NTT DoCoMo Inc. announced Wednesday it will release next month smart cell phones with debit card, membership card and train ticket functions.
Japan's largest mobile phone operator hopes to create a new revenue source with the handsets, which combine the company's i-mode Internet service and Sony Corp.'s smart card technology.
"By combining wallet and cell phone (functions), you only have to take the handset with you when going out," Takeshi Natsuno, the carrier's i-mode business chief, told a news conference in Tokyo.