Japan’s top mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo, said on Thursday it will start a next-generation service letting cellphone users download music videos, aiming to outdo rivals’ success with online music.
The new service, which will start as soon as June, uses a high-speed data transmission technology to allow downloads at 10 times the speed of DoCoMo’s third generation (3G) FOMA handsets.
It will be part of the 3G-pioneering company’s so-called ”3,5 Generation” telephones.
”With the release of our new handsets this summer, we will upgrade a variety of our services including the music-downloading and e-wallet services, some of which will only be available with our 3,5G next-generation handsets,” said Hiroto Nakagawa, spokesperson for NTT DoCoMo Inc.
Downloading music to cellphones has proved to be popular in Japan, making it an essential part of cellphone services.
DoCoMo, despite its early start in 3G, currently allows the download only of partial music clips for ring tones.
Its rivals, KDDI Corp and Vodafone Japan, have already started downloading of whole tunes but without movies.
DoCoMo is also preparing other movie content for its ,.5G handsets but detailed information is not available at this point, the spokesperson said.
The upgrade comes ahead of expected fiercer competition later this financial year when Japan starts letting customers keep their phone numbers if they choose to switch cellphone operators.
”We upgraded a number of services for our mobile phones so that all of our customers can be satisfied,” Nakagawa said.
Softbank, which recently bought the Japanese unit of British cellphone giant Vodafone, said on Wednesday it plans to change its lineup of cellphone handsets to 3G, some of which can receive television programmes.
Japan in April followed South Korea in introducing digital television broadcasts on cellphones which has led operators to team up with television networks to develop new programming. – Sapa-AFP