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TOKYO, Japan Sept. 24, 2009 -- NTT DOCOMO
announced today it has developed the mobile phone
prototype made with
the surplus wood of trees culled during thinning operations to maintain
healthy forests. The prototype was created in collaboration with Sharp
Corporation, Olympus Corporation and "more trees," a reforestation
project founded by musician Ryuichi Sakamoto and others.
 The authentic cypress wood body of the prototype, which is named TOUCH WOOD,
features excellent durability and resistance to water, insects and
mildew thanks to special three-dimensional compression molding
developed by Olympus Corporation. Conventional natural wood is not
suitable for use as mobile phone bodies because they tend to wear out
quickly.
Each TOUCH WOOD handset features its own distinctive
grain patterns and natural coloring. No artificial colors or paints are
used, so the cypress retains its original natural appearance and aroma.
The wood also has an attractive shine that is created during the
compression process.
The TOUCH WOOD is made from the surplus wood of trees
culled during forest-thinning operations. This new commercial use for
thinned wood, which traditionally has only limited applications, helps
to preserve other wood resources while strengthening the health of
overgrown forests. So far, TOUCH WOOD production has used
wood culled from the Shimanto forest in Japan's Kochi Prefecture. The
forest is managed by the more trees project.
The prototype phone's graphical user interface (GUI) is based on the photographic art of Mikiya Takimoto, a more trees advocate.
A mockup of the TOUCH WOOD handset will be exhibited at
ITU Telecom World 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland from October 5 to 9 and
CEATEC JAPAN 2009 at Makuhari Messe, Chiba Prefecture, Japan from
October 6 to 10.
About NTT DOCOMO
NTT DOCOMO is a world leading mobile operator and
provider of advanced mobile services. The company serves over 55
million customers in Japan, including 48 million using i-mode™, one of
the world's most popular mobile e-mail/Internet platform, and 50
million using FOMA™, the world's original 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA.
As a leader in the development of cutting-edge mobile technologies,
DOCOMO is continually expanding the role of mobile phones as versatile
and highly personalized "lifestyle tools" for everyday life, including
with a wide range of innovative services for mobile payments, GPS,
mobile TV, multimedia content and much more.
Information Source: NTT DOCOMO
Images courtesy of NTT DOCOMO
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