LG has announced its LTE-equipped Optimus device for the Japanese market. The Optimus LTE (L-01D) will be available on NTT Docomo and boast a Docomo exclusive Red color along with features like 1Seg digital TV and NFC.

LG’s Optimus LTE is the first device from the Korean manufacturer to sport a 4.5-inch HD IPS display (1280×720) and comes with a dual-core 1.5GHz CPU, 1GB RAM, Wi-Fi, DLNA support, 8MP camera with full HD video recording, GPS and more.

Press Release

Sony has set the release date of its next-generation handheld console, PlayStation Vita. Starting December 17, Sony will release the PlayStation Vita console in Japan, which will be followed by other regions. The date confirms Hirai’s previous statement that said “end of 2011” date is applicable only for Japan and UK and US will get it in 2012.

Sony will complement the hardware launch with 26 games and will provide 3G plans from NTT DOCOMO.

PlayStation Vita will be pitted against the surging dominance of equally powerful mobile devices like iPhone, iPod touch and high-end Galaxy devices. To rehash, PlayStation Vita will feature a powerful quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor, PowerVR SGX543MP4+ GPU, 5-inch OLED display, rear touchpad, front and rear-facing camera, Wi-Fi, 3G, GPS and more.

The PS Vita will cost 24,980 yen ($325) for the Wi-Fi-only model and 29,980 yen ($390) for the 3G + Wi-Fi variant.

[Via Reuters]

Japanese firms like NTT DOCOMO, Fujitsu, NEC and Panasonic Mobile Communications have decided to come together with Samsung to produce chips related to wireless communications. According to highly reliable Nikkei business daily, these companies are joining hands with Samsung to produce baseband chips and thus, reduce the reliance on Qualcomm chips that controls 80 percent of the market.

The status and participation of other companies are unknown but DOCOMO will have a majority stake in the group who’ll invest about 30 billion yen or around US$390m and Samsung will help in the development of the chip.

[Via Reuters]

Announced at IFA earlier this month, Sony has announced their Android-based Walkman for the Japanese market. The NWZ-Z1000 Series portable media player will be available in Japan from December that will give the goodness of Android OS and audio quality you expect in a Walkman device.

The player boasts an Inflection Surface Form design that makes it easy for users to hold it with both hands and comes with a dedicated Walkman button. On the technical specs front, the Z1000 runs Android 2.3 OS and features 1GHz dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 512MB RAM, 4.3-inch WVGA LCD display, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi, access to Android Market, HDMI, Digital Noise cancelling that cuts up to 98 percent of ambient noise, DLNA, FM Radio and audio playback of up to 20 hours and video playback of 5 hours.

The player will come in capacities of 16GB, 32GB and 64GB.

Product Page

Fujitsu Toshiba today unveiled the world’s first Windows Phone running the latest Mango OS. Dubbed as IS12T, the phone runs on Windows Phone 7.5 and is IPX5 certified to withstand dust and water. Apart from that, the phone has a 3.7-inch WVGA display, 3G support, 13.2MP camera, Wi-FI, Bluetooth, 32GB internal memory, microUSB port and a talk time of up to 400 minutes with 280 hours of standby time.

IS12T will come in color options of Citrus, Magenta and Black.

[Via Engadget]

Japan’s NTT DoCoMo today unveiled a new handset that dual-boots and boasts a full-fledged Windows 7 OS. The F-07C is touted as the world’s smallest Windows PC that runs Windows 7 Home Premium OS. Admittedly, you won’t be able to do some resource-intensive work on its 1.2GHz Atom processor but you know, it should handle Outlook, web surfing and even little bit of movie watching pretty well. It also features a 4-inch WSVGA (1024×600) display, 1GB of RAM, 32GB SSD, Wi-Fi and has a battery life of just 2 hours if you run the device solely on the Windows OS.

Booting the F-07C will allow you to start Symbian, which is when you’ll be able to use the device as a phone. The phone mode supports microSD card slot, 5MP camera and will give a continuous talk time of over 6 hours via 3G and over 7 hours on GSM.

The phone will be released in late June or July.

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Toshiba has introduced its Android 3.0-powered Regza AT300 tablet in Japan today. Expected to hit the shelves in June, the AT300 looks to be a serious tablet contender packed with 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, 10.1-inch 1280×800 display, 1GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, HDMI-out, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 5MP main camera with 2MP front-facing camera, microSD card slot and Regza Apps Connect that will connect to other Toshiba devices.

The Regza will sell for 60,000 yen.

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[Via PCWatch]

NEC is looking to expand its Android offering in Japan with yet another slim phone. This time however, the N-06C won’t be as slim as N-04C but will gain a very important feature – to ward off water to protect the phone.

The 7.9mm thick phone is certified with IPX5 and IPX7 waterproof ratings and comes with some interesting specs like a 1GHz CPU, Android 2.3 OS, 14Mbps FOMA download speeds, 5MP camera, 720p HD video recording, Wi-Fi, 4-inch 480×854 display and more.

There’s no word on the availability but don’t let your hopes fly as it won’t be released outside Japan.

[via Engadget]

Xperia acro that was leaked yesterday has apparently got an image to its name. The image was unearthed by a Japanese site who says the phone is codenamed as Azusa or SO-02C for NTT DoCoMo. The phone is said to be an improved version of Xperia arc, which is why the phone looks very similar to Xperia arc.

It is rumored for a May release and will have an integrated NFC chip, 1Seg support and infrared connectivity.

[Via Juggly, Thanks Ken!]

Companies can’t really save themselves from eagle-eyed readers. One such reader spotted a reference to Sony Ericsson’s acro phone on SE’s Japanese website. The acro goes with two different model numbers which means the SO-02C is meant for the NTT DoCoMo network whereas the IS11S is for KDDI.

As for the specs, acro will be based on the same lines as Sony Ericsson’s arc but will sport a NFC chip, 1Seg support and infrared.

[Xperiablog via Engadget]