favorite mobile Web services. (Forbes) Sep 9 Japan points to wireless health's future? The largest mobile operator by subscribers, NTT DoCoMo, might bring its brand to the U.S. and offer DoCoMo wireless service over T-Mobile USA's or AT&T's network, according to reports in Japan Today and Japan Times. The reports claim that the carrier is interested in launching its advanced mobile Internet services for the U.S. market. (mobihealthnews.com) Sep 5 NTT Docomo mulls fully entering U.S. mobile phone market next year NTT Docomo Inc. is considering fully entering the U.S. mobile phone market next year, sources familiar with the matter said Friday. It would be the first time Japan's top mobile phone service provider launched the Docomo-brand business in an overseas market, the sources said. (AP) Aug 25 Mobile phones are enough for Japan's Net users It's no secret that Japan has better mobile phones than the rest of the world. The country has also had access to better phone-based Internet services since the launch of NTT DoCoMo's i-mode service all the way back in 1998. Recent data from japan.internet.com (translated by whatjapanthinks.com) suggests that Japan's mobile phones offer users enough functionality that 49 percent of the respondents to a recent survey say a "mobile phone is enough" when asked what kind of mobile device they would most like to carry. (CNET) Aug 20 NTT Docomo to provide lightning strike forecasts NTT Docomo Inc. will provide local governments and corporations with forecasts for locations of lightning strikes on a commercial basis, starting as early as next fiscal year, company sources said. Areas likely to experience electrical storms can be predicted from various data, including rain cloud movement, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. (Yomiuri) Aug 3 BeeTV shows coming to cell phone near you BeeTV, a broadcast service for cell phones, is grabbing the spotlight in the mobile phone industry with aggressive promotions and original content featuring popular TV stars. More than 550,000 people have signed up between May, when NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Avex Group Holdings launched the service, and July 21. (Japan Times) [ More... ]