First i-mode 3G Terminal in Europe

Europe : NEC Corporation announced that it has developed its first i-mode 3G wireless terminal "N600i" for an operator outside Japan and has commenced delivery of the terminal for COSMOTE, the largest mobile operator in Greece. COSMOTE, celebrating i-mode's first year in the Greek market, is the first i-mode operator in the world, after NTT DoCoMo in Japan, to introduce the 3rd Generation i-mode, next generation innovative mobile Internet services.

With i-mode, COSMOTE made a significant breakthrough in the area of advanced data services. The company's priorities for the coming years include the development and expansion of data services in Greece and the markets in which the company operates in South-Eastern Europe, the increase of their participation in the company's total revenues, the reinforcement of its customers' loyalty and the maintenance of its leading position in the market.

The new terminal is the first 3G (W-CDMA) and GSM/GPRS-capable
i-mode terminal outside Japan.

In late 2004, NEC reorganized its platform strategy for 3rd Generation
(3G) mobile terminals. "Platform" for mobile terminals stands for the chipset boasting digital base band LSI incorporating software that is capable of handling dual modes, W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS.

As part of NEC's new 3G (W-CDMA and GSM/GPRS dual mode) mobile terminal platform strategy for global business, NEC employs not only its own proprietary platforms for high-end flagship 3G models but also incorporates the best of breed of platforms to bring an attractive and broad product range to the market in a timely and effective manner. The new 3G i-mode terminal is the first mobile product arising from its new strategy.

The new terminal has been realized through a combination of NEC's global i-mode and 3G technologies, and the know-how of Ericsson Mobile Platforms, the world's leading 3G platform provider.

NEC's 3G i-mode mobile terminal "N600i"

"N600i" is one of the most compact (94.4×47.5×24.5mm, 113g, 90CC) and striking clam-shell-type 3G video-phones. Equipped with a full-scale 1.3M pixel-integrated-camera; it enables the taking of high-quality images by users.

N600i also features a 2 inch 65K QVGA main LCD, capable of displaying not only high-resolution pictures but also MPEG4 movies.
Developed based on expertise acquired from the mobile Internet markets in Japan and Europe, and comprising 72 tone polyphonic ringtones, DoJa(R) JAVA Applications and a wide variety of connectivity technology such as Bluetooth and USB, N600i is highly suited to accessing mobile Internet applications and rich contents. Its 20MB embedded memory and Trans-Flash memory card enable storage of large amounts of data.

The terminal accommodates 8 languages; Spanish, English, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Greek, and Chinese.

Today, apart from NTT DoCoMo, i-mode services are also available through BASE in Belgium, Bouygues Telecom in France, E-Plus in Germany, Far EasTone in Taiwan, KPN Mobile in Holland, Telefonica Moviles in Spain, Telstra in Australia, Cosmote in Greece, and Wind in Italy. NEC is supplying i-mode terminals for all of these operators, and is currently preparing for the launch of Mobile Telesystems in Russia. Four new operators, Cellcom in Israel, O2 in Great Britain, and StarHub in Singapore, have all signed related agreements with NTT DoCoMo, and are expected to launch i-mode shortly. i-mode service users currently amount to 5 million outside of Japan, increasing the total amount of i-mode subscribers to approximately 50,000,000 worldwide. In the future i-mode's appeal and growth is expected to retain its strong position as i-mode operators are deeply committed to close cooperation for the further improvement of i-mode service offerings, as well as the expansion of i-mode's global presence.

NEC will leverage the newly developed terminal to further approach other i-mode operators toward the wider supply of its i-mode 3G terminals. Capable of providing not only i-mode handsets but also i-mode service platforms, NEC will employ its total i-mode solutions, including the new i-mode 3G terminal, to contribute to the expansion of i-mode and mobile multimedia worldwide.