Today, NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's top wireless operator, unveiled the D800iDS, a mobile phone featuring a touch-sensitive screen, like the popular Nintendo DS portable game console, and another model that gives off a relaxing scent.The D800iDS by Mitsubishi Electric Corp., is a clamshell equipped with screens on the upper and lower halves.  Users input characters by writing on the touch screen with their fingers or a stylus. They can also call up an on-screen keypad to dial a number or type a message, or touch the buttons shown on the display to browse the menu screens. The recently announced Apple Iphone is also a touch-screen.NTT DoCoMo unveiled nine other mobile phones today, which includes a model by Sony Ericsson that features a 3-inch Bravia flat-panel screen. [Read]

NTT DoCoMo, Inc. and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced today that some D06 series batteries manufactured through May 2006 and installed in DoCoMo FOMA™ D902i handsets could generate excessive heat and possibly rupture during charging if the batteries have been subjected to a strong external impact.The problem is due to deformed electrode plates installed in the batteries. If the batteries are accidentally subjected to a strong external impact that results in a surface dent or similar depression, the deformed plates could pierce the batteries' internal insulation, resulting in an electrical short during, or right after, charging.The companies estimate that some 1.3 million D06 series batteries were manufactured through May 2006. The labels on these batteries bear one of the following clearly marked three-letter codes: OKA, OLA, PAA, PBA, PCA, PDA or PEA. [Read]