Domestic PC shipments in 3rd-quarter FY1997 fell by 7% year-on-year in volume, to 1.60 million units, and by 11% year-on-year in revenue. "This was mainly caused by smaller companies' sluggish investment in information equipment and systems, due to the tightening of lending requirements by financial institutions," says Tetsuya Mizoguchi, chairman of JEIDA's Committee for Personal Computer Business and vice president of Toshiba Corp. FY1997 3rd-quarter PC exports, meanwhile, totaled 352,000 units, a 28% year-on-year increase, due to the steady growth of PC demand in the US and Europe.

JEIDA projects that total PC shipments by Japan-based vendors for FY1997 (April 1997 through March 1998) will drop below shipments of the previous fiscal year. This would be the first time in five years that the Japanese market has experienced such a decline.

In calendar year 1997, a total of 8.28 million PCs were shipped, a 1% drop from the 8.39 million units shipped in 1996. Annual shipments to the domestic market in calendar year 1997, however, actually increased by 3% year-on-year, to 7.04 million units. The growth, however, came in the 4th-quarter of FY1996 (Jan.-March 1997); JEIDA officials attribute this to last-minute buying prior to the rise of the consumption tax rate (from 3% to 5%) on April 1, 1997. PC exports for calendar year 1997 dropped by 22% -- from 1.58 million units to 1.23 million units -- reflecting a shift of manufacturing to sites overseas.

In spite of the overall sluggish domestic market, shipments of portable PCs in 3rd-quarter FY1997 saw a 25% year-on-year increase, to 711,000 units. Within the portable market segment, shipments of subnotebook models experienced a particularly sharp rise of 46%, to 179,000 units. Shipments of desktop PCs, meanwhile, suffered a 23% drop, to 886,000 units.

The popularity of notebook PCs has been growing in the Japanese market because of the preference among corporate users for space-saving models and the reality that portables now commonly contain built-in CD-ROM drives, modems, and larger color screens. Mobile computing is also becoming more common because today's portables are smaller and lighter than in the past, according to JEIDA.--KM

BackWeb sets up Japanese subsidiary
Backweb technologies, a San Jose-based company specializing in "push" solutions for the Internet and intranets/extranets, set up a Japanese subsidiary, BackWeb KK, in January. The Japanese subsidiary's activities include support for Japanese distributors selling BackWeb products, planning and implementation of marketing strategies in cooperation with distributors and value-added resellers (VARs), and market research and product localization in conjunction with the head office's research and development division.

BackWeb's partner distributors in Japan include Kanematsu Computer Systems, NTT Learning Systems, NTT PC Communications, and Daiwa Institute of Research. BackWeb KK will coordinate with these distributors to offer enterprise system solutions and server software applications, as well as development and marketing of application packages embedding BackWeb products. BackWeb KK can be reached at 03-5325-3167, and is on the Web at http://www.backweb.co.jp/.--NT

Two leaders tie up for PHS data communication
In late January, Microsoft's US headquarters and personal handyphone system (PHS) operator NTT Central Personal Communications Network (NTT Personal) announced that they have agreed to cooperate on the development of a Windows CE-based PHS unit. The intent is to promote data communication via PIAFS (PHS Internet Access Forum Standard), a 32K-bps PHS specification.

Under the announced agreement, Microsoft will receive technical cooperation from NTT Personal to develop protocol stack software for a PIAFS-compliant PHS unit in which Windows CE will be embedded. The collaboration will eliminate the need for a PIAFS modem card. It is also expected to lead to the development of communications capabilities in various Windows CE-based mobile devices, such as handheld PCs, palm PCs, and personal digital assistants (PDAs). A development site is to be set up in Microsoft's Redmond headquarters.--NT

Digital teams with Hitachi Data for storage
Digital Equipment Corporation and Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) have entered into a development and marketing agreement for next-generation enterprise storage solutions. "Our partnership with HDS is an important step in Digital's strategy of focusing on core strengths," says Harry Copperman, senior vice president of the Digital Products Division. "Our storage business generates more than $2 billion in revenues annually; by teaming with HDS, we are enhancing our solutions for even greater customer and business success."

Digital is a leading open systems storage supplier, and HDS is one of the largest providers of IBM mainframe-compatible storage solutions. "Together, HDS and Digital will offer multi-platform storage solutions that enable customers to reach the full potential of their information systems," says Brian Walker, an HDS executive vice president.

HDS's high-capacity storage subsystems, designed to support open systems and mainframes, will be integrated into Digital's Storage Works family. "This joint relationship between HDS and Digital is a major step in enterprise storage solutions," comments John Scott, managing partner of the Colorado-based online consulting firm Evaluator Group. "Digital has established an enviable record in open systems computing, particularly 64-bit Unix [while] HDS has long been a major force in mainframes and mainframe storage. Both companies have rich technology portfolios. The integration of the HDS 7700 and 6700 Scalable Arrays into the Digital Storage Works family of products gives Digital desktop to data-center storage solutions and the ability to penetrate the 'glass house' with its high-end Unix servers."

For more information about Storage Works, see http://www.storage.com/. Digital Storage Works products store and protect more than 10 petabytes (quadrillion bytes) of data in organizations around the world.--YN

Oki tests iris ID technology
Oki electric industry has completed an access control system for Suruga Bank that features the world's first commercially implemented iris identification system. The Oki system, which is capable of automatically obtaining an iris (eye) image of individuals for use as a biometrics signature, will initially be used to restrict unauthorized access to Suruga Bank's main computer room. Additional applications will then be developed based on the findings of this trial implementation. The iris is the round, pigmented portion of the eyeball; it can be used for personal identification because, as with fingerprints, every person has a unique pattern that is both externally visible and stable throughout a lifetime. This allows an iris pattern to serve as the basis for a fast and virtually fraud-proof method of personal identification, one that offers a higher level of security than such currently used means of verification as PIN numbers, passwords, and ID cards.

Oki's iris identification system uses a standard video camera and can automatically obtain a usable iris image at a distance of up to one meter. A processing unit then digitally encodes the image into an "iris code" of just 256 bytes, and stores the data for future reference. To verify an individual's identity, the system matches the photographed iris code with those in its files. The entire identification process takes just two or three seconds and has an accuracy rate of .99999 percent.

Oki Electric is online at http://www.oki.co.jp/.--YN

Explorer on top in "battle of the browsers"
Microsoft has overtaken netscape in Japan, according to research conducted by Gartner Group Japan late last year. At the time of the Gartner Group (Datquest Japan) survey of Web browser use in Japan, Microsoft Internet Explorer held a 53% share while Netscape Navigator held just 45% and all other browsers combined for a meager 2% share. The Gartner Group carried out its research by analyzing the access log data of several major websites in Japan, including Yahoo! Japan and ZDNet Japan, during a one-week period in mid-December.

According to the Gartner analysis, the major reason behind the upsurge in Internet Explorer usage is Microsoft's offer of free downloading of the browser. Relating to this point, the survey found that the number of Japanese using the latest version of Internet Explorer is double the number of those using the latest version of Netscape Navigator.

There is a clear difference in browser use based on the platform being used. While 66% of Windows users are using Internet Explorer, an overwhelming 95% of Macintosh users and 87% of all non-Windows platform users rely on Netscape Navigator.

More intense competition is expected in the browser wars later this year. The free-download availability of each browser, as well the strategy of individual PC vendors regarding the bundling/pre-installation of browsers, will ultimately determine the winner of the browser wars.

Gartner Group Japan can be contacted at 03-3481-3670 or accessed online at http://www.gartner.co.jp/.--NT

Compaq opens online store
Compaq Japan has opened an online store on its homepage, http://www.compaq.co.jp/. The Compaq Business Products Showroom offers both Japanese and English models of portables, desktops, workstations, and servers. On the Compaq website, several Japanese dealers of Compaq products -- including Ohtsuka-Shokai, Kanto Electronics, Santec, Tsukumo Denki, and Laox -- have also opened online stores.

In addition to enabling online orders and offering special information about sales at dealers, the online store also offers information about the prices and delivery of Compaq products. The English version of the Compaq online store, featuring English models of portables, desktops, workstations, and servers, is at http://www.compaq. co.jp/english/products/index.html.--NT

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