US : NEC America announced the launch of its first digital camera phone, the 525 High Definition Mobile+ (HDM), in the United States. Available through AT&T Wireless (NYSE:AWE) sales channels, the 525 HDM -- the second of NEC’s 500-series of mobile phones available for AT&T Wireless’ customers -- adds an embedded digital camera and a 4,096-color external LCD screen, delivering an exciting end-user experience through enhanced applications technology and advanced feature-rich functionality.

NEC is releasing the 525 HDM in conjunction with the enhancement of AT&T Wireless’ mMode™ service. mMode gives AT&T Wireless customers faster, easier access to information and entertainment services with an unparalleled level of simplicity and personalization. With one-touch access to mMode and advanced browser features like xHTML technology, NEC customers will have a richer mMode experience while also easily downloading games, wallpapers and ring tunes that take advantage of the device’s enhanced personalization capabilities.

“The NEC America 525 High Definition Mobile phone clearly showcases the breadth and depth of all that mMode has to offer, ” said Sam Hall, vice president of mMode services at AT&T Wireless. “By offering NEC’s newest phone with its impressive, vibrant screen and one-button mMode access to downloadable content, our customers will enjoy an entertaining and personalized mobile experience.”

The 525 HDM builds upon the success of the 515 HDM, the first handset in the 500 series, by adding a camera to the 515’s suite of high-end features. The 525’s 100K, 2X digital zoom embedded camera enables users to capture sharp pictures, which can be viewed on the large 2.2 inch, 65K color display. The distinct 4K-color external-LCD screen enables consumers to use caller ID to view color pictures of all their friends, family and co-workers.

In addition, the 525 HDM is a GSM™/GPRS quad band mobile handset that delivers international communications capabilities. It comes equipped with a 40-note polyphonic ring tune chip from Yamaha, providing users with access to ring tunes with an outstanding level of instrumental clarity and realistic sounding audio.

The handset features advanced technologies such as DoJaÔ, a version of JavaÔ, created specifically for the mobile environment by NTT DoCoMo, Inc. (NTT DoCoMo) and Sun Microsystems. By employing DoJa and utilizing a second, dedicated applications processor, the 525 HDM is able to offer a lightning fast mobile gaming experience that does not impact incoming calls.

“Building on NEC’s long history of innovation and technological advancements, we are proud to introduce the second 500-series handset to the United States,” said Noboru Sakata, General Manager of the Wireless Division at NEC America, Inc. “Through the many personalization features of the 525 HDM, consumers will be able to make their phone uniquely theirs by downloading ring tunes, wallpapers and games via NEC’s content portal or AT&T Wireless mMode service.”

Through NEC’s re-designed content portal, 515 and 525 HDM users can download 16-bit stand-by wallpapers, 40-note polyphonic ring tunes, and DoJa games. Users can even create their own original ring tune, a new feature to the NEC site. Plus, they can resize personal picture files and send them to their handset for use as stand-by wallpapers or picture caller-ID for even greater customization.

The handset comes pre-loaded with several demo-versions of exciting games, including bowling, dwangoÒ wireless’ (OTCBB: DWGN) top-down vertical shooting game Star Diversion™ and Black Jack by dwango.