Monday, July 16, 2001		Article

NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's dominant wireless carrier, has said it would repair about 1,00,000 Web-enabled cell phones, the latest in a series of recent technical snafus to dog Japan's cutting-edge mobile services.

DoCoMo said it would also temporarily stop sales of the Panasonic phones, made by Matsushita Communication Industrial Co Ltd (MCI), after it found they were unable to receive incoming calls at certain geographical locations.

This was the second technical glitch in five months to hit the Panasonic P503i Hyper series, which connects to DoCoMo's popular "i-mode" Internet service and uses the Java computer language to enable games and other advanced applications.

Launched in January, the P503i Hyper has become a standard part of DoCoMo's product line-up with more than 8,00,000 units sold.

Japan's handset makers have been hit by a series of costly recalls in recent months as they struggle with increasingly complex software and technology for the sophisticated functions and Internet connections that have put Japan at the forefront of global mobile technology.

"As handsets become more advanced, more and more points need to be checked and there are many things that cannot be anticipated," said Toru Hinata, a manager in DoCoMo's public relations department.

Mark Berman, telecoms analyst at Credit Suisse First Boston, said the impact of the latest incident, if any, would be primarily psychological.

Another blow

"It's another blow for sentiment but in reality, in terms of the numbers, it's a minor incident," he said. "It affects only about 2.5 per cent of Java-enabled handsets out there."

"Investors will be upset," he added. "It certainly doesn't help Matsushita. DoCoMo is probably quite upset with them."

In Japan, where carriers work very closely with their vendors, DoCoMo and Matsushita, Japan's biggest handset maker have collaborated closely on product development and research.

The series of setbacks for Java and Internet-enabled phones deals another blow to Japan's reputation as a leader in wireless technology. It was smudged when DoCoMo delayed by four months, until October 1, the commercial launch of third-generation (3G) mobile services that will offer videoconferencing and other futuristic functions.

That is still set, however, to be the world's first commercial 3G launch.

DoCoMo gave no estimates for the cost of the repairs and had yet to determine who would pay for them, although the manufacturers usually shoulder such costs.

DoCoMo said the problems, which sometimes prevented outside calls from going through, were caused by a design flaw in the phone's microprocessor, developed by MCI, although the glitch could be fixed without replacing the faulty part.

Last week Sony Corp announced its third recall in as many months of handsets in Japan, estimating the series of slip-ups, which in some cases required replacing the entire phone, would cost it an estimated 12 billion yen ($96 million).