Japan wireless firm taps local economy; PCTel builds software for first handset to use 3G network or hotspot.(News)(PC TEL Inc.)

Crain's Chicago Business, July, 2005 by Johnsson, Julie

Byline: JULIE JOHNSSON When Japanese consumers embrace a new wireless gizmo, the rest of the world follows. So, it's a coup for Chicago's PCTel Inc., a little-known wireless software and antenna maker, to be asked by a top Japanese wireless carrier to build software for a handset that could change the game for phone service.

The M1000, manufactured by Schaumburg-based Motorola Inc., hit the Japanese market July 1 and is the first handset that can receive calls and download data over either a next-generation cellular network or Wi-Fi hot spot. Offered by NTT DoCoMo, a Japanese carrier known for its cutting-edge technology, the high-end phone is packed with many of the features of a personal computer, as well as two cameras-one that's pointed at the...

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