Mobile operator rings changes

  First post by: www.itsbattery.com

In a sign of the steep hurdles facing third-generation (3G) Hp Laptop Battery wireless technology, Japan's top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo Inc said last Friday it will replace all of its 1,400 3G mobile handsets.


"We are replacing handsets to improve their function, not because of technical problems," said Takumi Suzuki, a DoCoMo spokesman.

He did not say when the handsets, the N2001 model made by NEC Corp and distributed to users when trial 3G services began in Tokyo's 23 wards on May 30, would be replaced.


The move, effectively a recall, highlights Hp DP390A the difficulty DoCoMo is having with super-fast 3G technology, which allows quick Internet access and video and music downloads.


The 1,400 handsets were distributed at the launch along with 1,900 separate data transmission cards for laptop computers. DoCoMo has promised to deliver a delayed allotment of 1,200 handsets capable of video transmission by the end of June.

Analysts said DoCoMo's decision had been expected.

"The purpose of the trial service is to improve their handsets," said Kate Lye, a telecoms analyst at UBS Warburg.

"We (UBS) have one of those handsets here... It needs a lot of improvement. It's not a great handset. So it's good that they are making improvements," Lye added.

Users had been warned of the possibility of a recall or replacement.

Japanese newspapers reported that users would be given replacements starting in early July.


Users have reported to the media various glitches with the phones, including a hp PP2100 that ran out within a day, going out of range within the service area, dropped calls and the occasional freeze, whereby the phone stops functioning and has to be turned off then on again.


DoCoMo admitted there have been such claims but stressed the main reason for the replacement was to upgrade the phones.

"We are adding new features," such as the capability to connect handsets to a personal computer, DoCoMo's Suzuki said.

E-mail services on 3G and DoCoMo's i-Mode Internet-capable phones were disrupted a day after the launch but DoCoMo said this had nothing to do with 3G technology and blamed it on the computer servers handling Internet e-mail.

Analysts said, however, such glitches made it too early to tell whether plans to launch commercial 3G services on October 1 would be disrupted.

"I think it's far too early to judge that things could be difficult for October," said Lye, adding that the replacement costs would be minimal and have little impact on earnings.

"The biggest impact on DoCoMo for this rather than earnings is image and perception," she said. "As long as they manage that, I see little impact on earnings."

DoCoMo's President and Chief Executive Keiji Tachikawa said recently that its 3G service would be nationwide in a year, have 6 million users in three years and be profitable in four.


Managing its image will be a challenge for DoCoMo, after reports Presario R3000 this week that it plans to list its shares in New York and possibly London.