DoCoMo launches phones that could replace wallets.
`
`6/16/04 Reuters News 10:11:01
`
`Reuters
`Copyright © 2004 Reuters Limited
`
`June 16, 2004
`
`DoCoMo launches phones that could replace wallets.
`
`Yukari Iwatani Kane
`
`TOKYO, June 16 (Reuters) - NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's largest mobile phone operator, wants people to do more with their
`phones than just talk or play games. It wants them to do their shopping.
`
`The company on Wednesday unveiled a line of four mobile phones that can be used as an electronic wallet at 9,000 locations
`including McDonald's Holdings Co Ltd restaurants, hotels, convenience stores and department stores.
`
`Other companies plan to use FeliCa phones in place of membership cards or electronic plane and train tickets in what will be
`first service of its kind in the world.
`
`The phones, which are equipped with Sony Corp.'s (6758. FeliCa smart chip, can store money and personal information and
`are ultimately intended to replace the mess of cash, credit cards, identification cards and electronic plane or train tickets that
`people on the move have to carry around.
`
`"This is the biggest advance in the mobile industry since we first launched i-mode," Takeshi Natsuno, managing director of
`DoCoMo's i-mode planning department said in a news conference.
`
`I-mode is the company's always-on Internet service that rocked the global mobile industry when it first came out. The service
`allows users to send e-mail, chat, play games, download ringtones and access content from over 70,000 mobile Web sites.
`
`DoCoMo, which launched i-mode five years ago, has been looking for new ways to grow its business since it has become more
`difficult to add new users as nearly 70 percent of the Japanese population have come to own mobile phones.
`
`The launch of the new service is part of DoCoMo's plans to transform itself into what it calls "a life infrastructure c/mpaz big
`change in the mobile industry after the widespread adoption of the mobile Internet.
`
`NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
`
`Natsuno said it could open up new business opportunities for DoCoMo such as in finance, although he declined to be more
`specific.
`
`Other countries have also been experimenting with similar ideas. In Finland, operators have conducted pilot projects, in which
`consumers can pay for purchases with their mobile phones and a special code. They also allow users to pay for public transit
`via text message.
`
` © 2021 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
`1
`
`GOOG-1028
`GOOGLE LLC v. RFCYBER CORP. / Page 1 of 2
`
`

`

`DoCoMo launches phones that could replace wallets.
`
`Paying for parking via mobile phones is possible in Estonia and has long been discussed in the Nordic region.
`
`East Japan Railway Co, which already sells Suica train passes with an embedded FeliCa ship, plans to launch "mobile Suica"
`in the second half of 2005.
`
`Credit card company MasterCard International Japan Inc plans to conduct mobile transaction trials.
`
`DoCoMo does not expect FeliCa usage to translate into meaningful communications revenue since the feature requires minimal
`machine-to-machine communication, but Natsuno said he hopes the service will keep customers from leaving DoCoMo.
`
`He also said DoCoMo will get licensing revenue if other operators roll out FeliCa-compatible phones through the FeliCa
`Networks joint venture with Sony.
`
`KDDI Corp. has said its main mobile phone brand "au", the nation's No. 2 mobile operator, plans to introduce compatible phones
`next year in time for the launch of mobile train passes by East Japan Railway.
`
`DoCoMo had been testing FeliCa services since last December. It plans to launch FeliCa-compatible phones and services in the
`first half of July. Phones are expected to be priced in a similar range as currently available phones.
`
`Natsuno said in an interview in February that he expected about half of all DoCoMo phones released in the second half of the
`year to include the FeliCa chip.
`
`---- Index References ----
`
`Company: DDI CORP; NTT DOCOMO INC; SONY CORP OPTICAL DISC; SONY CORP; EAST JAPAN RAILWAY CO;
`KDDI CORP; SONY CORP OF AMERICA
`
`News Subject: (HR & Labor Management (1HR87); Major Corporations (1MA93); Executive Personnel Changes (1EX23);
`Corporate Events (1CR05); Business Management (1BU42))
`
`Industry: (Wireless Networking (1WI62); Telecom Carriers & Operators (1TE56); Electronics (1EL16); I.T. (1IT96); Railroads
`(1RA98); Mobile Phones & Pagers (1WI07); Transportation (1TR48); Consumer Products & Services (1CO62); Wholesale
`Trade & Distribution (1WH58); I.T. in Transportation (1IT48); Internet (1IN27); Consumer Electronics Technology (1CO38);
`Consumer Electronics (1CO61); Emerging Internet Business Applications (1EM61); Retail (1RE82); Business Services
`(1BU80); Telecom (1TE27); Phones & Answering Machines (1CO78); Land Transportation (1LA43); Networking (1NE45);
`Telecom Consumer Equipment (1TE03); Cash & Carry (1CA51); Next Generation Wireless Technology (1NE48))
`
`Region: (Oceania (1OC40); Northern Europe (1NO01); Far East (1FA27); Europe (1EU83); Scandinavia (1SC27); Pacific
`Islands (1PA78); Eastern Asia (1EA61); Islands (1IS89); Asia (1AS61); Western Europe (1WE41); Japan (1JA96))
`
`Language: EN
`
`Other Indexing: (DOCOMO; DOCOMO INC; EAST JAPAN RAILWAY; EAST JAPAN RAILWAY CO; HOLDINGS CO
`LTD; KDDI CORP; MASTERCARD INTERNATIONAL JAPAN INC; SONY; SONY CORP; TOKYO) (FeliCa; Natsuno;
`Takeshi Natsuno)
`
`Word Count: 578
`
`End of Document
`
`© 2021 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
` © 2021 Thomson Reuters. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
`
`2
`
`GOOG-1028
`GOOGLE LLC v. RFCYBER CORP. / Page 2 of 2
`
`