Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from May 2006

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from May 2006

Softbank acquires Vodafone's Japan unit.
May 1, 2006... TOKYO, April 25 Kyodo Internet investor Softbank Corp. said Tuesday it acquired a 97.64 percent stake in the Japanese unit of British mobile phone company Vodafone Group Plc for 1.66 trillion yen through a tender offer ended Monday. ...

LEAD: Matsushita Electric to unveil waterproof laptop on May 19.
May 1, 2006... OSAKA, April 25 Kyodo (EDS: CLARIFYING AND RECASTING LEAD) Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., the maker of Panasonic brand consumer electronics, said Tuesday it will put a new notebook computer on sale May 19 with a keyboard that can...

Microsoft posts higher earnings, revenue in Jan.-March.
May 1, 2006... NEW YORK, April 27 Kyodo Microsoft Corp. said Thursday its net income for the January-March period rose 16.2 percent from a year earlier to $2.98 billion, lifted by robust sales of its server software and Xbox 360 game consoles. ...

Nintendo names next game console 'Wii'.
May 1, 2006... TOKYO, April 28 Kyodo Nintendo Co. said Friday it has decided to name its next-generation game console ''Wii'' before the new product's debut later this year. The name, sounding like ''we'' in English, means that every family member...

No news available this week.
May 8, 2006... No news available this week

U.S. editorial excerpts -6-.(Editorial)
May 15, 2006... NEW YORK, May 8 Kyodo Selected editorial excerpts from the U.S. press: NAPSTER'S NEW TARGET (Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles) SEVEN YEARS AGO, NAPSTER shook the foundations of the music industry by providing a virtually unlimited...

Sony to keeps PlayStation 3 prices low to stay competitive.
May 15, 2006... LOS ANGELES, May 8 Kyodo Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said Monday its PlayStation 3 game console, which will hit world markets in November, will retail for about 59,800 yen in Japan, $499 in the United States and 499 euros in Europe....

Sony to keep PlayStation 3 prices low to stay competitive.
May 15, 2006... LOS ANGELES, May 8 Kyodo Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. said Monday its PlayStation 3 game console, which will hit world markets in November, will retail for about 59,800 yen in Japan, $499 in the United States and 499 euros in Europe....

Rakuten group revenue triples to 51.17 billion yen in January-March.
May 15, 2006... TOKYO, May 9 Kyodo Net shopping mall and financial services firm Rakuten Inc. said Tuesday its group operating revenues in the first three months of the 2006 business year more than tripled from a year before to 52.17 billion yen due...

Nintendo reveals tentative release time for next-generation console.
May 15, 2006... LOS ANGELES, May 9 Kyodo Japan's Nintendo Co. confirmed Tuesday its anticipated next-generation game console Wii will launch worldwide in the fourth quarter of this year. Reggie Fils-Aime, executive vice president in charge of sales...

Next-generation consoles generate buzz at L.A. game expo.
May 15, 2006... LOS ANGELES, May 10 Kyodo Electronic gaming took center stage in Los Angeles on Wednesday, as thousands of industry insiders and enthusiasts gathered from around the world for the opening of the much-hyped Electronic Entertainment Expo....

Matsushita, Sony make technology to record 'Hi-Vision' images on DVD.
May 15, 2006... OSAKA, May 11 Kyodo Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. and Sony Corp. jointly said Thursday they have developed technology to allow the recording of the high-resolution ''Digital Hi-Vision'' images onto conventional DVDs. The two home...

2ND LD: Softbank, Apple to develop cellphones with iPods.
May 15, 2006... TOKYO, May 13 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING INFO) Softbank Corp. and Apple Computer Inc. are planning to jointly develop mobile phones equipped with Apple's popular iPod music players, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday. Softbank...

NEC sets up computer software developer in Vietnam.
May 15, 2006... TOKYO, May 15 Kyodo NEC Corp. subsidiary NEC Soft Ltd. said Monday it has set up a software-developing firm in Hanoi, Vietnam, in collaboration with NEC Solutions Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., an NEC unit in charge of overseeing sales activities...

'End of the PC era? Hardly!' say Gates, Otellini.
May 22, 2006... NEW YORK, May 15 Kyodo Microsoft Corp.'s Bill Gates and Intel Corp.'s Paul Otellini disputed the argument that the personal computer era has ended in a commentary published by the Wall Street Journal on Monday titled ''End of the PC era?...

Sega Sammy Holdings posts 30.9% group net profit rise in FY 2005.
May 22, 2006... TOKYO, May 16 Kyodo Amusement machine maker Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal 2005 group net profit rose 30.9 percent to 66.22 billion yen due partly to good sales of pachinko slot machines. In a consolidated earnings...

Sony to release world's 1st laptop PC with Blu-ray drive.
May 22, 2006... TOKYO, May 16 Kyodo Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will release a notebook personal computer equipped with a next-generation Blu-ray Disc DVD drive in June for the first time. A desktop machine with the ultra-large capacity DVD drive will...

KDDI, Google team up for Internet search services for mobile phones.
May 22, 2006... TOKYO, May 18 Kyodo Japanese telecom carrier KDDI Corp. and U.S. Internet search engine Google Corp. said Thursday they have teamed up to provide KDDI's ''au'' mobile phone service customers with Google search services from July. ...

Yahoo BB service provider ordered to compensate for data leakage.
May 22, 2006... OSAKA, May 19 Kyodo The Osaka District Court on Friday ordered BB Technology Corp., a provider of Yahoo BB Internet connection service, to pay 6,000 yen each to five former and current subscribers in compensation for leakage of their...

Household ADSL use for Internet access declines for 1st time.
May 22, 2006... TOKYO, May 19 Kyodo The use of asymmetrical digital subscriber lines for household access to the Internet has decreased for the first time due to a rapid shift to fiber optics, the government said in a survey report Friday. As of the...

2ND LD: KDDI to sell Sony's Walkman brand mobile phone next month.
May 22, 2006... TOKYO, May 22 Kyodo (EDS: ADDING NEW DETAILS) KDDI Corp. said Monday it will launch Sony Corp.'s Walkman brand mobile phone that can be used as a music player in Japan by the end of June. The new phone can play music for 30...

Yahoo Japan, JR East to team up for online wallet services.
May 22, 2006... TOKYO, May 22 Kyodo Yahoo Japan Corp. and East Japan Railway Co. said Monday they have agreed to form a business tie-up in online wallet services. The business alliance includes creating an online wallet service for purchases at...

Google to introduce video ads in U.S., Japan, Canada.
May 30, 2006... NEW YORK, May 23 Kyodo Major Internet search engine Google Inc. said Tuesday it will start providing online video advertisements in a bid to enhance its ad operations. The ''click to play'' ad service will be initially available to...

KDDI to issue credit cards in alliance with other card firms.
May 30, 2006... TOKYO, May 29 Kyodo KDDI Corp. said Monday it will begin issuing a credit card, called ''KDDI The Card,'' on Thursday in an alliance with major credit card companies JCB Co., UFJ Nicos Co., Credit Saison Co. and Toyota Finance Corp. ...

JTB, JCB to set up joint venture in July for tie-up.
May 30, 2006... TOKYO, May 30 Kyodo JTB Corp., Japan's largest travel agency, and JCB Co., the nation's top credit card company, said Tuesday they will set up a fifty-fifty joint venture in July to form an alliance in the areas of travel and credit card...