NTT DoCoMo Inc announced 22 handsets as its winter models (Fig 1). Reviewing its existing handset lineup, the "90Xi" and "70Xi" series, the Japanese mobile phone carrier will roll out four new series "for different personalities and lifestyles," said Ryuji Yamada, president and CEO of the company (Fig 2 and 3).
The new series are the "docomo STYLE series," "docomo PRIME series," "docomo SMART series" and "docomo PRO series." They will be launched in succession with pricing ranging from ¥40,000 (approx US$409) to 60,000 from Nov 19, 2008, DoCoMo said.
The concept of the STYLE series is "fashionable mobile phones from which you can surely find 'your style'" (Fig 4). It is a "highly fashionable series" consisting of various designs and colors, according to DoCoMo.
The STYLE series includes six models. They are (1) Fujitsu Ltd's waterproof "F-02A," (2) NEC Corp's "N-02A," which features a 5.2-Mpixel camera and a thickness of only 12.9mm, (3) Panasonic Mobile Communications Co Ltd's slide style "P-02A" and (4) "P-03A," a "double-open style" handset that opens both sideways and lengthways, (5) Sharp Corp's "SH-02A" with eight color variations and (6) NEC's "N-03A," a collaboration with confectionery chef Pierre Herme.
The PRIME series is based on the concept: "Next-generation entertainment mobile phones with which you can fully amuse yourself and go ahead of the others" (Fig 5). Seven models will be launched as winter models.
This series can be described as a successor to the 90Xi series, which consisted of luxury models equipped with an 800 x 480 (wide VGA) or higher resolution LCD panel, a touch panel and touch sensors, for example.
In the series, Fujitsu's "F-01A" and "F-03A," LG Electronics Inc's "L-01A" and NEC's "N-01A" feature a touch panel LCD, while Sharp's "SH-01A" and "SH-03A" incorporate touch sensors. Sharp's two models support a fingerprint verification system and an 8-Mpixel CCD camera as well (Fig 6).
Panasonic Mobile's "P-01A" is the only model that includes neither a touch panel nor touch sensors. It is a double-open style handset just like the P-03A, but its keyboard display and arrangement can be changed depending on whether the handset is opened sideways or lengthways (Fig 7).
The SMART series is positioned as "Intelligent mobile phones to manage both the professional and private lives of adults" (Fig 8). The series emphasizes the slimness of the handsets, with all four models coming with a thickness of 13mm or less. The four models are the 12.8mm-thick waterproof "F-04A" (Fujitsu), the 12.9mm-thick slide style "N-04A" (NEC) and the 9.8mm-thick flip-open "P-04A" and "P-05A" (Panasonic Mobile).
The PRO series includes smartphones and luxury handsets (Fig 9). Its concept is "Digital master mobile phones to wield state-of-the-art technologies." A total of five models will be released.
The "HT-01A" (HTC Corp of Taiwan), "SH-04A" (Sharp), "BlackBerry Bold" (Research In Motion Ltd of Canada) and "Nokia E71" (Nokia Corp of Finland) feature a QWERTY keyboard. The "HT-02A" (by HTC) does not have a QWERTY keyboard, instead using a touch panel for operation.
Of the 22 models announced, 18 models support 1seg broadcasts, with 13 of them housing a built-in 1seg antenna. Only five models, the L-01A, N-01A, N-04A, P-02A and SH-04A, were equipped with a whip antenna. Of the eight models in the "906i" series announced in May 2008, only the "N906iμ" and "P906i" included a built-in 1seg antenna.
DoCoMo will launch its "i-concier," "i-Widget" and "i-appli online" services in line with the announcement of the winter models. These services will change the company's handsets from "handsets that can do things, to handsets that do do things," Yamada said.
The i-concier service "assists users as if the mobile phone were a butler or a concierge," DoCoMo said (Fig 10). It is a function that delivers local information, individual schedules, ToruCa digital coupons and phonebooks at an appropriate time based on where the user lives, as well as his or her hobbies and tastes.
It also automatically updates the schedule stored in the handset and adds information on, for example, business hours of a shop in the phonebook.
The i-Widget service can display up to eight content items, such as a search engine and stock market news, that are frequently browsed on the "i-Widget page." Users can access the i-Widget page just by pressing the "i-Widget button" on the handset, the company said.
The i-appli online is an "i-appli" service that allows real-time communications among multiple users. DoCoMo will also offer the "i-appli call" function to invite friends in the phonebook from an i-appli being used. Through these functions, users can enjoy multi-player games, the company said.
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