NTT DoCoMo Inc. started a nationwide i-mode service on July 2 called "i-area" that can find the whereabouts of i-mode-capable cellular phones so users can utilize location information contents.

In using the official contents of i-mode, i-area automatically gathers and displays information concerning the caller's present location and neighboring areas. For example, if the user wants to gain access to weather forecasts, he/she will get the information without having to input the area by hand.

The system specifies the area where the user is from more than 400 NTT DoCoMo-defined areas of Japan on the basis of i-mode base stations which the connection is made.

As for the beginning, six contents provides information for i-area service: (1) weather information offered by Weathernews Inc., (2) iMapFan by Increment P Corp. that is searchable by address or place name, including a convenient forwarding function to send maps to others via e-mail, (3) Pia Corp.'s restaurant guide, (4) ATIS Corp.'s traffic guide offering 24-hour updates on traffic congestion, accidents and estimated travel times covering national highways and expressways, (5) portable maps by Zenrin Co., Ltd. and (6) reasonable hotel information by Narita Corp. In the beginning, i-area will not be provided for FOMA i-mode 3G handsets.

Area-specific information services usable from single cellular phones such as "EZ navigation" by the au Group and "J-Sky Station" by the J-Phone Group are already in use. As in the case of i-area, those systems also find the location of the handsets by using location information from i-mode base stations

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See i-mode main page