au launch 'au one' portal site

starting 3 days ago on the 27th of September, au's parent company combined its internet and mobile portal sites to one portal, cleverly named 'au one'. now regardless of whether you log on from your PC or from your mobile, the top portal page will be branded the same. although obviously a lighter version exists for mobile access.

it brings together sites such as EZ top menu, the DUOGATE portal and also DION by KDDI homepage. the new brand also has a new character in 'au wan' a play on the words one and wan (= dog). also for the next few months there will be campaigns with draws for prizes for those who sign up for a new au one ID and use the au one mail (Gmail in disguise) service.

Tokyo Game Show 2007

the annual Tokyo Game Show was held in Makuhari Messe at the end of last week. I have yet to attend the TGS myself, but I believe that the participation of the 3 mobile carriers is a relatively recent phenomenom, indicating just how important the mobile gaming industry has become. and from reading the reports, i get the impression that each of the carriers expect gaming on mobile phones to become an increasingly lucritive market in the future.

DoCoMoDoCoMo were promoting their 'chokkan games' that use motion-sensors inside the phone to detect movements to control play in the game. they also introduced 'next mega games' that will be available on yet to be released handsets, including titles such as Bandai's popular Gundam series.

auau's booth at the game show centered on an upcoming title 'Metal Gear Solid Mobile' from KONAMI. it is the first in the series to be especially developed for a mobile. the price has yet to be decided, but it is thought that a demo version will come pre-installed on the soon-to-be released W53S. special editions of this phone with colloboration 'style panels' were also on display.

SoftBankfrom the reports i read, it would seem that SoftBank had the most impressive booth of the three networks. they introduced 'wide games' compatible with AQUOS keitai 912SH, of which titles included StreetFighter Zero, BomberMan 3D and Tekken 2. They also announced 'tada games' which includes 32 titles that will be free of charge, and also a high-speed online game service that will launch in December. 'yosou guy' who I quite like from the SoftBank TV commercials also made regular apperances as Darth Vader.
I have posted an article on QR-codes before, but its the first time I have seen a (temporary) tatoo QR-code. I thought that quite a fun and novel idea.

DoCoMo introduce HSDPA PC unlimited data service

last week DoCoMo announced they will be starting to offer unlimited PC data downloads via their HSDPA network beginning 22nd October. one thing that may come to a surprise to come people is the price. the DoCoMo service will max out at 10,500 yen, reoughly double the monthly fee that you can get with emobile. (e mobile data plans differ depending on how much you pay up front for your data card, and discount plans etc.)

however one thing to be considered in this price difference is area coverage. emobile have good coverage in the 3 major cities plus a few others but you will most likely find yourself with no service if you leave for elsewhere in the country. in contrast to this, DoCoMo's HSDPA service currently has 90% population coverage.

starting 5th October DoCoMo will be selling the A2502 HIGH-SPEED data card which was jointly developed with Korean carrier KT Freetel and is made by Korean manufacturer AnyDATA. it connects via USB but as you can see in the picture above, it is pretty bulky.

in personal news: a few weeks ago at work they announced that we would be getting some emobile data cards to monitor. as to be expected 'volunteers' way outnumbered cards so it went to a draw, and as you can see in the photo below, i got myself a emobile D01NE. amazingly fast, but unfortunately due to the limited coverage outside of Tokyo, I can't get rid of my PHS data card just yet.

that takes my current lineup to two mobiles and two data cards:

• au W54T by Toshiba (unlimited data plan)
• emobile D01NE PC data card (unlimited PC data - 3.6Mbps download HSDPA)
• Willcom AH-J3003S PHS by Nihon Musen
• Willcom AH-S405C PHS PC data card (128kbps)

nanaco mobile starts SoftBank service

Seven & I Holdings have finally made the 'nanaco mobile' e-money service available to SoftBank users. according to it's wiki article 7&I are the largest distribution and retailing business in Japan, and this will certainly give them a boost in getting people to join, what is currently a service only usable at 7&I outlets. these include 7eleven (of course), Ito Yokado supermarkets and Denny's. it was a comparitively late starter, but nanaco mobile currently has over 460,000 users so far.

in related news, it was also announced last week that shops accepting Suica, JR's e-money service has topped the 20,000 mark.

SoftBank still adding most customers

the latest figures are out from TCA and in August SoftBank managed to hold on to the top spot, adding the most additional subscribers for the fourth month in a row. the figures are summarised in the below table.

Carrier	Nett change in Subscribers	Total Subscribers
DoCoMo	-22,900	52,904,200
KDDI	158,500 (au:203,000; tuka:-44,500)	29,059,100
SoftBank	188,900	16,854,200
eMobile	-	60,200
Total:	324,500	98,877,700

I say it every time, but remember to look at the figures for KDDI and understand that their figure combines au with tuka, their service which will cease in March next year. other than SoftBanks continuing good form, one other interesting point to be taken from the numbers is that it is only DoCoMo's second ever nett decrease since its establishment.

Ito Misaki promotes au W52H

it seems that every time I make a concerted effort to write more frequent posts, the news on all the Japanese mobile sites dries up. anyway, todays offering is yet more promotional news. Ito Misaki is appearing in a series of new cms for au's W52H by Hitachi.

the adds show different uses for the phone throughout the day, emphasizing the long battery life. all the different versions along with some behind-the-scenes footage is available on the website 'keitai lovers'.

Sega launches free mobile karaoke site

Sega today launched its own free karaoke service for mobile phones. the name 'hito kara' is an abbreviation of a phrase which would go something like 'loner karaoke' as the service is for those who wish to sing karaoke by themselves. once you go to the special mobile site you register for free and download an application.

there is over 30,000 songs available for download at launch, with everything from J-Pop to Enka. background pictures are displayed along with the lyrics to the song and you can use your number pad to control things such as the key, speed and volume of the music. the service and songs itself are free of charge, however downloading charges will apply to the songs and data you download.

for now it is just DoCoMo, with applications for au due in October and SoftBank shortly after that.

press release: http://sega.jp/kt/info/hitokara/

service site: http://mkara.jp/pc/index.html

SoftBank at Tokyo Girls Collection '07A/W

SoftBank were one of the main sponsors for the massive girls fashion event - Tokyo Girls Collection '07 Autumn/Winter being held today in Saitama. they had a large booth right in the center of the stadium, the usual posing with mobile phones during a fashion show, (is that Japan only?) and also special guest appearances from some of their image characters like Ueto Aya and Yosou Guy (above center).

the mobile at the center of all the promotion is the 815T fanfun from Toshiba. one of the main features of the phone is the sheer number of customisable face plates, many of which are designed in collaboration with young girls fashion brands.