For NTT DoCoMo, this year's Business Show 2001 Tokyo was all about
FOMA, its third-generation (3G) mobile phone service about to be
launched as an introductory service.
FOMA (freedom of mobile multimedia access) will be the first in the
world based on the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access)
system, one of the IMT-2000 standards. The service will allow
high-speed packet data communication at speeds up to 384Kbps.
DoCoMo's booth at the show had the 3G handsets on display and was
constantly packed, an indication of the level of public interest in
the new system. Almost 150,000 people have applied to be among the
4,500 trial users, DoCoMo said last week.
"We just wanted to know what the FOMA service will be like," said
one current DoCoMo wireless Internet I-Mode service user. She came
to the show mainly for that purpose since there is a slim chance of
her application being selected in the draw for the introductory
service.
"I think the service will be suitable for personal use. I am
interested in the built-in camera that allows visual
communications," she said, referring to the P2101V handset from
Matsushita, better known for its Panasonic brand name. She said
that personal digital assistants (PDAs), which have larger display
screens, seemed to be more useful for business purposes than mobile
phones.
But not everybody was excited by the visual communication facility.
"It's impressive but I don't think I really want to use it," said
Noriko Matsuguchi, another current I-Mode user. "Who needs moving
images on a mobile phone? Maybe for business, but it seems too much
for personal use."
However, the world will have to wait another month to find out
whether visual communication will become popular or not. DoCoMo
announced on the last day of the business show that the
distribution of one of three types of 3G handsets, the
video-camera-equipped P2101V handset, will be delayed until the end
of June since software on the device needs further
development.
Not to be outdone, Japan's number two cellular carrier, DDI, was
also at the exhibition, showing off plans for its 3G service.
Scheduled to be launched in 2002, the service is based on the
CDMA2000 1xEV technology from US-based Qualcomm.
A 2.5G service (halfway between current second-generation and
third-generation cellular) based on CDMA2000 will be launched in
the third quarter this year although DDI is already focusing on the
full 3G system, according to spokeswoman Yumiko Kanayama.
"The future handsets for 3G services will be more like PDAs than
cell phones," she said pointing at conceptual models displayed at
its booth, which carry larger screens to display more content. "And
they focus more on better design rather than technology."
DDI is the only company in Japan with plans to adopt Qualcomm's
CDMA2000 1xEV system, which will allow data transmission at the
maximum speed of 2.4Mbps, according to DDI.
At the exhibition, the carrier had installed a temporary base
station to allow for demonstration of high-speed data downloading.
The system allowed for video to be streamed across the cellular
network to a PC and to prototype phone handsets.
The company was also showing a handset with support for Bluetooth.
The C413S from Sony is the first Bluetooth cell phone in Japan and
is expected to go on sale in mid-June.
The device will be compatible with Sony's Bluetooth-capable Vaio
notebooks, the PCG-C11VRX/K and PCG-SR9G/K, which are already on
the market, said DDI. It allows the notebooks to connect to the
Internet via the cellular network and to pass stored data, such as
addresses, on to other Bluetooth-capable handsets.
"It is the very first step for Bluetooth embedded handsets in
Japan. At the moment, the device only works with the Vaio notebooks
but in the future, we hope it can communicate with consumer
electronics such as air conditioners," said Hiroyuki Togo, a
spokesman for DDI.
Japan's third largest cellular carrier, J-Phone Communications, the
mobile telecommunication division of Japan Telecom, is striving to
catch up with its competitors. Although its plan for 3G service
calls for launch in June next year, it is advancing on the
development of handsets.
A handset by Sharp, the J-SHO7, can download and run Java applets.
Expected to be available at the end of June, the handset will allow
J-Phone to offer a service similar to DoCoMo's I-Appli, which was
launched earlier this year, and DDI's EZPlus, which is expected to
begin in the current quarter.
The Sharp handset also has a built-in 1.1 megapixel digital camera.
The images taken by the camera can be sent by e-mail to any J-Phone
device that has been sold since September last year, according to
J-Phone.
It also carries a 3D polygon engine, which can display 3D
animations - a world first for mobile phones, according to the
company. Using the engine, a user can rotate the 3D animated images
through 360 degrees. 3D animations are currently available as
wallpaper images for the mobile phone screens only.
"It will be useful when our 3G service arrives, especially for
online shopping on the wireless Internet," said a spokesman. "It is
convenient also when choosing products such as cosmetics because a
user can manipulate colours of the images."