At a maximum data throughput of 112.5 megabits per second, the company says the new handset will transfer data as fast as an ADSL broadband service, enabling users to view even high-resolution videos smoothly.
The new product will support the LTE (Long Term Evolution) high-speed wireless communications technology. DoCoMo aims to increase the proportion of LTE-compatible models in its overall smartphone sales volume to 60% in the year through March 2013.
The surging popularity of smartphones using 3G (third-generation) mobile phone technology has dramatically boosted the volume of data traversing DoCoMo's 3G network, causing a recent string of service problems. By encouraging 3G smartphone users to switch to LTE handsets, the firm hopes to reduce the burden on its network.
Rivals KDDI Corp. (9433.To) and Softbank Corp. (9984.TO) have begun setting up LTE-compatible base stations. KDDI will offer LTE smartphones as early as autumn, while Softbank plans to offer two or three LTE models that use next-generation PHS technology. Their efforts to break into the LTE smartphone market will get a big leg up if the next new iPhone, which is expected to hit Japan in September or October, supports the LTE technology as rumored. Both companies handle the extremely popular Apple Inc. (AAPL) smartphone, while the product is absent from DoCoMo's lineup.
Another firm planning to enter the LTE smartphone market as early as this year is eAccess Ltd. (9427.TO), which released an LTE-based wireless data communications service in the spring.
Expected to hum along at 75mbps, the maximum data speed of LTE handsets from KDDI, Softbank and eAccess will likely be slower than DoCoMo's upcoming offering.