Tokyo,
Japan-- KDDI, with partners Toshiba Corporation and Hitachi, Ltd., is pleased
to announce that prototype mobile phones powered with fuel cells will be
exhibited in the KDDI booth at CEATEC JAPAN (Makuhari Messe), to take place
from October 4. KDDI had been in co-development with Toshiba and Hitachi
since July, 2004 on next-generation fuel cells for use in mobile devices
such as cell-phones.
The fuel-cell mobile phone co-developed
by Toshiba and KDDI is based on the au handset A5509T. The system used
is a hybrid type, with power supplied by a compact fuel cell and fuel tank
at the back of the handset, plus an internal lithium ion battery. It uses
high-concentration methanol to achieve a battery capacity 2.5 times the
conventional value with a single refill. This feature enables the handset
to be used for a long time.
The fuel cell co-developed by Hitachi
and KDDI is based on the au handset W32H. The system used is a hybrid type,
with power supplied by a compact fuel cell on the side with the LCD sub-display,
plus an internal lithium ion battery. The concept is "a fuel-cell handset
of the near future," and this prototype is compact, about the same size
as the original W32H. One feature is that, whenever the fuel cell's capacity
becomes low, it can be easily refilled from a compact cartridge.
KDDI, together with Toshiba and Hitachi,
is progressively improving the performance of the handset, in anticipation
of use by customers by the end of this fiscal year. The aim is to release
practical fuel cells for mobile devices.
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd., (TSE:6501)(NYSE: HIT),
headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company
with approximately 347,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2004 (ended March
31, 2005) consolidated sales totaled 9,027.0 billion yen ($84.4 billion).
The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market
sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial
systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more
information on Hitachi, please visit the company's Website at http://www.hitachi.com.
About Toshiba Corporation
Toshiba Corporation is a leader in
the development and manufacture of electronic devices and components, information
and communication systems, digital consumer products and power systems.
The company's ability to integrate wide-ranging capabilities, from hardware
to software and services, assure its position as an innovator in diverse
fields and many businesses. In semiconductors, Toshiba continues to promote
its leadership in the fast growing system-on-chip market and to build on
its world-class position in NAND flash memories, analog devices and discrete
devices.
About KDDI Corporation
KDDI is a diversified telecommunication
operator formed by the merger of DDI, KDD and IDO in 2000, and is the only
domestic company that provides both mobile communication service and broadband
service. The number of subscribers to the mobile phone services under the
au and TuKa brands is over 21 million, and fixed-line subscribers (MyLine)
is approximately 9 million. The 73 KDDI group companies had approximately
13,000 staffs and sales in FY2004/3 was 2,846.1 billion yen. At KDDI, aggressive
improvement of communication environment in preparation for the coming
ubiquitous network society is underway and KDDI is aiming to become a "ubiquitous
solution company" which provides high value-added solutions.

|