Sharp builds the world's first mobile phone with built-in car key

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Dr. Serkan Toto currently works as the first and only Asia-based writer for the TechCrunch network, mainly covering Japan-related technology and web companies for TechCrunch, CrunchGear and MobileCrunch. Serkan also works full-time as an independent web and mobile industry consultant with a focus on the Japanese market. He is sept-lingual, holds an MBA and is a PhD in economics. Serkan... → Learn More

Nissan‘s proprietary “Intelligent Key” technology will soon be built into a mobile phone, which is produced by Sharp and, at this point, unfortunately Japan-only. The Japanese car company’s key system is already used in over 950,000 vehicles but now, drivers can wirelessly enter, exit and start their Nissans with the (yet to be named) Sharp phone.

Reportedly, the device is a world first and will be sold on the Japanese market by Nippon’s biggest cell phone carrier, NTT Docomo. The phone will be exhibited at CEATEC Japan 2008, a tech exhibition that starts September 30 near Tokyo.

The companies involved in the joint development said they aim at commercializing the key system in fiscal 2009. No word on pricing yet, though, and the picture above just shows an early mockup.

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