Wifi Revolution

When it comes to security for cell phones, NTT DoCoMo isn’t messing around. The company this month announced fourteen new 3G handsets—including the P903i, which was the talk of the town last week due to its enhanced security features.

 

Associated Press reported Friday that the P903i comes with a movie-ticket stub sized black card that’s used to wirelessly track how far the user is from his or her cell phone. Once the distance exceeds a predetermined amount (current options are 26 feet, 66 feet and 130 feet), the phone automatically locks, preventing unauthorized use.

 

In its announcement, NTT DoCoMo (News - Alert) described the card, dubbed ANSHIN-KEY, as “a special IC-card key carried in a wallet or handbag to automatically lock/unlock the phone depending on the proximity of the key and the phone.”

 

“Security is increasingly a key function for mobile phones as they become loaded with more sophisticated features,” the AP report quoted NTT DoCoMo spokeswoman Mamiko Tanaka as saying. “Handset makers are all competing to come up with interesting ways to strengthen security.”

AP reported that a security code can be used to unlock the phone if the user loses the card, but that user will have to buy a new card to re-set the lock.

 

NTT DoCoMo’s P903i comes with a variety of other enhanced features, including mobile commerce capabilities (phone can be used like a credit card of prepaid cash card), facial identification lock (recognizes user by analyzing facial features), and GPS satellite navigation (allows a user, if he or she loses the phone, to locate it using a Web browser).

 

Matsushita Electric Industrial Company is manufacturing the new phone, AP reported, and it should be available at stores in Japan within a few months.

 

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