NTT DoCoMo plans dual 3G/WLAN handset

NTT DoCoMo Inc. and NEC Corp. have developed a mobile handset that marries third-generation cellular telephony with wireless LAN, the company said Tuesday.

The handset is compatible with both W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) and the IEEE802.11b wireless LAN standard and is expected to be launched as a commercial product around the beginning of the new Japanese fiscal year, which starts in April, said Takuya Ori, a spokesman for NTT DoCoMo in Tokyo.

In wireless LAN mode, the telephone supports both data transmission and, when linked to a corporate IP telephony server, voice transmission. This enables the telephone to double as both a regular cellular telephone and, within a company wireless network, as a cordless handset and data modem.

The integration doesn't come without an impact on the physical dimensions of the phone, at least on the prototype handset. Compared to NEC's current W-CDMA handset sold by NTT DoCoMo, the N2102V, the prototype shares similar styling but is a millimeter shorter in length, 3 millimeters wider and 5 millimeters deeper at 103 millimeters by 53 millimeters by 30 millimeters. At 123 grams, it weighs 14 grams more than the N2102V.

NTT DoCoMo also said Tuesday that it has begun work on its own implementation of the Linux operating system for use in mobile telephones. The end result of the work will be offered to handset makers for inclusion in future handsets, although the carrier says the final decision on what operating system resides in each phone is with the manufacturer.

It also said it has yet to look into the intellectual properties claims that SCO Group Inc. is making on Linux users and developers. As part of its claim that Linux contains its intellectual property, SCO is demanding licensing fees of $32 per device for embedded Linux.

"We're looking into the hurdles in bringing Linux into the mobile platform," said Ori. "We haven't heard about these costs for the Linux operating system."