In step with the worldwide rush to produce smaller, jam-packed gadgets, Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Inc. released its new “Mova 505i Series” this week. The six new mobile phones each feature a camera, a remote control for electric appliances via an infrared port, optional external memory via a memory card, and support for "Flash," the animation standard by Macromedia Inc. The “F505i” model features a fingerprint authentication system. This security feature disallows calling out or sending e-mails if the user’s fingerprint does not match the one initially stored in the phone by the registered user. This model, along with the “P505i” and “SH505i”, can also read barcodes using the digital camera. Some newer business cards are printed with barcodes encoding such information, thus making it possible to record phone numbers and e-mail addresses in the handset.
