One of the reasons of choosing a cellphone operator over another would be coverage, but no matter how good the network is there are always blind spots, this is especially true when you are 3G users (higher frequency lower diffraction), out of the city center, or even in your own room sometimes. NTT DoCoMo has got it figured out and started selling this box-like household antenna for you to put next to the window, dragging a 3.5 meters long cable and attach to your phone. There should be no chance of missing any calls anymore, if you are a frequent mobile internet user, this would speed things up a bit too. The model itself measures 10×10x4cm and weighs just under 300 grams. The best part is that the suggested retail price is only 25USD so you should seriously consider picking up one of these if you live in Japan and are users of the latest 903i/703i series. The antenna can take signals from the usual 2Ghz as well as the 1.7Ghz FOMA-plus area coverage at the suburb. For users with older phones including the PDC ones, you can pick up some of the older and less attractive models. –Sam Chan

Accessories [NTT DoCoMo]

If you keep track of Gearfuse, you would have an impression of the Mitsubishi D800iDS double internal screen phone we premiered the spypic and reported. One of the benefits of having 2 screens is actually for browsing webpages. The D800iDS, just like most other 3G phones from NTT DoCoMo, can install this JAVA full HTML Jig browser, and it works exceptionally well. First, you would have a map of the whole webpage on the upper screen, showing you where you are at, and you can zoom in and pan around using the subdisplay below. Then, when you need to type anything, simply call up the keyboard and the on screen T9 buttons will be activated (Photo after the jump), no stupid stylus needed. Not too shabby eh.

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We’ve probably all seen movies where special agents locate eachother on a GPS map and chat. We can actually do that in real life now, if you live in Japan and happen to use NTT DoCoMo’s newer FOMA phones (903i series or beyond). All you have to do is to have the iMapFan JAVA application running at the background, when a friend locates you, a message will be sent to notify you to switch back to the chat screen. The service charges 25USD per month, and you only have to pay when you hold the conversation, it is free for the person invited. — Sam Chan

Press Release [Mapfan Japan]

Here are pictures of the 2 upcoming phones from SonyEricsson. One with a swivel screen, the first Bravia phone that supports DMB (One-Seg) the SO903iTV. The second one is the SO703i, looking like the Z610 outside Japan. Enjoy.

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We managed to get hold of pictures of almost the whole 703i series from NTT DoCoMo and we’re really excited about the announcement. The 703i series is the mid-range WCDMA line of NTT DoCoMo’s FOMA 3G service. It consists of Fujitsu F703i, Mitsubishi D703i, NEC N703iD (same design as N702iD), N703iu, Panasonic P703i, P703iu, Sharp SH703i, SonyEricsson SO703i. We’ll keep you guys posted once they’re officially announced. — Sam Chan