Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from March 2004

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from March 2004

Hitachi's U.S. unit sets up hard disk drive subsidiary in Shanghai.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 23 Kyodo Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc., a U.S. unit of Hitachi Ltd., said Monday it has set up a subsidiary in Shanghai to provide support services to customers in China who have bought its hard disk drives. The...

Hitachi develops display to show 3D images from any angle.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 24 Kyodo Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it has developed a cylinder-shaped three-dimensional (3D) image display by which air-born 3D images can be viewed from any angle without special glasses. The display, which measures 40...

LEAD: IBM Japan develops prototype, portable computing device.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo (EDS: RECASTING WITH COMMENTS BY COMPANY SPOKESMAN) IBM Japan Ltd. said Wednesday it has developed a prototype of a compact portable computing device that allows users to carry their software to locations equipped...

Pocket Card to buy 14.9% equity stake in Famima Credit.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo Pocket Card Co. will acquire a 14.9% equity stake in industry peer Famima Credit Corp. for 521.5 million yen through a third-party new share allotment scheduled later this week, the two credit card companies said...

Resona to merge 3 firms for capital tie-up with Credit Saison.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo Resona Holdings Inc. said Wednesday credit card company Credit Saison Co. will take a stake in a credit card company to be created on July 1 through a merger of three credit card firms under the banking group. ...

IBM Japan unveils palm-held PC.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo IBM Japan Ltd. said Wednesday it has developed a palm-held personal computer that contains key components such as a microprocessor, a hard-disk drive and data. The first product of its kind ever developed in Japan...

Softbank BB receives 1,900 calls from customers over data leak.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 25 Kyodo Softbank BB Corp. said Wednesday it has received about 1,900 calls from its customers over a leak of personal data on subscribers to its broadband Internet access services. Softbank BB, an Internet access service...

Yahoo Japan, Recruit set up joint firm for Net-based job placement.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 26 Kyodo Yahoo Japan Corp. said Thursday it has established a joint company with Recruit Co. to operate a Web site for people seeking employment, especially part-time work. The new company, Indival Inc., will show...

IBM Japan reports 16.6% fall in group net profit in year to Dec.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 26 Kyodo IBM Japan Ltd. said Thursday its group net profit fell 16.6% in the business year to Dec. 31 to 79.28 billion yen for the fourth straight annual tumble. IBM Japan traced the profit fall to restructuring-related...

2ND LD: Softbank confirms data leaked on 4.52 mil. clients.
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 27 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING INFO AT 7TH PARA, INSERTING 8TH PARA) Softbank Corp. President Masayoshi Son on Friday confirmed that data have been leaked on some 4.52 million subscribers to the firm's Internet connection service...

Microsoft to remove controversial provision in PC licensing deals.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... TOKYO, Feb. 27 Kyodo Microsoft Corp. has decided to remove a patent-related provision inserted in licensing contracts with personal computer (PC) makers, the U.S. software giant's Japanese unit said Friday. The decision follows a raid...

Softbank borrows 124.1 bil. yen from Citibank for broadband business.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 2 Kyodo Softbank Corp. said Tuesday it took out a 124.1 billion yen ($1,135 million) loan from Citibank N.A. through a U.S. subsidiary to finance its broadband Internet connection operations, the company said. The...

NTT West, Sharp to begin joint broadband service to download movies.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... OSAKA, March 3 Kyodo NTT West Corp. and Sharp Corp. said Wednesday they will begin a joint broadband-based service next Wednesday to allow users to download movies to watch on television. The service connects Sharp's Galileo personal...

LEAD: NTT DoCoMo suspends sales of Fujitsu's FOMA handset model.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATING WITH SALES RESUMPTION INFO) NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday it will resume sales Saturday of the F900i handset model for its FOMA third-generation mobile phone service after a temporary halt due to...

2003 domestic shipments of servers rise in volume, fall in value.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 3 Kyodo Domestic shipments of servers rose 8.2% in 2003 from the previous year to 436,457 units, the first increase in two years, Gartner Japan Ltd. said Wednesday. On a value basis, the shipments, which include those of...

IBM Japan to sell easy Internet terminal for handicapped, elderly.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 4 Kyodo IBM Japan Ltd. said Thursday it has developed a large-screen computer terminal offering easy Internet access for elderly people and the handicapped, including sight-impaired people. The Japanese unit of U.S....

H.K.'s Culturecom seeks tie-up with Japan firms for Chinese market.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 5 Kyodo Culturecom Holdings Ltd. of Hong Kong is willing to team up with Japanese firms to produce consumer electronics containing its V-dragon central processing unit (CPU) for the Chinese market, the company's president...

Enhanced viewing system developed for soccer games on Net.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 6 Kyodo A group of university computer engineers and sports scientists has developed a system enabling computer users to choose moving images in soccer games shown on the Internet from their favorite angles. Tsukuba...

Tuka group to launch world's thinnest flip handset.(Brief Article)
March 9, 2004... TOKYO, March 8 Kyodo The Tuka group said Monday it will launch what it claims to be the world's thinnest and lightest flip handset on the domestic market on Friday. The new camera-equipped TK41 handset, manufactured by Kyocera Corp.,...

PC semiconductor revenues likely to rise 18% in 2004.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... NEW YORK, March 8 Kyodo Global revenues of semiconductors used in personal computers (PCs) are likely to grow 18.0% in 2004 from the previous year to $53.6 billion, U.S. research and consulting company International Data Corp. (IDC)...

At least 10 new computer viruses found since mid-Feb.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... TOKYO, March 9 Kyodo At least 10 new computer viruses of medium and higher risk have turned up since mid-February, reflecting increased competition in development of variant viruses, antivirus company Network Associates Japan Ltd. warned...

Univ. lab, Toyota develop pollution-free plating technology.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... TOKYO, March 9 Kyodo A university laboratory said Tuesday it and Toyota Motor Corp. have jointly developed an environmentally friendly plating technology. The technology involves the use of titanium dioxide as a photo catalyst in...

Sony, 3 other companies develop new smart card.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo Sony Corp. has developed a new-generation smart card with the dual functions of contact and ''contactless'' integrated circuit (IC) card technologies in a tie-up with three other companies, Sony officials said...

Japanese developer devises OS for nonstandard characters.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo The developer of the Tron computer operating system said Wednesday he has developed a technology to show nonstandard Japanese kanji characters even on Western operating systems such as Windows and Macintosh. ...

No. of DSL subscribers jumps globally in 2003, China ranks top.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... NEW YORK, March 12 Kyodo The number of subscribers to high-speed digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet access services came to 63.84 million globally at the end of 2003, up a hefty 77.8% from a year earlier, a U.S. industry association...

Consortium formed in Japan to promote Linux-based operating system.(Brief Article)
March 15, 2004... TOKYO, March 12 Kyodo A group of 14 information technology (IT) companies said Friday they have established a consortium to develop an advanced information system using a Linux-based operating system (OS). The consortium, called...

LEAD: HP to sell Linux-based PCs in Asia-Pacific region.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... NEW YORK, March 16 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATING WITH COMMENT BY HP OFFICIAL AND CHANGING DATELINE) Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) plans to start selling Linux-based personal computers (PCs) around June in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan and...

Guinness World Records to list Toshiba for smallest HDD.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... TOKYO, March 16 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday that Guinness World Records has certified its 0.85-inch hard disk drive (HDD) as the smallest in the world and will feature it in the 2005 edition of its record book to be published in...

Sony to launch music streaming service for mobile phones in N. Europe.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... HANOVER, Germany, March 18 Kyodo Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will soon launch the world's first ''personalized radio service'' in Northern Europe that lets users upload their favorite songs to their mobile phones. The music...

Softbank BB to provide free security services for 6 months.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... TOKYO, March 18 Kyodo Softbank BB Corp. said Thursday it will provide its Internet connection service subscribers with free services for shielding computers from viruses and repelling hackers' intrusion attempts for six months in a...

NEC to release 3 new cell phone models in China.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... TOKYO, March 18 Kyodo NEC Corp. said Thursday it will release three new mobile phone models in China in a bid to capitalize on the rapid growth of what is already the largest cell phone market in the world. The three models include a...

Yahoo BB client data likely leaked by insiders: Softbank panel.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... TOKYO, March 18 Kyodo The massive quantity of client data leaked from Internet service provider Yahoo BB last year in two separate cases was likely obtained by insiders as there was no sign of unauthorized access, an investigative panel...

Nintendo to cut video game console prices.(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... OSAKA, March 19 Kyodo Nintendo Co. said Friday it will effectively cut the prices of its GameCube and Game Boy Advance SP video game consoles by changing their pricing to tax-inclusive from tax-exclusive on Monday. The change will be...

NTT DoCoMo sets lowest flat rate for 3G cell phone data service.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday it will introduce a monthly flat rate of 3,900 yen for unlimited third-generation (3G) cell phone data transmissions June 1. The fee is 300 yen lower than the fee charged for a...

PoweredCom to set up nationwide IP telephony network.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo PoweredCom Inc. plans to establish a nationwide Internet protocol (IP) telephony network by linking up 10 telecommunications firms affiliated with electric power companies, PoweredCom officials said Wednesday. ...

Toray to provide liquid crystal color filters to Samsung group.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo Toray Industries Inc. said Wednesday it has signed a pact with South Korea's Samsung group under which Toray will provide two Samsung firms with color filters for liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Toray said it will...

Sony to sell e-book reader offering 'paper-like' experience.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo Sony Corp. said Wednesday it will release an electronic paper display module next month which offers a ''paper-like'' reading experience with contrast that is on a par with newsprint. The e-book reader LIBRIe...

LEAD: Seiko Epson, Sanyo to integrate LCD operations.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATING WITH MORE INFO) Seiko Epson Corp. and Sanyo Electric Co. said Wednesday they have agreed to form a joint company on Oct. 1 to integrate their liquid crystal display (LCD) operations in a bid to...

LEAD: ACCA clients' data leaked, president set to explain.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 25 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING INFO IN 4TH-5TH PARAS) High-speed Internet access service provider ACCA Networks Co. is apparently experiencing a leakage of client data, sources familiar with the case said Wednesday. The...

Microsoft launches new speech software.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... NEW YORK, March 24 Kyodo Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it has launched a new kind of speech software that enables users to operate computers by voice. Microsoft Speech Server recognizes people's voices and makes available on a spoken...

PoweredCom, Fusion finalize deal on fixed-line phone operations.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 25 Kyodo PoweredCom Inc. and Fusion Communications Corp. finalized a deal Thursday to integrate their fixed-line phone operations July 1, creating Japan's fourth-largest telecom operator. Based on a broad agreement reached...

Dell to put more emphasis on software, computer peripherals.(Brief Article)
March 29, 2004... TOKYO, March 26 Kyodo U.S. computer maker Dell Inc. Chief Executive Officer Michael Dell said Friday the company will put more emphasis on selling software and computer peripherals along with its personal computers (PCs). Dell said...