NTT DoCoMo
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NTT DoCoMo unveils the Drive Cradle 02 that turns your tablet into a jumbo GPS
NTT DoCoMo is announcing its Drive Cradle 02 that turns five-to-seven-inch tablets into GPS units. Pairing up with the network's Drive Net navigation service, the hulk of plastic will pair with NEC's Medias Tab N-06D, the Galaxy Note and the 7-inch Galaxy Tabs to help you reach your destination -- assuming you don't get caught sneakily playing some Angry Birds at 80mph. It'll go on sale in Japan this Friday, June 29th and will set users back 315 yen ($4) per month.
Neon Genesis Evangelion SH-06D limited edition Android phone arrives June 29th (video)
Sharp's heavily customized NERV Edition SH-06D phone finally has preorder and release date info on Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo, and Neon Genesis Evangelion fanboys will want to get there early. It appears there will only be 10,000 of the phones available, with 3,000 sold via NTT DoCoMo's online store starting June 29th over three days, with 1,000 of them going on sale each day at noon. The rest will be sold at other retailers with preorders kicking off June 16th and although there's no price specified, we're expecting it to be around 25,000 - 30,000 yen with a two year contract. As we saw when the phone was announced in March, it features a heavily customized case, hardware buttons and 3D Android 2.3 skin designed to reflect its heritage. Getting one may require some camping out either in front of a store or on the carrier's website (in Japan of course, we don't expect to see any of these overseas), but at least it's got to be easier than life in Tokyo-3. Check out an in-universe video look at how NERV and NTT DoCoMo supposedly came together to develop the collectible's unique features after the break and our impressions of an unskinned SH-06D here.%Gallery-157463%
NTT DoCoMo's augmented 3D chat system lets you have your virtual cake
Google's Project Glass has garnered lots of attention among Earthlings and Saiyans on the augmented reality front. Now NTT DoCoMo is serving up its take on the subject -- a tablet-based interface it calls the "Live 3D Communication System." An augmented version of video chat, the system lets users create virtual objects via speech and also check out 360-degree views of virtual environments by moving their tablet around. Use of a special range-imaging camera also allows the software to add people within virtual spaces. The technology is a prototype so it's still a bit rough around the edges. For folks pining for a future with holodecks, however, this is the kind of baby step that's likely needed to make such dreams a reality (though, to be honest, you'll probably be long dead before a real holodeck comes to fruition). Folks whose appetites aren't quite satiated by the video from the Wireless Japan 2012 show can also check the official Japanese promo in all its cake-filled, cheesy glory after the break.
NTT DoCoMo launches free Concier mail translation app for Android devices
Not content to simply dabble in double-sided transparent touchscreens, Japanese mobile provider NTT DoCoMo continues its efforts to break the language barrier -- this time with a new Android app. "Mail Honyaku Concier" (honyaku means "translation" in Nihongo, while that last word is a play on "concierge") is a free app that lets users translate text into different languages. The software is compatible with smartphones and tablets sporting Android 2.2 or higher and accepts both keyboard and voice input for text. As part of its translation, the app sends a copy of the source material in its original language -- you know, just in case the thing does a Sheldon Cooper and coughs up "Oxen are in my bed." In addition to working with NTT DoCoMo's "sp Mode Mail" service, the software also plays nice with other apps. Languages supported so far are Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. As with any translator, you might want to use this with caution when dealing with important people -- like potential business clients or fathers-in-law, for example.
Double-sided transparent touchscreen shown off on NTT DoCoMo prototype (video)
See-through displays may or may not be making a comeback, but NTT DoCoMo is at least trying to give them a different spin. Working with Fujitsu, it's added a Vita-style extra touch panel to the rear of the screen, which works with the transparency to let the user navigate Android without ever obscuring the UI with their fingers. It also allows new types of interaction based on "gripping" objects -- holding down a finger at the back to modify the effect of a swipe on the front. The prototype was actually announced a little while back, but DigInfo has a video (embedded after the break) that shows how it works in practice -- just don't expect to be enjoying Netflix on that washed-out QVGA display anytime soon.
Amazon offers prepaid 4G LTE data in Japan, gets you online 500MB at a time
Amazon has decided that offering 3G-capable Kindles isn't enough of an involvement in the cellular world -- it's now getting into the business of offering the bits themselves. Through a tie-up with NTT DoCoMo-using MVNO Japan Communications, Amazon is selling prepaid SIM cards for LTE data. Each slice of plastic and circuitry will provide a 500MB block of sweet, sweet 4G for ¥1,980 ($25). There's a very good chance we'd burn through that in a day, but it'll let you get an NTT DoCoMo-ready smartphone or Arrows Tab online in a pinch. The Japanese can snap up the cards later in the month, while those of us in the US will just have to hope that Amazon can make a similar (if hopefully cheaper) deal closer to home.
NTT DoCoMo bids for 700MHz spectrum, will drop two big-ones if it succeeds
NTT DoCoMo is applying to extend its network to the 700MHz spectrum after losing out the coveted 900MHz band to smaller rival Softbank. If successful, the communications giant will have to fork out 150 billion yen ($1.9 billion) to make the necessary infrastructure changes to allow 3.9G devices to work on its network. While it can't be too happy at having to make do with the weaker frequencies, it does expect to pocket nearly $5 billion in profit this year, which ought to cushion the blow.
Samsung mass-produces 4-gigabit LPDDR2 memory, aims to make 2GB a common sight in smartphones
Samsung started making 2GB low-power mobile memory last year, but as the 1GB-equipped phone you likely have in your hand shows, the chips weren't built on a wide-enough scale to get much use. The Korean company is hoping to fix that now that it's mass-producing 20-nanometer, 4-gigabit LPDDR2 RAM. Going to a smaller process than the 30-nanometer chips of old will not just slim the memory down by a fifth, helping your smartphone stay skinny: it should help 2GB of RAM become the "mainstream product" by the end of 2013, if Samsung gets its way. New chips should run at 1,066Mbps without chewing up any more power than the earlier parts, too, so there's no penalty for using the denser parts. It's hard to say whether or not the 20nm design is what's leading to the 2GB of RAM in the Japanese Galaxy S III; we just know that the upgraded NTT DoCoMo phone is now just the start of a rapidly approaching trend for smartphones and tablets.
NTT DoCoMo's Galaxy S III to ship with 2GB RAM?
Ah, Japan. That far east country what begot Mario most always gets to profit from the industry's more delightful excesses. This time, however, the spoils have less to do with gaming flash and more to do with smartphone specs. In a document recently released by NTT DoCoMo, the carrier's upcoming dual-core Galaxy S III variant is listed as doubling up on the available RAM, bypassing the standard 1GB announced at its official unveiling. It's not the first time we've seen an OEM shoot for the silicone stars, considering LG's headline-stealing Optimus LTE2 and monstrous LS970, so the swap could be likely. Nothing's set in stone quite yet, but given this is Samsung's flagship wünderphone, we doubt the company wants to be caught playing in its Korean rival's forward-looking wake.
NTT DoCoMo hopes to expand content game with Buongiorno buyout
Japanese mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, is making a play at the Italian firm Buongiorno, a mobile content provider that boasts two billion customers across 57 countries. The €224 million offer must still be approved by Italian regulators, and would reflect a purchase price of €2 per share for the entirety of Buongiorno's outstanding stock. For its part, NTT DoCoMo hopes the buyout will help bolster its reach outside the home country of Japan, although the purchase is a bit of a gamble just the same. As it stands, Buongiorno's annual operating profit hovers in the neighborhood of €7 million, which means DoCoMo may be in for a bit of a wait before this deal bears fruit. You'll find the nitty gritty details in the PR after the break. [Raining money photo via Shutterstock]
Panasonic gifts NTT DoCoMo with Eluga V, Eluga Power smartphones and Eluga Live tablet
Among the slew of new Android 4.0 devices unveiled by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo today were a trio from Panasonic, including the Eluga Power phone we'd seen before and a few new entries in the Eluga V phone and Eluga Live tablet. We've already gotten our mitts all over the Eluga Power's 5-inch screen and 1.5Ghz dual-core S4 CPU at MWC, so this time we'll take a close look into the other two Ice Cream Sandwiched models. The P-06D Eluga V is a 4.6-inch variant (sliding between the Power and original P-04D Eluga) while still packing a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU. The P-08D Eluga Live tablet measures at 10.1-inches, packs DLNA streaming features and slots stereo speakers into a smooth curved edge design. The Eluga V is scheduled to arrive July 6th, while the other two should hit Japanese shelves in January, hit the source link and brink your kanji skills (or translation software) for more information.
NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan
If you aren't already accustomed to Japan's regular deluge of device announcements, brace yourself: NTT DoCoMo just stepped forward with 17 new phones, as well as a mobile WiFi hotspot and a tablet. Throw a stone at the pile of hardware, and you're likely to strike something running Ice Cream Sandwich -- with the exception of the WiFi hotspot and a single handset designed for kids, every device on the list is running Android 4.0. Among the hodgepodge of handsets, DoCoMo is offering ten dual-core devices with screens ranging from 3.7 to 5-inches, a 10.1-inch 1.2Ghz dual-core slate, camera sensors of all sizes (from 8 megapixels to 13, that is) and a curious "Raku-Raku smartphone" that promises the "sensation of pressing actual keys" to smartphone newbies. The lineup's superstars, however, can all be found in DoCoMo's "NEXT" series of smartphones, bolstering the carrier's Xi LTE service with heavy hitters like the Galaxy S III, the Optimus Vu, Sony's Xperia GX and the Tegra 3 touting Arrows X. Hit the source links to check out the smartphone smorgasbord for yourself, or read on for our list of the never-before-seen ICS devices (they're all waterproof!) as well as DoCoMo's official press release.
NTT DoCoMo expands its instant translation trials to 10 languages and 10,000 users
NTT DoCoMo's high-speed over-the-phone translation service has hit its second wider trial, aiming to test its skills with 10 languages and 10,000 subscribers -- up from 1,000 during its initial tests in 2011. DoCoMo has thrown in a few more details on how its real-time translator works. The feature is split into three steps: first, the carrier's servers recognize what you're saying, parses it into another language through its own cloud services and then converts the final translation into an audio message. The service currently functions with any Android device running version 2.2 or higher and a separate app will handle the interpretation for French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai. The Japanese carrier aims to launch a commercial version by March 2013 -- just in time for that vacation to see those falling cherry blossoms.
Google Play adds carrier billing for music, movies and books
Don't feel like having media purchased through Google Play billed directly to your credit card? Well, now you can have those charges simply added to your monthly phone bill, provided you're on T-Mobile here in the US, or NTT Docomo, KDDI, or Softbank in Japan. According to Google's posting about the move, Sprint will soon be offering the option to pay for movies, books and movies purchased through Big G's market along side your voice and data plan. For T-Mobile subscribers that means both apps and content can simply be added to your tab, while AT&T is sticking with carrier billing for apps only at the moment. Conspicuously absent from the whole shebang, however, is Verizon, which has been one of the more prominent Android pushers here in the US. For a complete list of carriers with at least some direct billing features check out the more coverage link.
Tizen 1.0 Larkspur arrives, fuels your open-source phone dreams
The unveiling of Tizen left many mobile open-source aficionados wondering when the OS would reach its all-important 1.0 status. The answer is now: the coalition between Intel, Panasonic, Samsung and a raft of carriers has posted the first non-beta release in both source code and software development kit forms. The finished versions of either carry new features to reward developers for the wait: SDK users get a new browser-based simulator and a faster emulator, while those scouring the source code will find new point-of-interest and route searching features in location-aware apps as well as WiFi Direct and more HTML5 support. About the only wait left is for an actual Tizen phone to ship. [Image credit: Realnorth]
New Eye-Fi Mobile X2 card does old tricks, but with less hassle for Android and iOS users
Direct Mode on an Eye-Fi card makes a lot of sense when you want to beam photos from your camera straight to your smartphone. The latest edition of the Mobile X2 promises to simplify this process by coming pre-configured for Direct Mode from the factory, and being accompanied by a 10-digit pairing code that'll let you register the camera securely with the Eye-Fi app on your Android phone without recourse to a PC. We'd feel more excited about this if Toshiba's FlashAir card hadn't done something similar already using a clever browser-based connection we saw at CES. Still, if Eye-Fi is the brand and workflow you want to stick with, then be advised that this particular Mobile X2 is Japan-only for now. However, a worldwide release is planned at some point, along with an update to the iOS app that'll make the key-code pairing thing work for that other section of humanity too.
NTT, Sharp, Gainax make a Japan-only Neon Genesis Evangelion phone, get your plane tickets now
If someone offered you the chance to buy a Neon Genesis Evangelion NERV-branded phone, you'd jump at it right? After all, there's nothing better than pretending you live under constant threat of alien attack, or that the teenage clone of your dead mother could turn into a giant and... moving on. Sharp, NTT DoCoMo and Gainax teamed up to produce this SH-O6D with a custom case, new hardware buttons and a (as yet unfinished) skinned version of Gingerbread that resembles the readouts you're likely to see in the depths of Tokyo-3. See America? This is how you appeal to fans, by making the tiniest amount of extra effort, rather than just slapping a logo on the bottom of whatever regular handset you're selling.
Samsung, NTT DoCoMo, et al. cancel plans for LTE chip joint venture
Looks like the decision to not make a decision has... well, created a decision. Back in December of 2011, NTT DoCoMo, Panasonic, Samsung and a smattering of other Japanese firms put their heads together in order to launch a joint venture to manufacture and sell ICs for mobile devices. Communication Platform Planning Co. was actually established with the goal to hawk these LTE semiconductors, but now that a consensus on how it'd all play out wasn't reached by the March 2012 deadline, it'll be liquidated in June. Reportedly, DoCoMo even set aside some $5.4 million to set up the now-defunct subsidiary, but now it's all for naught. The entire press release is embedded just after the break, though it's about as light on deets as they come.
Samsung ships five million Galaxy Notes in just five months
Five is an important number for Samsung's Galaxy Note. It has a 5.3-inch screen and now, just five months since it debuted Samsung has announced it's shipped five million units (the one million mark was crossed right around the end of December). That's certainly long enough for you to decide if you're in love with its super-sized frame or the accompanying S-Pen stylus, but unfortunately it has not been quite enough time for the highly-anticipated Ice Cream Sandwich software update to be released. While the world waits for the Premium Suite of apps and Android 4.0, let's think back to all the good times we had, including its initial unveiling, our original review and finally its arrival in the US on AT&T. So, are you convinced yet that there's a place in the world for a device like this, or five million phablets later are you still thinking this is just a fad?Update: If you prefer to use your stylus for kanji or kana, Engadget Japan has NTT Docomo's announcement that it will release the Galaxy Note with LTE, branded the SC-05D, on its network April 6th.[Thanks, ph00ny]
Panasonic Eluga gets official launch date in Japan and Europe
No, it's not the noise of an air-raid siren. It's Panasonic's bold return to the smartphone game. Eluga admittedly isn't the most attractive of appellations, but in the flesh it's drop dead gorgeous. It'll arrive as the P-04D in Japan on NTT DoCoMo on the 29th of this month, while Panasonic's European site now teases that it'll arrive in that continent in April. Oh, and if anyone gives you stick about the name, just remind 'em that its meatier older brother will be along shortly.
