Japan's largest mobile carrier last week announced six new phones with support for PTT (push-to-talk), multiple numbers, and other advanced features. NTT/DoCoMo's 902i-series phones includes Linux-based models from NEC and Panasonic, as well as Symbian-based models from Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Sharp, and Sony/Ericsson.
DoCoMo
began offering 901-series phones at about the same time last year, in
time for Asian New Year and gift-giving season. This underscores the
often-touted advantage that Linux gives device makers to set their own release
schedules.
DoCoMo's 901-series also included models from NEC and Panasonic based on Linux.
The NEC
N900iL and
P900i offered such advanced features as WiFi/VoIP capability, and
shared a common Linux foundation based on MontaVista Linux. The new
902i-series phones are also based on MontaVista, a spokesperson confirmed.
New features in the 902i phones include support for PTT-over-cellular technology
licensed from Ecrio, and the ability to support more than one phone
number identity card simultaneously.