Nokia leaves Japan (almost)

Nokia says the current economic climate has caused it to leave Japan. It'll stop selling most phones and will end marketing activities in Japan, although a number of researchers will remain and the company will continue selling its luxuty Vertu phones. Nokia currently has around 1% of the handset market in Japan. [Source: Forbes.com]

Almost 20% of mobile revenue is from data

Almost 20% of worldwide mobile operator revenue comes from data, according to a report from Chetan Sharma Consulting - with some major operators receiving 40% of their revenue from data. The USA is now leads the world's most lucrative mobile data market, having pushed Japan into second place this year. Its operators are earning $17.5 billion in total data revenue, although Japan has the highest-earning individual operator: NTT DoCoMo has made $6.8 billion in data revenue during the first six months of 2008. The UK's O2 network is number 9 in the world. [Source: FierceWireless.com]

3G femtocells to be launched commercially

There's been a lot of talk recently about femtocells: tiny base stations that boost your mobile phone coverage at home by connecting to your broadband service. Well, Japanese network SoftBank is about to be the first service provider to launch 3G femtocells commercially. It's launching in January next year, although pricing hasn't been confirmed. And yes, it really is the world's first 3G femtocell service. American network Sprint announced femtocells for some customers a few months ago but only for voice calls. [Source: Telecoms.com]

Consumers waiting longer before upgrading

Mobile phone manufacturer Qualcomm says customers are now waiting longer before replacing their handsets. CEO Paul Jacobs said that consumers in Japan and South Korea were holding on to their phones for up to two years. [Source: WashingtonPost.com]

Japanese government promotes mobile payments

It's quite a day for mobile payment stories. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications says it's planning to work with the country's mobile phone operators to promote the use of mobile wallet services worldwide. It's backing contactless technology based on Sony's FeliCa chips, which has been used by NTT DoCoMo for three years. [Source: BWCS.com]

Google tests mobile ads on YouTube

Google is testing advertising on its mobile YouTube service in the USA and Japan, with viewers who choose certain clips being shown display ads on the web page. [Google blog]

Mobile data revenue to hit £100 billion this year

The latest report from Informa Telecoms & Media says annual revenue from mobile data services is set to exceed $200 billion (£100 billion) for the first time this year. Total revenue from mobile data was approximately $157 billion in 2007 and was up by over 42% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2008. Non-SMS data is estimated to account for around 35% of total data revenue. Japan's NTT DoCoMo currently generates the highest non-voice revenue, while Smart Communications in the Philippines has the largest proportion of data revenue: more than 50% of its income is from non-voice services. [Source: Telecoms.com]

3G iPhone announcement in June?

There's speculation that a 3G version of the Apple iPhone could be announced in June when the existing 2.5G version is given its promised "iPhone 2.0" software update. Market research firm Gartner says Apple has already asked an Asian manufacturer to produce 10 million 3G devices. It's also been reported that Japanese manufacturer Aiphone has recently come to a friendly agreement that will allow Apple to use the iPhone brand in Japan, which is a country that largely uses 3G technology for its mobile handsets. [Source: Macrumors.com, Telecoms.com]

Mitsubishi to leave mobile phone industry

Mitsubishi Electric has said it'll stop developing and producing mobile phones due to declining market profitability in Japan - after 25 years of handset manufacturing. The company currently provides handsets to Japan's NTT DoCoMo. [PDF press release]

Dolby goes mobile

Dolby Laboratories, the company that's been improving audio equipment for the last 40 years, has just announced Dolby Mobile. It's a new audio-processing technology that brings rich, vibrant surround sound to films, music and TV shows on mobile phones and portable media players. The first products with Dolby Mobile technology are the Sharp SH905i and SH905iTV, which are now available to customers on the NTT DoCoMo network in Japan. [Press release]

60% of UK mobile users just talk and text

Research by SNAPin Software has found that 60% of UK mobile phone users only call & text on their handsets and have no interest in other services. 29% of people said they were put off because they were confused about charging, while 18% couldn't be bothered to read the manual. Among those people who did use other features, the camera was the most popular choice - used by around 30% of them. Internet and email use was just 12%, and navigation was 3%. The researchers contacted almost 2,000 adults in December last year. Meanwhile in Japan, the communications ministry says it supports a proposed exam for mobile phone specialists who'd be able to explain complicated functions and tariffs. [Sources: vnunet.com; 160characters.org; yahoo.com]