Financially troubled Kmart faces some of the same problems other retailers confront as they try to move from the homegrown systems to packaged applications. Several retail CIOs said supply chain software isn't adequate to meet their needs.
3:48:32 PM    comment   

McDonalds this week will launch a new marketing campaign in the U.K. via SMS messaging. The four-week program will market McDonalds along side Disney to promote the fast-food chain and the movie Monster Inc. and will run in all 1,200 of the franchise's U.K. stores. Large orders of fries will feature a peel-off sticker with a code and text message number. Customers send the code by SMS to a special website for a chance to win prizes.
3:45:41 PM    comment   

Japan Telecom, in which Vodafone owns a 66.7 per cent stake, is putting together a restructuring plan to pull out of unprofitable businesses. The plan, dubbed "Project V," aims to increase competitiveness by speeding up decision-making and becoming more profit-oriented. JT will reduce capital spending from a previously announced Y152.7bn ($1.15bn) to Y114.6b, following a first-half group loss of Y5.2bn. JT is expected to suffer a net loss of Y2bn in the year to March.
3:04:38 PM    comment   

The new PDA is designed for cdma2000 1x wireless Internet services, has a 11Mbps wireless LAN modem, and has a global positioning system (GPS) feature. As far as wireless capability is concerned, this is beyond anything we have seen on the Japanese PDA market.
2:55:32 PM    comment   

NTT DoCoMo will launch its i-mode mobile Internet-access service in Germany next month with operator E-Plus. E-Plus, a unit of Dutch firm KPN Mobile NV, in which NTT DoCoMo holds a 15% stake, commands the third-largest market share in German mobile phone services and has 7.5 million subscribers, some 16% of Germany's population of 45 million. Using the same brand name as in Japan, NTT DoCoMo and E-Plus will provide German- and English-language services comparable to those offered in Japan, such as e-mail transmission, news distribution, bank transactions and ticket purchases. I-mode service for the Netherlands and Belgium is slated for April, and in the U.S. for around the end of this year.
2:50:44 PM    comment   

French news agency Agence France-Presse and Japanese technology services company Creative Link will provide NTT DoCoMo mobile phone users in Japan with photos from AFP. NTT DoCoMo users will be able to access mostly sports photos for a subscription fee of 200 yen (1.75 euros, 1.50 dollars) per month. Creative Link will choose about a hundred photos per day, translate the captions and transmit them.
2:47:40 PM    comment   

According to the article, Japan Telecom hopes to commercialize this wireless LAN service across Tokyo locations and on train cars. So far, the experiment, held in conjunction with East Japan Railways Co., has been focused on providing high speed wireless access via laptops at JR Yamanote Line stations. 802.11b, which occupies the unlicensed 2.4Ghz radio band, is being used and can be accessed within roughly 300 meters of the transmitting antenna. Interference is a concern at this radio band as microwave ovens and other heating equipment, as well as Bluetooth, operate at 2.4Ghz. The sheer population density of these major stations and the inherent idle time that accompanies travelling makes these wireless "hot spots" an intriguing commercial service.
1:58:41 PM    comment   

KTF (Korea Telecom), the country's second largest mobile carrier, said yesterday it has formed alliances with three major broadcasting stations to offer television programs over mobile handsets, heating up competition for a top slot in the video-on-demand (VOD) market among mobile carriers. The company yesterday signed the wireless multimedia content business deal with KBS, SBS and MBC. Under the deal, KTF will provide popular television soap operas, entertainment, news, traffic and weather programs over its icon-based multimedia mobile network, Multipack, beginning in late February.
1:56:52 PM    comment   

MeshLAN software leverages mesh architecture to improve robustness and range of commercial off-the-shelf 802.11 cards

Maitland, FL - February 6, 2002 - MeshNetworks, Inc. today announced the limited availability of its new MeshLAN[dot accent] Multi-Hopping[dot accent] software solution for industry standard 802.11 (Wi-Fi) based wireless LANs. MeshLAN software extends the range and robustness of existing Wi-Fi networks by adding multi-hopping peer-to-peer capabilities to off-the-shelf 802.11 cards.

MeshLAN software transforms wireless LAN cards into router-repeaters, which enhances and extends the wireless reach of each subscriber in the network. A MeshLAN-enabled Wi-Fi user who is out of range of an access point can hop through one or more users to reach the access point. Furthermore, the MeshLAN routing intelligence will automatically shift transmissions from congested access points to uncongested ones - easing bottlenecks and improving overall network performance.
1:34:13 PM    comment   

Vodafone is preparing a new micro-payment systems for its wireless subscribers that will enable them to make purchases with their handsets. The carrier has already reached agreements with 50 online businesses which will start accepting payments from Vodafone handsets for a small fee. To use the system, subscribers send a text message to number advertised on participating websites and return a PIN number through a text reply. The secure code then allows the user to proceed with payment, which is then added to their mobile phone bill. No word yet when and where the system will be available.
1:29:17 PM    comment