Hardware
Sony's videogame unit delayed for the second time the release of its much-anticipated virtual-community service for the PlayStation 3, showing the extra care it is taking in vetting products as demand for the videogame console is increasing. The 3-D service called Home, which originally was expected to be sold starting last year, is now expected to be available in the fall, the company said. The service will let users create avatar characters, decorate homes and interact with other users in a virtual world. As more people have access to faster Internet connections, online communities like those that allow players to socialise with one another in addition to playing games have grown popular in recent years. They are considered an important part of the game-playing experience.
Fujitsu has launched a series of 320GB 2.5-inch hard disk drives containing automatic hardware-based encryption for securing data against theft and loss. The MHZ2 CJ Series drives provide rotational speed of 7200rpm and a 3.0Gbps serial advanced technology attachment interface. Built-in 256bit AES encrypts the data when storing it on the hard disk drive and decrypts the data when read.
Canon has lowered its profit and sales forecasts as the yen's climb to a 12-year high erodes the value of overseas sales. Net income is expected to climb 2.4% to Y500 billion ($4.8 billion) in 2008, compared with a previous forecast of Y520 billion. Sales is expected to rise 2% to Y4.57 trillion, less than the Y4.72 trillion predicted earlier.
Media, entertainment and gaming
Nintendo reported a 48% increase in its annual net profit as its Wii videogame console and DS portable-game device continued to sell strongly, but it set a conservative forecast for this fiscal year as a stronger Japanese yen reduces the value of overseas sales. Net income for the year ended March 31 rose to Ñ257.3 billion ($2.5 billion), compared with Ñ174.3 billion a year earlier. Sales rose 73% to Ñ1.67 trillion as it sold more Wii and DS devices than it expected. Nintendo has succeeded by attracting non-traditional users like women and seniors with easy-to-play games.
Nintendo also forecasts profit will rise 26% percent to Ñ325 billion ($3.13 billion) in the 12 months to March 31, 2009. Sales are expected to gain 7.6% to Ñ1.8 trillion. The Wii's motion-sensitive controller and cheaper price than the PlayStation 3 or the Xbox 360 may help Kyoto-based Nintendo overtake Sony in worldwide sales of home game consoles this fiscal year. The Wii has outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 since its introduction in November 2006.
Mobile/ wireless
HitachiÆs wholly-owned arm, Hitachi Mobile, will sell its cell phone marketing division to ITC Networks Corporation, a major mobile handset sales company, for Ñ7.5 billion ($72 million) on July 1. Hitachi Mobile will concentrate on marketing a range of machines and equipment relating to automobiles and providing maintenance services for the machines. Hitachi Mobile runs a network of 84 cell phone retail outlets in Japan. ITC Networks is a subsidiary of major trading house Itochu.
Sharp shipped the most mobile phone handsets in Japan during the last fiscal year, commanding 25.1% of the market to remain at the top of the list for a third straight year. Domestic wireless phone shipments increased 2.9% to a record 50.76 million units. Sharp boosted its shipments by 23% percent to 12.76 million handsets, an all-time high for the firm. The company's Aquos phones, which are compatible with land-based digital broadcasts and other handsets, sold well among a wide range of consumers. Panasonic Mobile, a Matsushita Electric Industrial subsidiary, retained the number two spot with a 14.5% share. Fujitsu jumped from fifth to third place with an 11.7% market share.
Semiconductors
Elpida Memory will buy a stake in smaller Taiwanese rival ProMOS Technologies through a private placement, say sources close to the deal. The two companies have reached an agreement under which Elpida will buy a single-digit percentage stake, making it ProMOS's third biggest shareholder. ProMOS and its peers in the dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) chip sector are struggling with a year-long downturn and most have posted losses over the past several quarters, hurting their cash positions.
Software
Timesys Corporation and Lineo Solutions have announced a multi-year strategic alliance. The companies will work together to jointly develop and market embedded Linux solutions for the Japan marketplace, based on TimesysÆ LinuxLink.
Telecommunications
NTT DoCoMo will start to develop Linux-based software for mobile phones with software maker Access in a move which could help open up Japan's wireless market. DoCoMo and Access plan to develop new middleware and other software compatible with that used overseas. The move would make it easier for Japanese handset makers to venture abroad and lower costs for overseas makers tackling Japan's market. DoCoMo's handset suppliers such as NEC, Matsushita Electric Industrial and Fujitsu now bear the high cost of developing software specifically for DoCoMo's unique operating system. Handset makers have blamed such costs for restricting their ability to take risk abroad, handing global leadership to overseas giants such as Nokia and Samsung Electronics.
KDDI said profit and sales will rise this fiscal year as it continues to add mobile phones subscribers. Net income is expected to rise 15% to Ñ250 billion ($2.4 billion) in the year started April 1, as sales gain 2.9% to Ñ3.7 trillion. That compares with the Ñ266 billion median profit forecast by 11 analysts tracked by Bloomberg. KDDI expects profit to climb to a record this year as it promotes new chips and software that will help slash handset development costs. The operator aims to narrow Softbank's lead in user gains with a new phone line-up and plans that offer free calls for family and corporate clients.
NTT Communications and TransTeleCom of Moscow have reportedly begun using a 570km optical fibre cable to respond to rising demand for fast data transmission between Japan and Europe, including Russia.
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