NTT DoCoMo announces 24 new mobile wonders (yes, really) to flood its network

So, Japan... want a new mobile device? How about 24? This grandiose announcement comes straight from NTT DoCoMo, which commonly lays its cards on the table for the delight of consumers. Among the selection you'll find eight new Gingerbread phones, six incredibly high-res shooters (ranging between 12.2 and 16.3 megapixels), eight waterproof handsets, and one embedded with Swarovski crystals. We're particularly thrilled to see the mighty Galaxy S II, 3D-capturing Aquos SH-12C, 700-nit Optimus Bright (contrastingly-named but nearly identical to the Optimus Black), ultra-slim MEDIAS WP N-06C, and mobile payment-enabled Xperia Acro. Oh, and don't forget about the LOOX F-07C -- a multi-talented handset that's running Symbian and Windows 7 Home Premium -- while two LTE-enabled WiFi routers are sneaking into DoCoMo's party, too. That's a lot to absorb, so check out the source for individual release timeframes, which begin now and continue through August

NTT DoCoMo

NEC MEDIAS WP N-06C announced in Japan, shows off slimness with waterproof body

Seriously, why does Japan get all the fun toys? The leaked brochure of this crazy thin NEC MEDIAS N-06C already got us all giddy last month, and now we have a launch date: fans of NTT DoCoMo will be able to nab this device around June or July, meaning owners need not seal this waterproof phone in a plastic bag before heading out for a summer swim. In case you missed the details, here we have a 7.9mm-thick Android 2.3 phone, which easily beats the chubby Galaxy S II at 8.49mm in terms of slimness; though to be fair, the N-06C packs about 9.7mm around its 5 megapixel camera. Inside this tight package you'll also find a 4-inch 854 x 480 LCD, a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8255, 512MB RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and microSDHC expansion. But enough with the specs -- head over to Akihabara News for some wet hands-on pics.

NTT DoCoMo

NTT DoCoMo's Fujitsu LOOX F-07C goes official, dual-boots to Windows 7 and Symbian (updated)

Yes, 'tis quite a shock for a Monday morning, but it turns out the dual-booting Fujitsu LOOX F-07C smartphone is indeed legit. According to NTT DoCoMo's preliminary spec sheet, this 7.69-ounce landscape slider handles both Symbian and Windows 7 (Home Premium, 32-bit Japanese edition) with its 4-inch 1,024 x 600 LCD (that's 297ppi right there!), along with a 1.2GHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB of LPDDR400 RAM, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, 32GB of eMMC disk space, and expandable memory via microSDHC. You'll also find a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with face detection on the back, coupled by a VGA front-facing camera. Of course, the main concern is how the battery life fares here: we're told that in "mobile phone mode" you get up to 600 hours of generous standby time and up to 370 minutes of 3G talk time; whereas in Windows 7 mode you'll have to make do with just two hours, and then you're forced into mobile phone mode when the battery level is low. If you're itching to get yourself an eccentric F-07C, then watch out for its launch in June or July. Full list of specifications and press release after the break.

Update: ASCII's just posted a few real-life shots of this device, and mentions a retail price of around ¥70,000 ($860). Oh, and there's HDMI-out via a USB adapter.

Update 2: Akihabara News has a hands-on video -- check it out after the break, and be sure to take a gander at its photos as well.

NTT DoCoMo