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To: Ibexx who wrote (103031)	8/20/2001 8:49:29 AM
From: William Hunt	Respond to of 152472

NEC, Matsushita May Join Forces To Develop Mobile Videophones By ROBERT A. GUTH Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL TOKYO -- NEC Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Japan's two largest makers of cellular phones, are discussing a broad alliance to jointly develop mobile videophones and other hand-held devices, according to people familiar with the companies' plans. Such a pact, which would unite two longtime competitors, could strengthen the companies' efforts to take on the world's leading mobile-phone makers, Nokia Corp. and Motorola Inc. The deal would mark the latest pairing of mobile-phone concerns scrambling to combat rising development costs and increasing complexity of wireless gadgets. A spokeswoman at NEC's Tokyo headquarters confirmed that NEC, Matsushita and Matsushita's mobile-phone unit, Matsushita Communication Industrial Co., were discussing a three-way linkup over mobile devices. She declined to comment on the details of the talks. The proposed alliance comes as both NEC and Matsushita are having difficulty preparing handsets for third-generation wireless services, which will become available in Japan in October. Commercial launch of the services, which bring high-speed connections to mobile phones, was initially scheduled for May but was delayed in part because of problems related to troubleshooting software in the handsets. Executives at both Matsushita and NEC acknowledge that their companies have had difficulty with the rising complexity of software in third-generation phones, which are far more intricate than today's mobile phones. NEC and the Matsushita companies would focus on developing videophones and wireless-data terminals, according to a report in Monday's Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Japan's leading business daily. The companies could also sell each other's phones and try to cut procurement costs by unifying their purchases of components, according to the report. The pact would follow a string of similar linkups among the world's largest phone makers. Toshiba Corp. is working with Siemens AG on a third-generation videophone, while Sony Corp. and Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson earlier this year agreed to merge their mobile-handset divisions. BEST WISHES BILL