Panasonic Eluga P P-03E takes on Samsung with its own air gestures (video)

Panasonic Eluga P P03E centers on air gestures, says two can play Samsung's game

Don't think that the Galaxy S 4 has a lock on the concept of touch-free input. Panasonic has bolstered NTT DoCoMo's summer lineup with the Eluga P P-03E, a 4.7-inch Android phone whose one-handed interface can involve even less finger contact than Samsung's flagship. Its central Touch Assist feature lets owners unlock their phone, answer calls, preview content and enter text by hovering a digit just above the glass. The handset is no slouch outside of its signature trick, either -- it carries a 1080p LCD, a 1.7GHz Snapdragon 600 processor, 32GB of expandable storage and a sizable 2,600mAh battery. Japanese customers will have their chance at Panasonic's above-the-screen magic in late June, although we wouldn't count on the Eluga P reaching the US anytime soon.

Filed under: ,

Comments

Via: The Next Web

Source: Panasonic (translated)

NTT DoCoMo details its 150Mbps LTE rollout, plans to double base stations

NTT DoCoMo details its 150Mbps LTE rollout, plans to double base stations

To this day, relatively few wireless carriers offer LTE at its loftiest 150Mbps speeds. We'll soon get to count NTT DoCoMo among those ranks, however. Alongside the launch of its summer phone lineup, the Japanese network has firmed up some details of its Xi speed-up plans. The initial rollout will focus on the major centers of Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo, all of which should have 150Mbps access by the end of the year. While NTT DoCoMo hasn't settled on the frequencies it will use, Impress Watch understands that this could involve reusing 1,700MHz FOMA 3G bands to get around local spectrum limits. Regardless of the speeds, there should be a tangible improvement in coverage -- the provider hopes to more than double its Xi base stations from 24,400 in March to 50,000 by the end of 2013. Most of us won't reap the rewards of the upgrade, but it's good to know that Japan's biggest carrier will soon be a first-class 4G citizen.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Via: Impress Watch (translated)

Source: NTT DoCoMo (PDF)

NTT DoCoMo’s Xi gets 10 million subscribers on the LTE bandwagon

NTT DoCoMo spring 2013 lineup

Lately, NTT DoCoMo hasn't had to push its customers to LTE so much as give them a gentle nudge. Just half a year after it notched up 4 million customers on its Xi service, the Japanese carrier has already reached 10 million -- no mean feat when it took the carrier a year following the 2010 launch to get its first million. Of course, it's not too difficult to explain just why adoption has been accelerating. Along with expanding coverage and improved speeds, DoCoMo has been releasing LTE phones aplenty to virtually guarantee that customers will move to 4G. Still, we don't see any sign that the trend will stop when the carrier is launching a slew of high-end devices to catch 3G stragglers.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: NTT DoCoMo

LG Optimus G Pro official for Japan: 5-inch 1080p LCD, 1.7GHz S4 Pro and Jelly Bean

LG Optimus G Pro official 5inch 1080p LCD, 17GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro and an NTT DoCoMo launch

Remember how the LG Optimus G Pro saw its biggest leak in Japan? We might just know why. Local carrier NTT DoCoMo has confirmed the new flagship's existence as part of a spring device lineup, and it's everything that was rumored just days ago. LG is adding to the rapidly burgeoning crowd of 5-inch, 1080p phones while freshening the formula we'd seen in the regular Optimus G: there's now a quicker, 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro chip, a heftier 3,000mAh battery and Jelly Bean (albeit Android 4.1, not 4.2) out of the box. Other elements are familiar carryovers, such as the 2GB of RAM, 13-megapixel camera, 32GB of built-in storage, a microSDXC slot and LTE. Japanese buyers will have to wait until early April to pick up an Optimus G Pro for themselves; as LG hasn't confirmed the phone separately, other countries' launches are still up in the air.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: NTT DoCoMo (1), (2)

NTT cuts fiber internet prices in Japan, may be reacting to an LTE generation

Samsung Galaxy S III at NTT DoCoMo

As manic as LTE adoption has been in the US, it could be triggering a full-fledged generational rift in Japan. NTT is cutting prices for fiber-to-the-home internet access by as much as 34 percent in the midst of falling landline subscriptions, and Australia's Delimiter hears from unofficial sources at the provider that the cuts may be in response to youth being enamored with 4G on their phones. The tipsters believe that many of the younger set are picking one expensive LTE plan, even with data caps, instead of paying for two services; a price drop would be an attempt to keep at least a few of these wireless rebels onboard. Take the assertions with a grain of salt when there's no official statements to match, but there's no doubt that 4G demand is booming when NTT's own DoCoMo just landed its 7 millionth Xi contract. We only wish American wired and wireless carriers would be so accommodating of our temptation to cut the cord.

Filed under: , , , ,

Comments

Via: GigaOM

Source: NTT West (translated), Delimiter

Japan LTE growth continues, NTT DoCoMo adds a million users in under 2 months

Japan LTE growth continues, NTT DoCoMo adds a million users in under 2 months

As British readers bang their heads on desks, and LTE remains something perpetually happening "next year," another island nation is very much on-board with the new tech. NTT DoCoMo, one of Japan's biggest mobile carriers, has announced it now has over 4 million LTE users, with the last million joining its 4G Xi (pronounced "crossy") network in the last month and a half. Speeds top out at an impressive 75 Mbps, with eight of its most recent releases -- including the Galaxy S III and the Optimus Vu -- compatible with the new network. NTT DoCoMo saw uptake growth double after launching the LTE-centric summer range.

Filed under:

Japan LTE growth continues, NTT DoCoMo adds a million users in under 2 months originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 04:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNTT DoCoMo  | Email this | Comments

NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan

NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan

If you aren't already accustomed to Japan's regular deluge of device announcements, brace yourself: NTT DoCoMo just stepped forward with 17 new phones, as well as a mobile WiFi hotspot and a tablet. Throw a stone at the pile of hardware, and you're likely to strike something running Ice Cream Sandwich -- with the exception of the WiFi hotspot and a single handset designed for kids, every device on the list is running Android 4.0. Among the hodgepodge of handsets, DoCoMo is offering ten dual-core devices with screens ranging from 3.7 to 5-inches, a 10.1-inch 1.2Ghz dual-core slate, camera sensors of all sizes (from 8 megapixels to 13, that is) and a curious "Raku-Raku smartphone" that promises the "sensation of pressing actual keys" to smartphone newbies. The lineup's superstars, however, can all be found in DoCoMo's "NEXT" series of smartphones, bolstering the carrier's Xi LTE service with heavy hitters like the Galaxy S III, the Optimus Vu, Sony's Xperia GX and the Tegra 3 touting Arrows X. Hit the source links to check out the smartphone smorgasbord for yourself, or read on for our list of the never-before-seen ICS devices (they're all waterproof!) as well as DoCoMo's official press release.

Continue reading NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan

NTT DoCoMo launching 19 new devices this summer, brings Galaxy S III to Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 01:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceNTT DoCoMo (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments