Willcom Inc unveiled a new smartphone that, with a 3-inch WVGA LCD touch panel and a touch sensor, does not have any button on the front side. The company developed the smartphone, "WILLCOM 03 (WS020SH)," in collaboration with Sharp Corp and Microsoft Corp.
Willcom focused on the development of a new design based on the following intention of Masaki Kikugawa, president of the company.
"We hope that the WILLCOM 03 will be used by a wider range of users including general consumers, unlike the existing smartphones, which have been used by mainly business users."
The WILLCOM 03 measures 50 (width) x 116 (height) x 17.9mm (thickness) and weighs 135g. This is smaller and lighter than the existing model "Advanced W-ZERO3 [es]," which measures 50 (width) x 135 (height) x 17.9mm (thickness) and weighs 157g. With the view to acquiring a wider range of users, the new handset is equipped with Bluetooth and 1seg functionality.
The WILLCOM 03 employs "Windows Mobile 6.1 Classic Japanese Edition" as the operating software and "Opera Mobile 9.5" as the browser. The product comes in three colors of pink, gold and green.
Taking advantage of the characteristics of the touch sensor, operation buttons arranged in the position under the screen, where normally the keypad is provided, can be changed over between two modes. They are "Cursor Key Mode" in which the cursor is operated with an arrow key and "Dial Key Mode" in which the numbers from 0 to 9 are arranged like the standard handset.
The modes can be switched over by pushing the power button on the lateral side. In the Dial Key Mode, users can operate the cursor when the cursor keys are displayed on the screen.
The WILLCOM 03 is equipped with a sliding full keyboard, just as the existing model. When viewing Web pages using the Opera browser, the screen can be moved vertically and horizontally by sweeping a finger over the panel and the display can be enlarged by double-clicking.
In addition, the WILLCOM 03 is equipped with a 2-Mpixel autofocus camera. As for the communication functions, the handset employs W-SIM, wireless LAN and infrared communication. The W-SIM function supports Willcom's high speed communication standard "W-OAM."
The WILLCOM 03 is available at ¥63,120 (US$610, price may vary depending on country) under Willcom's service plan called "W-VALUE SELECT." But the actual price will be ¥35,520 because the service offers a 27,600-yen discount on communication fee for the first two years, according to the company. The WILLCOM 03 is slated for launch in late June 2008.
In line with the announcement of the new smartphone, the company revealed that its next-generation PHS will be sold under the brand name of "WILLCOM CORE." Willcom aims at a transmission rate of higher than 100Mbps for both uplink and downlink communications. The company also plans to develop a communication technique that can be used when moving at speeds in excess of 300km/h, such as when riding the Shinkansen (Bullet Train).
"The service for WILLCOM CORE will be launched in spring 2009," Kikugawa said. "The service will initially cover part of Tokyo and we will expand the coverage area to other major cities in Japan from the fall of 2009."
Willcom is reportedly considering offering new services, for example, to check the traffic congestion state, etc by using cameras installed at the next-generation PHS stations.
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