Don't think that the Galaxy S 4 has a lock on the concept of touch-free input. Panasonic has bolstered NTT DoCoMo's summer lineup with the Eluga P P-03E, a 4.7-inch Android phone whose one-handed interface can involve even less finger contact than Samsung's flagship. Its central Touch Assist feature lets owners unlock their phone, answer calls, preview content and enter text by hovering a digit just above the glass. The handset is no slouch outside of its signature trick, either -- it carries a 1080p LCD, a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, 32GB of expandable storage and a sizable 2,600mAh battery. Japanese customers will have their chance at Panasonic's above-the-screen magic in late June, although we wouldn't count on the Eluga P reaching the US anytime soon.

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Panasonic (translated)

To this day, relatively few wireless carriers offer LTE at its loftiest 150Mbps speeds. We'll soon get to count NTT DoCoMo among those ranks, however. Alongside the launch of its summer phone lineup, the Japanese network has firmed up some details of its Xi speed-up plans. The initial rollout will focus on the major centers of Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo, all of which should have 150Mbps access by the end of the year. While NTT DoCoMo hasn't settled on the frequencies it will use, Impress Watch understands that this could involve reusing 1,700MHz FOMA 3G bands to get around local spectrum limits. Regardless of the speeds, there should be a tangible improvement in coverage -- the provider hopes to more than double its Xi base stations from 24,400 in March to 50,000 by the end of 2013. Most of us won't reap the rewards of the upgrade, but it's good to know that Japan's biggest carrier will soon be a first-class 4G citizen.

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Via: Impress Watch (translated)

Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)

While the semi-annual parade of new smartphone models at NTT DoCoMo often reveals some unexpected devices, this summer it had a bumper crop: we've already seen the new Sony Xperia A, Sharp's Aquos Phone Zeta and Aquos Pad SH-08E plus a Galaxy S4 in "arctic blue." Seven more phones round out the lineup and NTT DoCoMo is trumpeting 2,100 mAh minimum batteries, LTE, NFC and quad-core processors for the entire gamut. Other standout models include Fujitsu's 5.2-inch, 1080P Arrows NX F-06E, a model with a 16-megapixel camera you'll likely never see stateside, Panasonic's Eluga V P-06D with a 4.7-inch 1080P screen and a whopping 2,600 mAh battery, and Disney Mobile's F-07D, which should be an endurance wonder with a 720P screen and 2,600mAh cell. Naturally, there's a rainbow of new hues for most of the models, which will roll out over the summer in Japan -- click the source link PDF for detailed specs or check the PR after the jump.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile

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Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)

Amid the bevy of phones outed in NTT DoCoMo's summer lineup, the Japanese carrier snuck in a tablet: Sharp's Aquos Pad SH-08E. A 7-inch 1,920 x 1,200 IGZO display dominates the front of the Android 4.2 device, while a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor and a 4,200mAh battery are tucked inside. When it comes to imaging, the slab totes an 8.1-megapixel shooter on its rear, and wears a 2.1-megapixel cam on the front. The hardware's also been kitted out with WiFi, NFC and TV tuning capabilities, along with waterproofing and dustproofing, to boot. As the slate's outfitted to work with DoCoMo's Xi LTE network, it's capable of sucking down 100Mbps and uploading at 37.5Mbps. There's no word on how much it'll empty wallets, but it's penciled in to be available in Japan by the end of July.

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Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)

The folks at NTT DoCoMo have just paraded out their roster of handsets for the summer season, and tucked in among the phones is the waterproof Aquos Phone Zeta SH-06E, which packs a 1080p IGZO display. Behind the 4.8-inch screen, the Android 4.2 handset totes a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor, NFC, WiFi, a TV tuner and a 2,600mAh battery. As for cameras, the Sharp-made hardware -- which comes in blue, red and white hues -- packs a 13.1-megapixel rear shooter and a 2.1-megapixel front-facing cam. Since the device operates on the network's Xi LTE service, it's rated to pull down 100Mbps and upload at 37.5Mbps. As for a release date, the smartphone is slated to hit Japanese streets on May 24th. There's no telling when this cellphone or its 1080p IGZO display will arrive in other territories, but our eyes sure hope it's soon.

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Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)

Sony is adding another option to its smartphone lineup with this Xperia A it just announced in Japan. Spotted a few days ago in an FCC filing, the SO-04E will be released on the 17th on NTT DoCoMo. It slots in a step below the Z and ZL models on the spec sheet however, with a 1,280 x 720 4.6-inch LCD. It shares most of their internals, with a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro CPU and Android 4.1, which are nice, but not the latest out (Snapdragon 600 and Android 4.2.) It also packs a 2,300mAh battery, 13MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera. Like all of the phones announced today in NTT DoCoMo's summer push it supports LTE, and it will have NOTTV access after an update this fall.

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Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF), (2)

Samsung can add "mist" and "frost" to its color names, but deep down we know the Galaxy S 4 only comes in black or white. That is, unless you're one of NTT DoCoMo's customers, who can expect the Korean flagship to arrive in blue arctic as well. A leaked pamphlet reveals that the third shade will be announced when the quad-core handset is announced on May 15th -- confirming once and for all that Japanese mobile users get all the fun.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: All About Samsung, SammyHub

Source: RBMen (Translated)

Many have suspected that Sony wasn't done with its 2013 high-end phones just because the Xperia Z and ZL were shipping. As of today, that's more than just speculation: a once-rumored Xperia A has swung through the FCC for approval as NTT DoCoMo's SO-04E. The filing is unusually detailed for a device that isn't official, showing a 5-inch, 1080p handset that maintains Sony's OmniBalance look while including a removable, 2,300mAh battery that we haven't seen in the Z or ZL. The manual also has the Android phone sharing the Z's 13-megapixel camera, 16GB of built-in storage and LTE, although mum's the word on any upgrade to the Snapdragon S4 Pro. Sony hasn't confirmed what we're seeing, but we may not have long to learn the full story when NTT DoCoMo is revealing its summer mobile lineup on May 15th.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sony

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Source: FCC