Singapore, 5 April 2006 – StarHub, Singapore’s integrated info-communications and pioneering BlackBerry provider, today announced the exclusive launch of namimail to support the easy writing and reading of emails in Japanese for customers on the wireless push email service for enterprises.
Conventional Japanese font input on a mobile device can be a complex process, requiring users to take multiple steps. They have to first key in Roman characters before the word is transmitted wirelessly to a server for conversion to its Japanese equivalent. This method is both time consuming and bandwidth inefficient as a significant amount of data is transmitted between the device and the server just to convert the characters one by one.
namimail, a BlackBerry compatible application developed by NTT DoCoMo USA, Inc., the American subsidiary of NTT DoCoMo, Inc., features sophisticated and seamless Japanese character input capability, allowing BlackBerry users to effortlessly compose and read emails in Japanese on their BlackBerry handhelds. The software also includes a dictionary that contains 40,000 Japanese characters for easy reference, with more characters continually added to the database.
"At StarHub, we listen to our customers and strive to serve them better. Our partnership with NTT DoCoMo USA on the first-to-market launch of namimail in Singapore is the latest enhancement to our BlackBerry offering, enabling us to tailor the push email solution for the over 5,000 Japanese companies here," said Mr Alex Siow, Head of Corporate Sales of StarHub. "Today, namimail already helps thousands of users in the United States to save a significant amount of time daily by keying Japanese characters directly on their BlackBerry devices, giving them increased productivity and faster turnaround time in the course of conducting business. We believe our customers who communicate with their Japanese clients and colleagues via BlackBerry will similarly appreciate this unbeatable enhancement from StarHub."
Said Mr Nobuharu Ono, President & CEO of NTT DoCoMo USA: " We are pleased to work with such a dedicated business partner as StarHub, known for its innovation, value and excellence in customer care. StarHub’s introduction of namimail over BlackBerry devices will enhance the mobile productivity of the Japanese business community in Singapore."
NEC Solutions Asia Pacific, currently on trial with StarHub's BlackBerry for Enterprise solution and namimail, gives the thumbs-up to both services. Said Mr Takashi Tada, Sales Director of NEC Solutions Asia Pacific, "We highly commend StarHub for taking the extra mile to meet our requirement for seamless Japanese character input in a mobile mail solution. With namimail, our executives are able to enjoy always-on, secured email connection via BlackBerry. This means that business deals and key decisions can be promptly made even when they are on the go, as they no longer have to fall back on using their computers when communicating on email in Japanese."
StarHub will initially offer namimail on the BlackBerry 7290 handheld. The service will be made available on other BlackBerry devices at a later date. The monthly subscription fee is priced at S$16 per month with a one-time registration fee of S$34 per BlackBerry user. From today till 31 May 2006, companies which sign up for namimail can enjoy two months of free subscription to the value-added service.
The namimail application can be easily downloaded into BlackBerry devices via the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Companies are not required to make any further investment to start using the service.
Enterprises interested in the namimail application can visit StarHub’s website at www.starhub.com/business. They may also email business@starhub.com or call 1800-888 8888 for more information.
namimail is a trademark of NTT DoCoMo USA, Inc. in the United States
BlackBerry is a trademark of Research In Motion in Canada, the United States and other countries
