DoCoMo plans to offer GPS phones by Dec -- sources
forbes.com
Reuters, 06.20.02, 10:29 PM ET
TOKYO, June 21 (Reuters) - Japan's largest mobile operator, NTT DoCoMo Inc <9437.T>, plans to roll out global positioning system (GPS) phones by the end of this year in a bid to catch up with a major rival, sources close to DoCoMo said.
DoCoMo's competitor KDDI Corp <9433.T>, Japan's second-largest telecoms firm, has been gaining momentum with its GPS handsets rolled out in December, having signed up about 1.4 million users so far.
The sources told Reuters on Thursday that DoCoMo intends to offer a similar service although no details have been disclosed.
"We will introduce GPS phones within a few months. We don't care if it makes us look like we are lagging. We want to catch up," one of the sources said.
DoCoMo fell behind KDDI and J-Phone, operated by Japan Telecom Co <9434.T> and Britain's Vodafone Group Plc <VOD.L>, in acquiring new users in May. DoCoMo said at a shareholdings meeting on Thursday that the poor performance reflected a lack of new models. The company was also behind in bringing out camera phones that allow users to take still pictures.
J-Phone has steadily expanded its market share with its camera phones launched in November 2000, while DoCoMo finally rolled out camera phones this month.
Shares of DoCoMo sagged 3.06 percent to 285,000 yen on Friday morning, while the key Nikkei average <.N225> lost 2.59 percent.
Copyright 2002, Reuters News Service |
