NTT DoCoMo will release a handset compatible with
non-Japanese cellular networks and with its own 3G mobile network,
made by Motorola, early next year. The handset will also support
wireless Lan.
The announcement comes eight months after DoCoMo said it would
invest about ¥37bn (£18.7m) over two years in six companies,
including Motorola, to develop advanced handset technologies.
Motorola was the only non-Japanese handset maker to be a part of
the project. The others were Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, NEC, Panasonic
Mobile Communications and Sharp.
The new terminal will support WCDMA (wideband code division
multiple access) used by DoCoMo as well as GSM and GPRS standards.
It will also be able to access normal HTML websites.
It will be the first from DoCoMo to support public wireless Lan
access, and the first to download Word, Excel and PowerPoint files
as e-mail attachments.
DoCoMo is Japan's largest carrier, with 46.6 million of Japan's
83.1 million cell phone subscribers, according to the
Telecommunications Carriers Association.
DoCoMo said increases in the number of subscribers to its 3G
service prompted the release of more advanced terminals. The number
of subscribers doubled to 5.27 million between February and July
2004, the company said.
Paul Kallender writes for IDG News Service