The Japanese phone giant announced on Monday a new series of 3G FOMA 904i cell phones, part of the company's 9 Series. Like the hit Wii video game console from Nintendo, the phones will have a motion sensor that allows for a kind of kinetic interface.

Made by Mitsubishi Electric, the sensor enables using the phone as you would a tennis racket or, if you prefer, a Ninja sword.

Tilting and Waving

One of the features offered in the 904i models is support for the Chokkan Game. "Users can select games from sites supporting Chokkan Game," DoCoMo said in a statement, "and download them into their handsets. Games are played using intuitive motion, such as tracing a finger, tilting or waving the handset. Game content will determine the type of intuitive motion used during play."

The phones, all of which are WCDMA 3G handsets, will go on sale in Japan in May and June. Other kinetic games include boxing and one that requires maneuvering an on-screen ball through a maze. Two other new DoCoMo phones, manufactured by Matsushita and Sharp, use a camera to detect motion.

An unlimited music service was also announced Monday by DoCoMo, Napster Japan, and Tower Records Japan. This is Napster's first over-the-air subscription service. The service will be available through the new 904i handsets and will offer several integrated functions with Napster's PC service.

'Swiss Army Knife'

This kind of motion-sensing input might do better in Japan than some other markets initially, noted Todd Kort, an analyst with technology research firm Gartner. The Japanese, he said, "are ahead of other people in looking to do things with their phones." Many Japanese, he said, "spend an hour or two on the train for commuting" and are looking for diversions such as games.

These kinds of sensors are getting pretty inexpensive to add, he said, and the success of the Wii is probably continuing to drive down their cost. Kort said that the cell phone is becoming "the Swiss Army knife" of devices, where it appears to have as many different kinds of uses as one can imagine.

NTT DoCoMo, with 54 percent of Japan mobile phone users as its customers and with a widely available high-speed 3G network, is certainly trying every possible combination. Earlier in 2007, the company introduced a phone that gave off an apparently relaxing smell, as well as one with a touch-sensitive screen.

And, for those who might want to keep their home and work lives separate, DoCoMo's new 904i models include support for two-for-one functionality, where the user can have two separate phone numbers and mail addresses in one unit.