NTT Docomo announced a broad handset portfolio refresh, which includes the first smartphones to support its Xi-branded LTE services.

The company showcased 24 new terminals, including 14 smartphones, four of which include LTE connectivity. One each will be supplied by Fujitsu Toshiba, LG Electronics, NEC Casio and Samsung.

The range also includes seven devices with dual-core processors.

According to Japanese business publication Nikkei, Docomo is set to up its sales targets for smartphones from the 6 million it previously forecast when it announces its next quarterly results, taking into account its current performance and that of competing products – specifically Apple’s iPhone 4S, which is being offered by rival SoftBank.

Alongside the new handsets, the company also launched “two all-new services for smartphones.”

Dmenu is a portal which will provide “a wide range of apps and other content from diverse providers,” as well as enriched versions of the operator’s i-mode content optimised for smartphones.

Dmarket is a content store which offers a “wealth of other content, including movies, music, e-books and Android applications.”

Finally, the company announced new tariffs for its LTE devices, including subscriptions with both voice and data plans for handset users. The company has previously offered data tariffs for dongle users. Voice calls will be charged for on a per-use basis, while data will be either charged for as used, or with a small bundle included.

Looking forward, Docomo said that “from October 2012,” customers who download more than 7GB of data in a month will be capped to data speeds of 128Kb/s for the remainder of the period – unless they opt to pay an additional charge.