WW-68

======================================================================
J@pan Inc presents the Wireless Watch Japan Newsmagazine:

W I R E L E S S W A T C H J A P A N LITE

Commentary on the Business of Wireless in Japan
======================================================================

Issue No. 68 (Lite Version)
Monday, August 19, 2002
Tokyo

+++ Noteworthy News
--> DoCoMo to Offer Discounts to Some i-Mode Customers
--> Fujitsu to Supply RAN System for KDDI's CDMA2000 1xEV-DO 3G
Network
--> NTT DoCoMo Camera Phone Shipments Top One Million
--> Mobile Phones with Built-in Camera Enter 'Pixel' Competition

+++ Subscriber Statistics, Corrections, Credits, Administrivia

===========================ADVERTISEMENT==============================
J@PAN INC magazine -- the premier journal of business, technology and
people in Japan -- invites you to participate in a special Relocation
ad section scheduled for the November 2002 issue.

The November 2002 special ad section will feature companies that are
actively responding to this very competitive business.
Your company will be interviewed for the ad section article and will
be included in the Directory Listings page, providing a tremendous
opportunity for your company to engage customers, build relationships
and explain your services to a highly targeted audience.

For more information please contact:
Justin Kay on 03-3499-2175 ext:1269 or email: justin@japaninc.com
======================================================================

+++ Noteworthy News
(Long URLs may break across two lines so copy to your browser.)

--> DoCoMo to Offer Discounts to Some i-Mode Customers
http://sg.biz.yahoo.com/020818/15/31p5c.html
Source: Nikkei on Yahoo.com, August 18

EXTRACT: NTT DoCoMo will start offering a discount September 1 to
people paying more than 30,000 yen per month for the firm's i-mode
Internet access service for cellphones, company sources said. Charges
in excess of 30,000 yen will be reduced by 33 percent. The aim is to
improve a corporate image tarnished by complaints from customers
claiming to have been overcharged.

COMMENTARY: Nice problem to have! The move appears to be a response to
growing complaints from users about excessive monthly usage fees. Now
that Big D has caught up to J-Phone and has a camera phone on offer
(see news item below) and considering the hyperpopularity of Java
games (which are now up to 30KB in size), i-moders are receiving a
heck of a lot more data than before -- and paying through the nose at
0.3 yen per 128-byte packet, thank you very much. This discount will
only affect the top two to three percent of heavy users, and will
likely shave five billion yen off of DoCoMo revenues for the current
fiscal year.

===========================ADVERTISEMENT==============================
The KWR International Advisor keeps you abreast of important economic,
political and financial trends as they appear on the global horizon.
The current edition features articles on Enronitis, Asian
Restructuring, Investors and the War on Terrorism, ASEAN, US-Japan
Trade, International Relations and Emerging Market Briefs. To access
your copy and obtain a free subscription, Check out our Website, or
contact email below:
Website: http://kwrintl.com/fforwards/japanincadin.html
E-mail: KWR.Advisor@kwrintl.com
======================================================================

--> Fujitsu to Supply RAN System for KDDI's CDMA2000 1xEV-DO 3G Network
http://pr.fujitsu.com/en/news/2002/08/8.html
Source: Fujitsu PR, August 8

EXTRACT: Fujitsu today announced that it has received an order to
supply a radio access network (RAN) system for KDDI's synchronous
IMT-2000 CDMA2000 1xEV-DO-standard 3G mobile network operating in the
800MHz band. KDDI's new CDMA2000 3G mobile network is expected to
begin offering commercial services in the second half of 2003. For
this project, Samsung Electronics, which has operational experience
with CDMA2000 3G wireless communications networks in Korea, will
supply Fujitsu with base transceiver stations and base station
controllers.

COMMENTARY: KDDI already operates a 3G CDMA2000 1X network (max data
speed: 144Kbps), whose infrastructure was supplied by Motorola; the
system opened on April 1 and is kicking NTT DoCoMo butt in the Japan
3G race. This announcement is significant as it is the first time in
recent memory that a Korean equipment maker has been brought in to
serve as a major infrastructure supplier (albeit as sub-contractor).
The more intriguing question is, What happened to Motorola? As the
current CDMA 2000 1X vendor, wouldn't they make the most logical
choice to serve as 1xEV-DO vendor as well? Wireless Watch Japan smells
smells bad blood between the Americans and the Japanese...

===========================ADVERTISEMENT==============================
ACUPUNCTURE WORKS!

Acupuncture is the most effective means to heal overwork-related
aches, pain and tiredness.
Taiken Jo is a highly qualified acupuncturist who comes from a long
family line of acupuncturists and has over 10 years of clinical
experience.
If you haven't tried acupuncture and you're scared of needles, we
encourage you to try the Japanese version of this ancient treatment.
It's less aggressive than the Chinese version and work you through a
program that is almost painless.
Please call 03-5469-0810 if you have a question regarding your
specific health problem or check out the website at:
http://www.acuraclinic.com
Rebates are offered by many insurance plans.
Member, Japan Acupuncture Association.
======================================================================

--> NTT DoCoMo Camera Phone Shipments Top One Million
http://in.tech.yahoo.com/020816/64/1tu52.html
Source: Reuters on Yahoo.com, August 16

EXTRACT: NTT DoCoMo said on Friday it had shipped more than a million
camera-equipped mobile phones since launching them in June, gaining on
photo phone pioneer J-Phone. DoCoMo's total shipments of
camera-mounted phones, which can take photos and allow them to be
shared with other phone users, totaled 1.05 million units as of
Thursday, said a spokesman for DoCoMo. After watching competitors roll
out camera-equipped mobile phones and threaten its dominant position,
DoCoMo launched its own version on June 1, made by electronics maker
Sharp. In mid-July it launched two more, manufactured by Mitsubishi
Electric and Fujitsu.

COMMENTARY: After waiting over a year to field a camera model (during
which J-Phone cleaned up -- it now claims 6-million-plus camera-phone
users), DoCoMo finally came to market with its first model in June;
Big D's first was a virtual copy of the J-Phone model (also made by
Sharp). But the DoCoMo models do not have Java (J-Phone's do) and the
carrier still seems uncommitted to multimedia messaging on 2G. Maybe
this news will change corporate strategy and -- ironically -- serve to
delay full implementation of FOMA (the 3G system) even more?

============================ANNOUNCEMENT==============================

Wireless Watch Japan Goes Live
http://www.wirelesswatchjapan.com

Did you know that you're reading the syndicated, lite version of the
Wireless Watch Japan Mail Newsmagazine? :-(

WWJ has been launched as a separate media site, and the full version
of the WWJ mail newsletter -- including additional news items and the
famous Viewpoint insider essay -- is now issued Wednesdays from the
(free) WWJ site. We also post our weekly streaming video newsmagazine
on WWJ Mondays at 17:00 JST.

Receive the FREE, high-octane version of WWJ
(and access the lively video version) at:
http://www.wirelesswatchjapan.com/subs.htm

And relax; we will never sell our list to spammers.
======================================================================

--> Mobile Phones with Built-in Camera Enter 'Pixel' Competition
http://www.nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com/wcs/leaf?CID=onair/asabt/fw/201778
Source: Nikkei AsiaBizTech, August 19

EXTRACT: Following J-Phone -- the pioneer in this category of products
-- all the other Japanese mobile carriers are launching handsets with
a built-in camera, which is now regarded as a common feature for
mobile phone handsets. Reaching the next stage, mobile carriers are
now entering competition in the quality of pictures -- determined by
the number of pixels implemented in a camera phone. Mass-produced
camera modules with one-million pixel resolution are expected to be
rolled out by makers late in 2003. It will lead to the emergence of a
handset with a megapixel camera equivalent to a low-end digital camera
as early as the end of 2003.

COMMENTARY: According to some definitions, camera keitais are fast
morphing into effective digital cameras and therefore comprise a
disruptive technology. Who would invest 20,000 yen in a digicam
**and** 20,000 in a celly when you can get both in one device? If
you're a digicam maker, we bet you're thinking long and hard about how
to wireless-enable your products.

======================================================================
+++ Subscriber Statistics, Corrections, Credits, Administrivia

WIRELESS WATCH JAPAN EMAIL NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIBERS
2,772 (via japaninc.com and wwj.com) as of August 19, 2002

STAFF

WWJ video newsmagazine researched, edited and hosted and email
newsletter researched and written by:
Daniel Scuka (daniel@wirelesswatchjapan.com)
Email newsletter edited by:
J@pan Inc Editors (editors@japaninc.com)

WWJ video newsmagazine produced and edited by:
Lawrence Cosh-Ishii (video@wirelesswatchjapan.com)
in cooperation with Video-Link.com, helloNetworkAsia
(www.hellonetwork.co.jp) and Stellent (www.stellent.com)

READ PREVIOUS NEWSLETTERS
http://www.wirelesswatchjapan.com

CHECK OUT J@PAN INC'S OTHER NEWSLETTERS:
http://www.japaninc.com/subscribe_news.html

UNSUBSCRIBE
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, access:
http://www.japaninc.com/unsubscribe_news.html

ADVERTISING INFORMATION
To advertise in the J@pan Inc version of the
WirelessWatchJapan.com mail newsletter, contact:
ads@japaninc.com

GET THE MAGAZINE
Subscribe at: http://www.japaninc.net/mag/subs.html

FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS
We welcome your viewpoint:
editors@wirelesswatchjapan.com

TECHNICAL PROBLEMS:
webmaster@japaninc.com

Text and video copyright (C) 2002 WirelessWatchJapan.com. All Rights
Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part by any means without
written permission of the owners is strictly prohibited. WWJ is
republished by J@pan Inc magazine by special permission.