Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from October 2003

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from October 2003

Toshiba to use U.S. firm's flash memory technlogy.(Silicon Storage Technology Inc. )(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Sept. 29 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. and Silicon Storage Technology Inc. (SST) of the United States said Monday they have concluded an agreement to license the California-based company's advance flash memory technology to the major Japanese...

Pia to offer paperless 'Electronic Ticket' service.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Sept. 29 Kyodo Pia Corp. said Monday it will start offering an ''electronic ticket'' service on Oct. 22 under which users can store information on purchases of tickets for concerts, movies and events onto mobile phones and IC...

Toshiba spins off 5 businesses to improve efficiency.(includes Toshiba Lifestyle-Electronics Corp., Toshiba HA Products Co., Toshiba Solutions Corp.)(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 1 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. spun off five major businesses into five subsidiaries on Wednesday to create a profitable and optimized group operating structure that promotes management flexibility, the major electric machinery maker...

Fujitsu unifies 4 semiconductor subsidiaries to boost efficiency.(are Fujitsu Tohoku Electronics Ltd. in Fukushima Prefecture, Fujitsu Miyagi Electronics Ltd., Kyushu Fujitsu Electronics Ltd. )
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 1 Kyodo Struggling computer giant Fujitsu Ltd. on Wednesday unified four of its semiconductor subsidiaries in locations stretching from northern Miyagi Prefecture to southern Kagoshima Prefecture to boost the efficiency and...

Matsushita makes IPv6 module for networked consumer electronics.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 1 Kyodo Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Wednesday it has developed an Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) module that realizes what it says is the industry's first data communications of 100 megabits per second for...

UFJ, JCB punish execs for loss of disks with personal data.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 1 Kyodo Two credit card firms said Wednesday they will discipline a total of eight executives with temporary salary cuts over the loss of three floppy disks containing personal data on 6,900 holders of credit cards. UFJ...

Konica Minolta to supply PC printers to Chinese firm: daily.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 2 Kyodo Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. will supply personal computer (PC) printers to Legend Group Ltd., China's leading PC maker, on an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) basis, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Thursday....

Internet portal operator NTT-X ties up with Google.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 2 Kyodo Internet portal Goo operator NTT-X Inc. said Thursday it has agreed to tie up with major U.S. portal site operator Google Inc. Under the agreement, NTT-X will make use of Google's database to launch a new Internet...

NTT Communications' OCN Net connection service disrupted.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 2 Kyodo NTT Communications Corp. said its Internet connection service, widely known under the OCN brand, was disrupted Thursday for more than seven hours, inconveniencing up to 984,000 subscribers. The malfunction made it...

100 firms to set wireless appliance protocol for single remote.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
October 6, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 3 Kyodo About 100 firms will cooperate on setting a wireless communication protocol to run multiple digital home electronics such as TVs and DVD players with a single remote control, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Friday....

Sharp develops LCD module with ultra-wide viewing angle.(Brief Article)
October 6, 2003... OSAKA, Oct. 3 Kyodo Sharp Corp. said Friday it has developed a new liquid crystal display (LCD) module featuring ultra-wide viewing that enables clear display of images seen from all angles. The new module is ''ideal for use in mobile...

Sony to launch PSX game console with DVD/HDD recorder.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 7 Kyodo Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will launch a home-use device that can function as both a PlayStation 2 game console and a DVD/hard-disc drive recorder in Japan in time for the year-end shopping season. The new device,...

Subscribers to Softbank IP phone service tops 3 million.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 7 Kyodo The number of subscribers to the Softbank Corp. group's Internet protocol-based (IP) phone service topped 3 million as of last Friday, Softbank said Tuesday. The Softbank group launched the low-cost IP phone...

Nagano Japan Radio to sell brake sensor business to Continental.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 8 Kyodo Nagano Japan Radio Co. said it will sell its anti-lock braking system (ABS) sensor business to German tire maker Continental AG and Nisshinbo Industries Inc. for 2.4 billion yen Jan. 1, 2004. The ABS sensor business...

KDDI to enter into broadcasting business in Dec.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 8 Kyodo KDDI Corp. said Wednesday it will enter into the broadcasting business in December with its new product packaging Internet protocol (IP) telephone, Net access and broadcast services based on fiber-optic technology. ...

IBM to sell PCs with motion sensor to protect data.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 8 Kyodo IBM Japan Ltd. said Wednesday it will introduce portable personal computers (PCs) with motion sensors that can detect when the machines are falling and react to protect hard disks. The sensor is built into...

Namco revises upward 1st-half earnings due to Drum Master sales.(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 8 Kyodo Video game software and equipment maker Namco Ltd. said Wednesday it has revised upward its group earnings forecasts for the first half of fiscal 2003 due to robust sales of its ''Taiko no Tatsujin'' Drum Master game....

Apple to unveil new Panther OS with faster file Finder.(Mac OS X 10.3)(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... NEW YORK, Oct. 9 Kyodo Apple Computer Inc. said Wednesday it will release on Oct. 24 a new operating system that features a revamped Finder interface which gives users one-click access to their favorite files and folders, whether they are...

Experimental digital radio broadcasts begin in Tokyo, Osaka.(terrestrial digital broadcasting services )(Brief Article)
October 14, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 10 Kyodo Radio stations in Tokyo and Osaka on Friday began experimenting with terrestrial digital broadcasting services that offer compact-disk-quality audio and data broadcasts. The experiments, which air music and other...

Olympus, Riso Kagaku develop world's fastest color printer.(Orphis HC5000)(Brief Article)
October 20, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 14 Kyodo Olympus Corp. and Riso Kagaku Corp. said Tuesday they have jointly developed what they call the world's fastest color printer capable of printing 105 sheets per minute. Olympus and Riso Kagaku said they will put...

Global PC shipments grow 15.7% in July-Sept.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
October 20, 2003... NEW YORK, Oct. 16 Kyodo Worldwide shipments of personal computers (PCs) totaled 38.4 million units in the July-September period, up 15.7% from a year earlier for the fifth straight quarter of growth, as notebook PCs continued to drive...

NEC Electronics, British chip developer ARM in partnership deal.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 20 Kyodo NEC Electronics Corp. said Monday it has signed a long-term strategic partnership agreement with British chip developer ARM Holdings PLC over the development of a next-generation microprocessor core. The...

Yahoo Japan to debut on TSE's First Section next Tue.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 21 Kyodo Yahoo Japan Corp. will debut on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) next Tuesday as the Tokyo bourse approved its listing application Tuesday, the TSE said. The operator of Japan's leading Internet...

Nintendo buys 2.6% stake in Bandai.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 22 Kyodo Major video game maker Nintendo Co. has purchased a 2.6% stake in toy maker Bandai Co. or 1.28 million shares, becoming one of the top 10 shareholders in Bandai, Bandai said Wednesday. Bandai President Takeo...

KDDI to offer high-speed data-transfer service via cell phone.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 22 Kyodo KDDI Corp. said Wednesday that starting Nov. 28 it will offer a new service enabling users of its ''au'' mobile phone service to transmit and receive data at a speed equivalent to that provided by an asymmetric...

Fujitsu, Sun Microsystems to merge high-end server operations.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 23 Kyodo Fujitsu Ltd. and Sun Microsystems Inc. of the United States have reached a basic agreement to integrate their high-performance computer server operations, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported Thursday. The firms...

LEAD: FTC searches Canon for obstructing toner sales.(Brief Article)
October 28, 2003... TOKYO, Oct. 24 Kyodo (EDS: RECASTING) The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) raided Canon Inc. on Thursday, alleging that the major camera and printer company is unfairly obstructing the sale of laser-beam printer toner cartridges produced...