NTT DoCoMo delays Java phone release date

NTT DoCoMo will miss the fourth quarter 2000 target for the launch of its first Java-enabled iMode handset.

NTT DoCoMo had initially hoped to launch the phone before the end of the year. A spokeswoman refused to comment on reasons for the delay. The company's first Java-capable handsets will be supplied by Panasonic, Fujitsu and Sony, according to the same source. NEC and others will supply handsets at a later date. The price of the handsets has not yet been decided, but the spokeswoman said: "It's not going to be too high." NTT DoCoMo are set to beat rival networks to ship the new phones, with a launch due in January. Vodafone Group partner J-Phone announced on Tuesday that its phones will not hit the market until June 2001. The first available applications will be games and stock charts that update themselves automatically.