Handsets

TOKYO-NTT DoCoMo and four credit card firms jointly announced they would launch in June an experiment for payment services using mobile phones, targeting to launch a commercial-based service in the …

BEIJING-A cell-phone recall system might be written in the long-awaited Telecommunications Law as user complaints about defects in their handsets are increasing. According to the Chinese Consumers’ Association, most complaints …

It is almost fashionable to badmouth third-generation (3G), specifically Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), cellular technology these days. In fact, there is plenty of fodder, in particular the total absence …

LONDON-U.K. newcomer Hutchison 3G U.K. has conceded to handset subsidies, with prices of its handsets dropping by as much as $450 from its original prices announced in February, according to …

TOKYO-Oki Electric, a leading electronic manufacturer in Japan, plans to expand sales for semiconductors for PHS handsets to meet far-expanding demand for PHS units in Asia, the firm said Wednesday. …

BEIJING-Fraudsters in the central Chinese city of Hangzhou are facing a rude awakening. Touting fake products and services through postcard-sized ads posted along the city’s streets, the petty criminals are …

TOKYO-Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo announced plans for two new devices this week. DoCoMo said it has developed a wristwatch-type PHS terminal. The product will hit the market in April at …

OSLO, Norway-An agreement among Sweden’s operators to allow customers to send multimedia messaging services (MMS) between competing networks has failed to encompass all the country’s operators, as giant TeliaSonera has …

ALAMEDA, California, United States-U.S.-based supplier UTStarcom said it won a US$40 million contract with China Telecom for new and expansion deployments of its PHS equipment in the Jiangsu and Guangdong …

MONTREAL-Fido, run by Microcell Solutions Inc., announced it will offer the Nokia 7210 handset to its customers in Canada. The Nokia 7210 features a color screen, polyphonic ring tones, an …

TOKYO and LONDON-Vodafone Group plc and J-Phone Co. Ltd. both announced strong subscriber numbers for their respective multimedia messaging services. Vodafone said it has met its target of 1 million …

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NEW ORLEANS, United States-John Koo and his top executive team crowd a small, air-conditioned room perched atop LG Electronics’ sprawling booth at the CTIA trade show here. Relaxed, smiling, Koo …

NEW DELHI, India–India, one of the fastest-growing wireless markets in the Asia Pacific region, is set for a churn. But it is unable to decide which way it will go–toward …

TOKYO-KDDI, the second-largest mobile operator in Japan, announced it will launch a new location service for its “au” brand mobile handset users starting 17 April. Using the service, an au …

Tira Wireless uveils JUMP platform NEW ORLEANS-Tira Wireless, which publishes wireless Java applications for mobile phones, unveiled its Java Universal Mobile Porting (JUMP) platform. The JUMP platform address the J2ME …

TOKYO-DDI Pocket, the largest PHS service provider in Japan, will launch international roaming services with Taiwan PHS provider FITEL. DDI Pocket announced. Users of the DDI Pocket PHS service will …

NEW ORLEANS-Royal Philips Electronics and LogicaCMG announced an agreement to jointly supply multimedia messaging technology to mobile operators. The original equipment manufacturer umbrella agreement calls for the integration of Philips’ …

NEW ORLEANS-CommWorks and Togabi Technologies announced an agreement calling for CommWorks to resell and enhance its packet wireless voice and data products with Togabi’s PacketCHAT real-time wireless communications platform. Terms …

NEW ORLEANS-Audiovox Communications Corp. launched new wireless phones this week at the CTIA show in New Orleans. The CDM-8400 series includes moderately priced tri-mode CDMA phones with full-color displays, two-way …

SAN DIEGO, Calif.-Michiel Lotter, co-founder and vice president of engineering at Zyray Wireless, will speak on “Optimum Combining” for WCDMA devices at IEEE’s upcoming Wireless Communications and Networking Conference, co-located …

DUBLIN, Ireland-Motorola has intensified its efforts to gain market share among young mobile-phone users with the announcement of an alliance with MTV International. The handset manufacturer is keen to exploit …

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-With the objective to challenge the monopoly held by Telef

MANILA, The Philippines-Mobile operator Globe Telecom introduced this week the Philippines’ first mobile video messaging, allowing subscribers to record, save and play back video clips, up to a maximum of …

TOKYO-T-Engine Project, an industry association consisting of virtually all major Japanese vendors, including NEC, Fujitsu and Mitsubishi Electric, will jointly develop a standardized platform for middleware for third-generation (3G) handsets …