Japan’s KDDI Unveils Phones With Digital TV, Chat

KDDI, Japan’s second-largest mobile operator, has unveiled a lineup of new phones with the ability to watch TV clips and communicate with a group via text or voice. KDDI said the autumn/winter line of phones for its main mobile phone service, au (pronounced AY-U), was meant to capture customers by diversifying its offerings at a reasonable service price. Au has been steadily gaining customers in Japan’s fiercely competitive mobile phone market, and finished September with a total base of 20.7 million, compared with its larger rival NTT DoCoMo’s 49.9 million customers.
Among the features in the phones: one of the phones made by Sanyo would also allow users to watch short segments of digital TV programs with a program guide, sub-titles and an ability to record. The company plans to offer additional integrated features such as navigation to stores mentioned in a program, links to related content or mobile commerce.

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