KDDI Unveils MP3 Player Cell Phones to Rival iPod

Staff Reporter -- Electronic News, 8/30/2006

KDDI Corp., Japan's second-largest mobile phone operator, unveiled 12 new handset models it will offer starting mid-September meant to rival Apple’s iPod.

KDDI isn't the only Japanese company looking to steal some of Apple's thunder. This week Toshiba released details of the forthcoming Microsoft MP3 player it is making in an attempt to rival the iPod.

The roll out of the new phones is part of a full-on campaign by Japanese mobile phone companies to win customers before the debut of "number portability" on October 24, when customers will be allowed to keep their phone numbers even if they change operators.

"Number portability is a big chance for us to attract more customers," KDDI President Tadashi Onodera said at a press conference. "Customers will be much more demanding when trying to pick their new phones and services."

The dozen new handset models all feature improved audio player capability, priming KDDI's new phones to go head-to-head with the iPod. Seven companies -- Casio, Hitachi, Kyocera, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony Ericsson and Toshiba -- will supply the 12 models.

KDDI also introduced a new sound generator chip developed in collaboration with Yamaha Corp. to improve the quality of music played on cellphones. Yamaha supplied the chip and tuned the acoustic performance of the new handsets.

The new phones include a Sharp Corp.-made phone that is KDDI's first high-speed handset and a Sanyo Electric Co. handset that allows more than four hours of digital TV streaming.

KDDI, which is ranked second in the Japanese mobile market next to leader NTT DoCoMo Inc., said in a statement it is targeting a 30 percent market share in Japan. The company currently holds 28 percent of the market, while DoCoMo controls 56 percent.