Has Final Fantasy Agito XIII - the mobile component of Square Enix's Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation - been canned? A recent statement given by Square Enix big boss Yoichi Wada has people wondering about the mobile game's future. More in the full article.

We're just as surprised as you are. The Nintendo DS may have been the prime platform to release the sequel - if ever they were to make one - to Final Fantasy IV, but a recent discovery over the Internet has swept that possibility aside. While a sequel was officially confirmed, it was not to arrive on Nintendo's handheld.

Details follow in the full story.

DoCoMo, one of Japan's most popular handset makers, has announced its new F801i phone. This model is intended mainly for kids to keep them safe when not with parents and guardians. This 3G unit  isn't all fun and games. With its safety features, locating children in distress will be much easier. Read the detailed version to know more about the F801i.

The Financial Times reports that Sony Ericsson is thinking about using Sony's PlayStation brand for its new high-end mobile phones. According to Sony Ericsson president Miles Flint, the PlayStation brand is "an area of possible future activity".

This sort of contradicts rumors that Sony Ericsson would not be using the PlayStation Portable brand for its rumored gaming phone. The company, which is half-owned by Sony, already has a mobile TV-capable Bravia phone being developed in collaboration with Japan's NTT DoCoMo.

While the PlayStation phone is indeed a possibility, Flint stressed that the tech needed for such a phone is still far from being perfected. "We need to make sure that it is a credible phone, and be sure we are justified in putting that identity on it," said Flint.

    

NTT DoCoMo is one of Japan's biggest wireless operators. So it is only logical that consumers would expect the bigger innovations to come from them. The company delivered indeed last Monday after announcing five new 3G FOMA 904i models capable of motion-sensing gameplay.

Accordingly, the motion-sensing capability has been made possible because of Chokkan Game support. After downloading the games from online sites, consumers can play these mobile titles by using intuitive motions such as tracing a finger and tilting or waiving the handset. Of course, the type of motion is dependent on the game's content.

The new phones sport pre-existing features common to DoCoMo units. But aside from the above mentioned, they will also have the following:

• 2in1 support: This service provides the capabilities of two separate handsets in one single unit. Under a single FOMA card, users are provided with two phone numbers and two i-mode mail addresses, and these are accessed independently by means of a Mode Switching function. Switching between modes changes the phone number, i-mode mail address, address book, mail boxes and call history. When using A Mode, the customer cannot view B Mode, and vice-versa.
• Uta-hodai support: Users can download full music tracks from i-mode sites supporting Uta-hodai for a flat monthly subscription fee. When downloading, users will accrue an i-mode information fee and packet communication charges. DoCoMo suggests that users planning to download a significant volume of data every month consider subscribing to flat-rate data communication billing plans "pake-hodai" or "pake-hodai full."

The D904i, F904i, N904i and SH904i could begin arriving in stores as early as May; at the latest they will be available in June. The P904i will go on sale in June.

NTT DoCoMo's D800iDS, a.k.a. the DS phone, looks sweet to us. Too bad that Nintendo doesn't have a hand on it. But lingering somewhere in the recesses of the USPTO is an electronic apparatus which acts as a phone and a handheld gaming console. And guess what, the patent was secured by Nintendo.

The N-Gage type of phone was filed by Nintendo at the USPTO last November 27, 2001, but surprisingly the USPTO was only able to issue this last June 27, 2006. We do not know if Nintendo still has plans on making this thingamajig, but for now, the best we could do is look at some drawings of the Nintendo patented "electronic apparatus having game and telephone functions". The would-haves and the could-haves sure sting a little.

   

 

Gamespot reports that the Sony Ericsson SO703i will be released in Japan preloaded with a mobile version of the beloved PSP "joy-fest" of a game, Loco Roco.

The SO703i is also known as the "smell'O'phone" due to a series of interchangeable fragranced "aroma sheet" faceplates, which smell when the user opens up the phone. Another thing about the phone worth mentioning is that the display of the phone utilises some of the technology already implemented in Sony's Bravia HDTVs. The cellphone will be available on the NTT Docomo network.

Sony has yet to confirm if LocoRoco will also grace Sony Ericsson phones in Europe and the US. Moreover, there is still no word if a custom LocoRoco faceplate will be available. We've always wondered what that yellow blob of joy smelled like.

It was designed like a DS, handles like a DS, sounds like a DS but is not a DS. It is actually a cellular phone.

Right, but before anyone coughs - ripoff! - this is actually one of the ten newly released phones by NTT DoCoMo in Japan. It's called D800iDS by Mitsubishi Electric and it features a double screen with a touch screen replacing the keypad. Come to think of it, it also sounds a bit like the iPhone.

Anyway, handwritten messages and drawings can be created and navigation is done with a stylus or just your finger. Games would be available that would utilize both screen, much like the DS. It will be available in white - yeah, we know - much like the DS.

Another phone worthy of note is the SO703i "aroma phone" by Sony Ericsson. Hmm, we wonder what would it be like to have a smell-o-phone?

  

It's small, it looks like a mini-Gameboy SP, it's powered by the sun. What could this gadget be? Nothing else but the ultra-handy "super phone" by NTT DoCoMo. Yup, it's a cellphone, and it just might be the face of the next-gen mobiles.

The sunny gadget was demonstrated along with other wonder 4G">4G phones and GPS Mobiles over at the recently concluded Tokyo mobile tour. For now, it remains to be a rather pretty concept, so we'll just have to wait and see how this dude lights up the telecommunication industry once it gets into production.

Spread some ray of sunshine. Hmmm... just a question, though. What happens to it at night?

Many new things have come to Cellphones in recent years - digital cameras, video calling, Bluetooth and much much more. All of these advances in technology are expected, but here's something new that you wouldn't really expect. Japan's NTT DoCoMo's latest 3G model, the N702is comes with an unorthodox way of showing your battery life - as water. The phone has a built in motion sensor, and when the screen saver is activated, the screen displays glass-like water.

The water bot only moves when you move the phone around, but also reflects your current battery status. The lower the water level, the less power your cellphone battery has. you may think that it is bizarre, but it's actually a much battery way of viewing your battery status. It makes knowing your battery status a little more 'fun' and much easier to read. Couple this with NTT DoCoMo's water charger and you're good to go!