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Samsung’s Galaxy S III launch plans continue to spread, with the new smartphone now showing up for duty as part of Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo ‘s 19-strong summer range. Set to share shelf space with fifteen other phones, as well as a waterproof tablet, a handset targeted at kids and a mobile LTE router, there are also some less-usual features like touchscreens that feel like physical buttons in the new Raku-Raku PHONE.
Japanese mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo , is making a play at the Italian firm Buongiorno, a mobile content provider that boasts two billion customers across 57 countries. The €224 million offer must still be approved by Italian regulators, and would reflect a purchase price of €2 per share for the entirety of Buongiorno’s outstanding stock.
Among the slew of new Android 4.0 devices unveiled by Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo today were a trio from Panasonic, including the Eluga Power phone we’d seen before and a few new entries in the Eluga V phone and Eluga Live tablet. We’ve already gotten our mitts all over the Eluga Power’s 5-inch screen and 1.5Ghz dual-core S4 CPU at MWC , so this time we’ll take a close look into the other two Ice Cream Sandwiched models.
If you aren’t already accustomed to Japan’s regular deluge of device announcements , brace yourself: NTT DoCoMo just stepped forward with 17 new phones, as well as a mobile WiFi hotspot and a tablet. Throw a stone at the pile of hardware, and you’re likely to strike something running Ice Cream Sandwich — with the exception of the WiFi hotspot and a single handset designed for kids , every device on the list is running Android 4.0 .
Japan’s largest mobile telco is about to buy in to mobile media content in Europe and farther afield, by acquiring one of the space’s pioneer companies. NTT Docomo has tabelled a €224 million ($287 million, 24 billon yen) bid for Milan-based Buongiorno , which began in 1995 and has built up through acquisitions to offer mobile games, music and other services.
NTT DoCoMo’s high-speed over-the-phone translation service has hit its second wider trial, aiming to test its skills with 10 languages and 10,000 subscribers — up from 1,000 during its initial tests in 2011. DoCoMo has thrown in a few more details on how its real-time translator working.
Mobile carrier NTT Docomo today announced a move in its strategy to grow its content business outside of its traditional base of Japan: it issued a tender offer to acquire Buongiorno, a mobile content company based in Italy, paying up to ¥24 billion ($300 million) for the assets. Docomo notes in a statement that the acquisition would be made by its Germany-based subsidiary, Docomo Deutschland, and that Maruo del Rio, Buongiorno’s majority shareholder and chairman with 20 percent of Buongiorno’s stock, has already agreed to sell his stake to the carrier.
We just happened upon the Sony Xperia Acro HD for NTT DoCoMo , which is sold as the SO-03HD and recently launched with the Japanese carrier. As many of you are aware, the handset is a variant of the Xperia Ion , but with a few features for the locals such as a built-in TV tuner, mobile payment and infrared support.
There’s a trend going on right this second in the streaming audio world and Samsung’s Galaxy S III has just gotten on board – high definition Bluetooth-sent audio with aptX. This technology has been working for a while now on such products as Apple’s Snow Leopard, Lion, the Motorola DROID RAZR, and Samsung’s own Galaxy Tab 7.0, but up until now here with this newest range of smartphones has the scale tipped.
You remember that Galaxy S II? A phone so good they launched it, well, a whole load of times.