Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from June 2004

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from June 2004

Domestic PC server shipments rebound in volume terms in FY 2003.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... TOKYO, May 26 Kyodo PC server shipments in Japan increased 15.3 percent in the fiscal year ended March 31 to 366,400 units, in a rebound from the previous year's mild shrinkage, a research institute said Wednesday. On a value basis,...

Nintendo to unveil GameCube successor next spring.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... OSAKA, May 27 Kyodo Nintendo Co. said Thursday it will unveil a successor to its GameCube home-use video game console in a game show to be held in the United States next spring. Yoshihiro Mori, senior managing director of the...

Showa Denko to make Taiwan HD manufacturer subsidiary.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... TOKYO, May 31 Kyodo Showa Denko K.K. said Monday it will make Trace Storage Technology Corp., a hard disk manufacturer based in Taiwan, its subsidiary by purchasing a controlling stake in the firm's new shares around July as part of...

Broadband service users top 15 mil. in Japan.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... TOKYO, May 31 Kyodo The number of subscribers to high-speed broadband Internet connection services in Japan topped 15 million as of the end of April, a preliminary government report showed Monday. The finding indicated the number of...

Sony, mmO2 start music download service for mobile users in Germany.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... BERLIN, June 1 Kyodo Sony Corp. and major British mobile phone company mmO2 PLC said Tuesday they have started a music download service which enables mobile phone users to download Sony's 35,000 music titles in Germany. The two...

Fujitsu, Sun Microsystems expand tie-up on advanced server systems.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... TOKYO, June 2 Kyodo Fujitsu Ltd. and Sun Microsystems Inc. said Wednesday they plan to jointly develop next-generation computer server systems by 2006 for corporate users by merging their product lines. Under the plan, the Japanese...

Legal music download providers total 107 worldwide: survey.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... NEW YORK, June 2 Kyodo Corporate providers of services legally distributing music online totaled 107 worldwide as of May 31, up from just over 20 a year earlier, an industry body said Tuesday. The fivefold jump was spurred by the...

Dell launches printer sales in Japan.
June 7, 2004... TOKYO, June 3 Kyodo Dell Japan Inc., the Japanese unit of U.S. computer maker Dell Inc., launched sales of two printer models in Japan on Thursday, marking the company's entry into the Japanese printer market dominated by Seiko Epson Corp....

McDonald's, Sony link up on free song downloads.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... NEW YORK, June 3 Kyodo McDonald's Corp. will offer its customers free song downloads at Sony Corp.'s online store in one of the biggest sales promotions of its kind for the U.S. hamburger maker starting later in June, the two companies...

Microsoft scraps development of True Fantasy online game for Xbox.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. has scrapped the development of True Fantasy Live Online for its Xbox consoles, which was slated for release in Japan during the winter, its Japan unit officials said Friday. ...

Ryohin Keikaku loses data on 1,124 online shoppers.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo Retailer Ryohin Keikaku Co. said Friday it has lost data on 1,124 customers who have made purchases through one of its online shopping sites. As the lost data include the customers' credit-card numbers, Ryohin...

Sammy, Toei form joint firm to operate cinema complexes.(the new company XYZ Cinemas Co)(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... TOKYO, June 7 Kyodo Sammy Corp., a producer of ''pachinko'' slot machines, and movie producer Toei Co. said Monday they have established a joint company to operate cinema complexes across Japan. The new company, called XYZ Cinemas...

DVD recorder makers releasing new models before Athens Olympics.(Brief Article)
June 14, 2004... TOKYO, June 9 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday it will launch two new digital video recorders in Japan on Aug. 1, joining other domestic electronics makers wishing to take advantage of an expected increase in demand for DVD recorders...

JCB, Casio develop wristwatch with ID, payment functions.
June 14, 2004... TOKYO, June 9 Kyodo Casio Computer Co. and credit card firm JCB Co. said Wednesday they have developed a wristwatch capable of making payments and functioning as an identification card. The watch, loaded with the FeliCa IC chip...

Rakuten to buy 21.6% stake in Internet hotel booking firm.(acqures Ctrip.com International Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... TOKYO, June 14 Kyodo Portal site operator Rakuten Inc. said Monday it will take a 21.6 percent stake in Ctrip.com International Ltd., a Cayman Islands-based company offering hotel booking services via the Internet in China. Rakuten...

Softbank Investment to buy 87% stake in South Korean online broker.(E*Trade Korea Co)(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... TOKYO, June 15 Kyodo Softbank Investment Corp. said Tuesday it will acquire an 87 percent equity stake in South Korean online brokerage house E*Trade Korea Co. Softbank Investment has already purchased 47 percent of the 50 percent...

1st-ever mobile phone virus discovered.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... NEW YORK, June 16 Kyodo Russian anti-virus software developer Kaspersky Labs said Tuesday it has discovered the first-ever virus capable of spreading through mobile phone networks. If the Cabir virus penetrates the system, the word...

NTT DoCoMo to launch mobile phones equipped with IC cards in July.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... TOKYO, June 16 Kyodo NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday it will release in early July four mobile phone models equipped with integrated circuit cards to enable the handsets to function as a train ticket, electronic money and ID card. ...

KDDI to slash fee for 3G mobile phone data transmission service.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... TOKYO, June 16 Kyodo KDDI Corp., the provider of the ''au'' mobile phone service, said Wednesday it will slash the fixed-amount charge for data transmission services such as e-mail and Internet access, starting on Aug. 1. The au...

NPA, Yahoo urge Net users to be on alert for ID thieves.(National Police Agency )
June 21, 2004... TOKYO, June 17 Kyodo The National Police Agency and Yahoo Japan Corp. are calling on Net users to remain on the alert against attempts by fraudsters to steal their ID numbers and passwords by sending e-mail in the names of banks and...

Square Enix to release updated version of 'Dragon Quest' video game.(Brief Article)
June 21, 2004... TOKYO, June 17 Kyodo Square Enix Co. said Thursday it will release an updated version of the popular Dragon Quest series of video games this winter. Titled ''Dragon Quest 8 -- The Sky, Ocean, Land and a Cursed Princess,'' the software...

Personal data on 10,000 digital TV viewers found.(BS-i Inc)(Brief Article)
June 28, 2004... TOKYO, June 21 Kyodo BS-i Inc., a digital satellite broadcaster affiliated with Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., said Monday personal data on 10,868 TV viewers has been found after being left in a discarded computer. The data include...