(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| IDO, Cellular Telephone Group to Offer WAP Services
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March 16, 1999 (TOKYO) -- IDO Corp. and eight Cellular Telephone group
companies on April 14 will begin offering new mobile phone services
using the wireless application protocol (WAP) specification for searching
and displaying information.
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WAP is an international unified specification for radio communications.
Using WAP, a compact cellular phone can be used to send and receive email
through the Internet and read text-based information produced by a personal
information manager, or PIM.
Because of its diverse functions and services, market analysts believe
that it can compete effectively with the iMode services marketed in
February by the NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. (NTT DoCoMo)
group.
IDO's name for the WAP services is EZacess, and that for Cellular Telephone
group is Ezweb (or Ezservice). Both services have the same functions
and can be used in each other's service area.
In the United States, AT&T; Wireless Services is using the WAP platform
for its wireless services. This is the first time that Japanese companies
will offer the services.
Initially, only Hitachi Ltd.'s C201H mobile phone will be capable of
using the EZservice. The C201H's liquid crystal display can display
five lines of 10 characters. It has about the same word display function
as Fujitsu Ltd.'s F501i HYPER, which can display six lines of eight
characters.
The C201H weighs about 84 grams, or 8g lighter than the F501i HYPER,
which uses NTT DoCoMo's iMode platform.
The EZservice will provide four services: Email, EZinternet for Internet
access, EZ PIM for personal information management and EZmypage.
The Email feature immediately notifies a mobile phone user when an email
message arrives.
EZinternet can read Web pages on the Internet. IDO and Cellular Telephone
companies are planning to set up special sites to provide information
to mobile phone users. A total of 15 companies will provide information
to IDO and 23 will provide information to Cellular Telephone companies
when their sites go into operation.
Using interactive communications technology, the EZservice users will
be able to search for telephone numbers of companies listed on the first
section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Ticket booking services and banking services will soon be available.
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. and other airlines also are among the companies
that provide services.
EZ PIM can read, add, correct and erase personal information such as
addresses and schedule items through the use of a mobile phone. On the
other hand, iMode lacks a similar service. Personal information is stored
in areas secured solely for users on the servers of the IDO and Cellular
Telephone networks.
Using EZmypage, one can access the server of EZ PIM via the Internet
and add, correct, and erase personal information.
(Nikkei
Communications)
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