KDDI launches branded Google email

Japanese operator KDDI announced it will introduce a new branded email service based on Google's Gmail. The free service will launch in September--KDDI subscribers will receive 2 gigabytes of storage and an "@auone.jp" email address, and may access the account either via handset or PC. KDDI will later add a mobile alert system notifying customers of new email messages. KDDI already offers Google-branded search--in a Tokyo press conference, Makoto Takahashi, KDDI senior VP, said the Google partnership was part of a larger strategy to create a unified portal for the operator's PC-based web service and mobile platform. "We will combine our mobile and PC offerings into one service," Takahashi said.

For more on the KDDI/Google service:
- read this Cellular News article | release

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