Japanese Panel Makers to Collaborate in Large-Size OEL Development
DoCoMo Unleashes Thin Clamshell 3G Handset
NEC Considers Producing Handsets at PC Plant
Fujifilm Enables Wii to Order Digital Photo Prints
Sony Distributes Movies to PS3
Sony and Others Foray into Mini-Notebooks
ZTE Enters Japanese Wireless Market
China Mobile in Talks with RIM for New BlackBerry

Sony, Sharp, Toshiba, and Matsushita Electric Co., all of Japan, plan to cooperate in the development of core technology for mass-producing large-size OEL (organic electroluminescent) panels, reported IT+PLUS in July 2008.

The aims of the collaboration are to reduce power consumption and improve reliability of 40-inch and larger OEL panels. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry will provide support for the endeavor while encouraging the participation of material and manufacturing equipment manufacturers in the private sector. OEL panels are viewed as a critical technology for next-generation TVs. The main competition in this area will come from South Korean companies.

The four companies will begin development before the end of 2008, with R&D activities continuing until 2012. The parties will jointly develop the technology necessary for volume production in order to reduce the development burden on each individual company and accelerate commercialization. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

NTT DoCoMo of Japan is releasing a W-CDMA clamshell handset that is claimed to be the world’s thinnest 3G clamshell phone, reported Impress Watch in July 2008.

At its thinnest section, the P706im, also dubbed the "Extreme Slim," is only 9.8mm thick. The sleek-looking phone supports One Push Open and One Seg mobile TV broadcasting as well as Osaifu K-tai (wallet phone functionality), FOMA high-speed, and music & video channels. The Panasonic-made phone houses a 2-megapixel CMOS camera and a 3-inch-wide QVGA TFT-LCD.

The Extreme Slim measures 109mm (l) x 50mm (w) x 9.8mm (d) and weighs 101 grams. It supplies 150 minutes of talk time and 440 hours of standby time. Moreover, its memory is expandable to 8GB with a microSD HC (high-capacity) card. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

NEC of Japan is considering producing wireless handsets at its personal computer plant, reported Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun in July 2008.

The company has begun supplying handsets to multiple wireless carriers and is expanding its handset OEM business. Moving handset production to it PC plant would allow it to respond to growing demand without undue amounts of capital investment.

NEC’s current handset output capacity is about 10 million units annually. Producing more than that volume would require the utilization of other production sites. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Fujifilm of Japan announced that it will enable Nintendo’s Wii game console to order digital photo prints via its web-access capability, reported IT+PLUS in July 2008. Fujifilm will initially offer the service only in Japan, but will make it available in North America and Europe at a later date.

Obtaining the Wii Digital Still Camera Print Channel service requires Internet access. Users download the special software via the Internet and then use a remote control to select and order digital photos that are printed and delivered at a price of 30 yen ($.28 @ 1 yen / $.01 US) per print. Users can order large-size digital prints as well as create a Wii Photo Book, a sort of photo album that's available in various sizes, with prices ranging from 1,575 yen ($14.60) to 2,480 ($22.99).
 
Users can also order business cards using the Wii Business Card service. The cards feature Nintendo characters along with real-life photos and basic information like address and phone number. Printing costs are 500 yen ($4.64) for a set of 30 cards. Shipping costs for both business cards and photos are additional. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

Sony announced that it would begin distributing movies from Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers to its PlayStation 3 video game console, reported the IBTimes. Sony made the announcement at the E3 Media and Business Summit held in Washington, DC, in mid-July 2008.

Downloaded movies can be watched on the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld console. Rental prices range from $2.99 to $5.99 per movie. Purchase prices range from $9.99 to $14.99 per movie.

Simultaneously, Sony announced that it would start selling the PlayStation 3 equipped with an 80GB hard-disk drive in September 2008 in North America. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

China Press (Taiwanese media) reported in July 2008 that Sony, Toshiba, and other Japanese electronics manufacturers are talking to Taiwanese IT OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) regarding their plans to enter the market for low-price mini-notebooks during fourth quarter 2008.

ASUS of Taiwan began supplying a super low-price mini-notebook, the Eee-PC, in September 2007. Since then, Hewlett Packard, Acer, Dell, and others have joined the bandwagon. Now, it seems, Japanese PC makers are about to jump into the same market.

According to the report, global shipments of low-price mini-notebooks are expected to reach 10 million units in 2008. An unnamed component supplier admitted that it had already started production of mini-notebook components for Sony and Toshiba. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

ZTE of China announced that it would start supplying handsets to the Japanese market, reported IT+PLUS in July 2008. The ZTE executive in charge of the East Asian and Southeast Asian markets said that the company aims to generate $100 million in revenue from Japan by 2010.

There are currently about 10 handset suppliers in Japan. ZTE will try to differentiate itself by targeting corporate users as well as users desiring low-end handsets. ZTE is the world’s sixth-largest handset phone maker. In 2007, the company shipped 30 million handsets. ZTE is the second Chinese handset supplier to enter the Japanese market, following Huawei's move in June 2008.

Japan Communications, Inc., a Japanese startup, plans to begin marketing a data card from ZTE in August 2008. In the same time frame, it will also launch wireless service in Japan as an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator). That is, it won't have its own frequency allocation or infrastructure, but will lease a 3G network from NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s leading wireless carrier. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]

China Mobile is in talks with RIM about releasing a new model of the BlackBerry in China, reported japan.internet.com in July 2008. Specifications and details of the new model were not disclosed.

RIM is considering the move because it wants to achieve a presence in the Chinese smartphone market before Apple's iPhone 3G takes the market by storm.

RIM previously released the BlackBerry 8700g in China through China Mobile in 2007. Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL Communications is the OEM handling manufacture of the BlackBerry 8700g for RIM. [M. Robertson, Portelligent]