Sharp is allegedly readying an Android-based handset for the local Japanese market, according to MarketWatch. The report, originating from Nikkei, credits Sharp executive Masami Ohbatake with making the announcement, although he declined to disclose which carriers will get the device first. NTT DoCoMo is expected to be the "first in line," however.
Apple is persisting in efforts to expand iPhone sales before the end of 2009, reports note. Singapore is set to gain a third iPhone carrier in the form of StarHub, which will join competition with M1 and SingTel by the end of the year. Vodafone has announced a deal for Qatar, making it the first iPhone carrier in the Middle Eastern country. A local launch could slip into 2010.
A report originating from the Japanese financial newspaper Nikkei claims that Nintendo is readying an updated DSi featuring a 4-inch display. If true, the revamped device would exceed the current model's screen by ¾ of an inch. The company is reportedly making the adjustment in response to user feedback, while accommodating older users who have complained of problems using the smaller size.
Sony has reduced the price of its PlayStation Portable devices in Japan. The basic PSP now sells for 16,800¥ (~$185 USD), which is approximately $30 below its previous price of 19,800¥ (~$215 USD). The discount applies to the full range of colors which now includes black, silver, white, blue, red, yellow and green.
Japan's largest cellphone carriers experienced contrasting performance in the first fiscal quarter, as the leader NTT DoCoMo reported a slide in net profit by 15 percent to Y147.38 billion (~$1.54 billion USD), according to the Wall Street Journal. Softbank, meanwhile, surprised analysts with a 41 percent jump in profit to Y27.38 (~$286 million USD).
The iPhone is currently the best-selling smartphone in Japan, at least at retail, according to a recent survey. Gathered by research firm BCN, data from 2,300 stores shows the 8GB iPhone 3G as the most popular smartphone, followed by its 16GB sibling. Ranking third in the survey is the NTT DoCoMo Aquos SH-04A, designed by Sharp; RIM's BlackBerry Bold ranks sixth, and a full four slots in the list are occupied by devices from HTC.
Japanese shoppers are already in line to buy the iPhone 3G S, which goes on sale with Softbank at 7AM local time on Friday, equivalent to 6PM Eastern on Thursday. Lines are smaller than those for the iPhone 3G launch, according to IDG, at present closer to 100 people at Softbank's flagship Omotesando store. When reservations opened for the 3G S last week, approximately 200 people arrived at the Omotesando location. Online preorders have not been allowed with Japanese iPhones.
Japanese carrier Softbank today opened up reservations for the iPhone 3GS, allowing people to pre-order the device. As neither Apple nor Softbank have allowed online pre-orders in the country, lineups formed outside of Softbank retail stores, with as many as 200 people showing up at the flagship outlet by 1AM. Though crowds at the outlet disappeared towards the afternoon, they are said to have grown again in the evening.
Sony today reported its first annual loss in some 14 years, according to the New York Times. During its most recent fiscal year, the company is said to have lost 98.9 billion yen; for the fiscal year ending in March 2010, the company is expecting to record a net loss of 120 billion yen, or $1.26 billion US. The company is only expected to avoid a 150 billion yen loss in part because of newly-favorable Japanese taxes.
Demand for the iPhone remains fairly good, according to Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu. Probing of distribution and supply chain checks is said to show that iPhone demand is "healthy" in Europe, the US and most of the Asia-Pacific region, although Japan's market is believed to have mixed trends. Wu expects that Apple will ship approximately 6 million phones in the December quarter, a figure close to 10 percent below estimated build numbers. Investors are generally predicting shipments anywhere between 5 and 7 million, though the majority are said to be leaning towards 6 to 6.5 million.
Japan is by far the world's most dense population of iTunes users, a new comScore study suggests. The group claims that some 13.6 million people -- or 23.7 percent of Japan's entire Internet audience -- accessed iTunes at some point during the month of August. The country ranks higher in terms of iTunes penetration than even the US, where only 19.6 percent used the software in August, and the second-place United Kingdom, which scored 23.4 percent. The worldwide percentage was just 11.2 percent.
Pioneer recently announced it would start selling its LCDs in North America and Asia during the first half of 2009, after unveiling the 32- and 37-inch models in Europe last month. CE Pro reveals that Pioneer will follow up the North American and Asian releases with Japan in 2010, opting to focus mostly on small- and medium-sized LCDs for the Japanese. Pioneer also said it would offer a high-end range of LCDs, manufactured with Sharp LCD panels.
I-O Data has announced that it will be releasing a device called the MacTV before the end of this year. The MacTV is a small, digital USB tuner, designed to fit in with the current Mac line of products, and is currently only clad in white. It has three connections: a USB port, an antenna input and a B-CAS card slot, the last of which is required to decode digital broadcasts in Japan. The menu interface of the software is a translucent cube, which can be controlled via an Apple Remote and rotates, spins or rolls when shifting from menu to menu.
After recently discovering the sizzling first generation iPod nanos were not an isolated incident, Apple is recognizing the issue and offering to replace the faulty units. Three reports out of Japan showed several incidents of the player smoking or sparking, which also saw melted face plastics and bent back plates. In response to the claims, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry is examining three cases in which the devices caused burns to their owners.
The Japanese government has taken a serious interest in iPod nano defects following three separate fires this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. Hiroyuki Yoshitsune, an official from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, says that a pair of Nanos recently overheated in Tokyo, scorching a straw mat in one case and paper in a second. These incidents surround another from March, in which sparks were caught erupting from a Nano.
The new-found popularity of the iPhone in Japan is as much a failure of local industry as it is an advancement by Apple, a former NTT DoCoMo executive claims. Tsuyoshi Natsuno, who lead the carrier's i-mode division, describes the Japanese cellular industry as having fallen into a "collegial system," where phones are designed explicitly according to specifications outlined by carriers. The phones in fact have no existence outside of their carriers, a situation which Natsuno believes to offer no incentive for driving technology forward.
While the first iPhone 3G lineup began at Apple's flagship NYC store, people are already lining up in Japan at the Softbank flagship store in “Tokyo’s Fifth Avenue”, Omotesandou street where the iPhone will be "available extra-early in this particular store on July 11th, 7 am (July 10th, 6pm EST)," CrunchGear notes. "And the man you can see in the video, Hiroyuki Sano, will be the first person in Asia to lay his hands on the 3G iPhone (assuming stores in Hong Kong will open later in the day). I shot the video and the pictures just now, in the middle of the night (July 8th, 2pm EST). This means Hiroyuki and the 15 people waiting with him must suffer for another 52 hours from Tokyo’s tropical heat."
Japan's Softbank has announced launch-day plans for the country's first iPhone, according to IDG News. The carrier says that it will be one of the first in the world to sell the iPhone 3G, opening the doors of its Harajuku store at 7AM Friday JST, a time equivalent to 10PM Thursday in GMT, or 2PM Thursday in PST. The only country to launch before Japan should be New Zealand, where the 3G is being carried by Vodafone.
In the face of reports suggesting ambivalence to the iPhone 3G in the Japanese market, Kakaku.com has released survey results indicating that these accounts may be significantly off the mark. The Japanese iPhone is currently set to be carried exclusively by Softbank on July 11th; in the Kakaku survey, early 8,000 people (90 percent male) were questioned in June through a price comparison portal for electronics. Extrapolating from the respondents' answers, Kakaku says that over 50 percent "will definitely purchase one," or at least intend to. Of this group, over 45 percent are not current Softbank subscribers.
Japanese carrier Softbank has announced its planned prices for the iPhone 3G, Reuters writes. Launching with the initial wave of 22 countries on July 11th, Softbank will sell the 8GB iPhone for 23,040 yen, or approximately $215; the 16GB iPhone should cost 34,560 yen ($322). It is expecting most subscribers to sign up for a 7,280 yen ($68) per month plan, which will guarantee unlimited data use and free calls to other Softbank users.
NTT DoCoMo is defending its inability to secure an iPhone deal, writes Japan's Impress Watch. Speaking at a shareholder meeting, DoCoMo CEO Masao Nakamura has stated that while the iPhone is attractive and has an appealing fanbase, many of its features are already present on the likes of LG's Prada touchscreen phone, or the Sharp SH906i. The first iPhone was also unusually heavy, says Nakamura, although he appreciates that the 3G model weighs only 4.7 ounces.
IDC is projecting worldwide PC shipment growth of 15.2 percent in 2008, reaching 310 million units. The analysis firm predicts that growth will remain in the double-digits through 2010, followed by high single-digit growth through 2012, boosting annual shipments to over 472 million in 2012. Meanwhile, the fall in average PC selling price will be offset by an ongoing transition to sale of notebooks, which generally cost more than desktops. IDC's report also says that the Asia/Pacific region excluding Japan (APeJ) surpassed the United States as the region with the largest PC market in total annual shipments at the end of 2007.
Sanyo is switching to Sharp LCD panels for its HDTV sets, the former company has announced. While Sanyo is well-known as a brand in general, its TVs have not been able to compete against the likes of those from Samsung and Sony. The Japanese electronics market has been consolidating as whole, and has forced the adoption of strategies similar to Sanyo's on the part of companies like Pioneer. In Sanyo's case its consumer electronics division has done poorly, and Reuters notes that on Thursday, the corporation announced its first profits in four years.
Two Asian countries may be engaging in an unusual deal in order to secure the iPhone, according to rumors. Japan's NTT DoCoMo and South Korea's KTF are said by Telecoms Korea to be in talks for a joint release, though the reason for combining the pair's efforts is unknown. The two countries do however rely on W-CDMA broadband, as opposed to the HSPA the 3G iPhone is expected to use in regions such as Canada and the US. It may thus make sense for KTF and DoCoMo to cooperate on a shared iPhone format.
The latest developer version of the iPhone 2.0 firmware adds dramatically different non-Phoenician language support, accounts say. Most notable in v5A258f may be new support for simplified Chinese, and in particular handwriting support, a feature that may prove crucial if and when the iPhone is adopted in China. Chinese is a more complex language than English, making it difficult to type out quickly; as a result, companies such as Motorola have developed phones whose primary focus is on easing Chinese writing.
Fujitsu has announced a new desktop system, the F/A50. The computer represents part of an increasing trend in the PC world, in which low-cost PCs by the likes of Gateway and Dell have attempted to reproduce the all-in-one design of Apple's famous iMac. Similarities in this case are extremely close, as the A50 features an identically-proportioned case, rear-mounted ports, and glowing indicator lights buried under plastic. The display is smaller however, measuring 16 inches, which limits it to 1366x768 resolution.
Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has managed downlink speeds of up to 250Mbps in field testing of LTE (Long Term Evolution), a company announcement claims. LTE, often dubbed 4G broadband, is expected to eventually replace the current worldwide 3G standards, HSDPA and HSUPA. LTE should allow individual cellphone users to reach download speeds of up to 20Mbps; this at least two and a half times faster than the fastest 3 and 3.5G deployments, still used in a minority of public networks. Most 3G connections are over five times slower.
The Japanese industry ministry is reportedly investigating an incident in which an iPod Nano "overheated and discharged sparks." Reuters quotes the ministry "The battery part of the product overheated while being charged and sparked," Apple's iPod safety manual states "When you're using iPod or charging the battery, it is normal for iPod to get warm. The exterior of iPod functions a a cooling surface that transfers heat from inside the unit to the cooler air outside." As such, iPods have been known to overheat when placed in cases that do no allow adequate ventilation.
In brief: Apple ranks 15th in Web traffic in Japan, RAM for new MacBooks, MacBook Pros is available, Freeway 5 beta 3 has been released and Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual, Leopard Edition debuts ... Apple ranks 15th in Web traffic in Japan according to new statistics release by comScore. Apple garnered 15,633,000 unique visitors in Japan in January. comScore reports "January saw increased visitation to education, career, automotive and real estate sites as many people in Japan focused their Internet activity on planning for the New Year. Several news sites, including J-Cast.com, Sponichi.com, and Jiji.com, saw significant gains in January, with elections in Osaka, the Sumo wrestling tournament, and the Chinese food scandal being major topics in the news."
Japanese carrier Softbank is preparing an unusual addition to its lineup. Toshiba is developing an exclusive phone for the carrier called the 815T PB, meant to help promote a TV drama called Ketai Sousakan 7, directed by Takashi Miike. Owners can attach a set of flexible robot limbs to the phone, enabling various poses; for full effect, the phone also comes installed with an AI personality called "Buddy Talk," which makes various expressions and responds to voice conversation, gradually improving its answers.
Claiming to mimic the design of its Viera line of Plasma televisions on a handheld device, Panasonic has introduced the P905iTV, a new sliding handset featuring "one-segment" mobile TV on Japan's DoCoMo network. The device offers frame conversion technology from 15 frames to 30 frames per second on 3.5 inch full-wide VGA large screen. The new handheld's screen has a contrast ratio ratio of 4000:1 and uses "LCD Artificial Intelligence" which adjusts the brightness of a display automatically and LSI based on "UniPhier" for mobile phone for power saving. The phone also features 3G international roaming and HSDPA, autofocus 2.0 megapixels camera with six-axis image stabilizer and link functions to audio and visual equipment.
Japanese engineers from the Nikkei Electronics Teardown Squad judge the MacBook Air as being wasted space inside its otherwise efficiently designed chassis. According to TechOn the engineers claim the ultra-portable uses entirely too many screws to secure various pieces, counting over 30 to secure the keyboard, for example. The engineers say that they could produce the same computer with fewer screws, and a resulting lower cost.
Japan's DoCoMo wireless provider is currently in talks with Apple over the iPhone, with current conversation revolving around technological issues, as well as the division of profit. Bloomberg reports that a partnership with DoCoMo would most likely mean Apple is preparing a W-CDMA version of the iPhone – DoCoMo operates on this standard rather than the current GSM standard the iPhone operates under. Apple is concerned that adopting W-CDMA could potentially cannibalize the company's existing markets.
Japanese carriers KDDI and Softbank are adding a unique Hitachi phone to their lineups, according to multiple reports. The W61H uses a regular, 2.7-inch LCD on the inside of its clamshell design, but this is mirrored by a similarly-sized e-ink display on the back, where most phones would place an OLED screen. This screen is not intended to be practical, however, but instead display one of 95 decorative patterns, matched to the available black, silver or cyan colors.
ASUS' high-selling Eee PC has launched with some differences in Japan. Instead of the current 2G, 4G and 8G versions found elsewhere, Japan is getting the 4G-X, which by default comes loaded with Windows XP Home, instead of ASUS' modified Linux interface. The system is also said to have a 900MHz Celeron M processor, where Western Eees typically show a 630MHz clock speed. Finally, Japanese buyers get a 4GB SDHC card, effectively doubling the total storage capacity.
Having announced its E94U and D74U sets at this year's CES expo, Sharp today revealed yet more AQUOS LCDs at a press conference in Japan. The new X series will be comprised of 37-, 42- and 46-inch sets, each just under 1.4 inches thick. The sets will all be 1080p-capable moreover, and use 12-bit BDE color-rendering. A 120Hz refresh rate should permit fast response to motion, and their contrast ratio is said to be 15,000:1 -- making the sets mid-range within the AQUOS line, but still above-average for LCDs in general.
Leading Japanese carrier NTT DoCoMo has confirmed a deal with Google, as initially rumored late last month. The primary purpose of the deal is to improve DoCoMo's i-mode Internet service, which is said to have some 48 million subscribers. Google will make it easier for i-mode users to reach its various websites, in particular Google Maps, which will be preloaded on various handsets as on Apple's iPhone. A Google search bar will be added to the i-mode portal this spring; eventually it will be easier to load other material as well, such as Gmail, YouTube and Picasa.
Fujitsu has announced a new phone for the Japanese market, the F705i. The device's primary claim to fame is its waterproofing, which protects it from events such as rain or falling into a bathtub; it is safe at depths of up to 3.3 feet, where it can last as long as 30 minutes. The phone is also said to be the thinnest such phone in the world, measuring only half an inch thick when closed.
It does have other features however, such as a 2.7-inch QVGA LCD, a microSD slot, and a 1.3-megapixel camera. It runs on NTT DoCoMo's 3G FOMA network, and the back of the phone has a sub-surface LED display, able to display various words and characters. It should be carried by NTT starting today. [via Impress Watch]
TV builder Syntax-Brillian, generally known for its low-cost Olevia TVs, has announced a new partnership with its more famous competitor, Sharp. Reuters notes that hrough the deal, Sharp will supply Syntax with at least 700,000 LCD panels in 2008, more being an option if public demand supports it. Syntax and another company -- Taiwan's Kolin -- will also have the option of buying a 65-inch, 120Hz panel from Sharp, until the end of September 2008. This could mean an upgrade is coming this year for the existing 65-inch Olevia set.
Google is making even deeper in-roads into the Japanese cellular market, reports say. Citing anonymous sources, Reuters claims that Google has signed a new deal with NTT DoCoMo, the country's largest wireless carrier, permitting a variety of applications to appear on DoCoMo's i-Mode network. These may include the likes of Gmail, Picasa and Calendar, according to Reuters.
If confirmed, the move may give DoCoMo a temporary edge in its home market. While both DoCoMo and number-two carrier KDDI are a part of Google's Open Handset Alliance, KDDI has not announced any Google features for existing phones. National business paper The Nikkei notes that DoCoMo is trying to forge the closest possible link with Google, to the exclusion of competitors.
Two Japanese companies have won licenses that should see WiMAX take firmer hold in the world, Reuters reports. Government officials have granted licenses to a group led by KDDI, Japan's second-largest cellular provider, and Willcom, a company controlled by the US-based Carlyle Group. KDDI is partnering with Intel and phone maker Kyocera, and plans to use WiMAX to launch a new broadband service in 2009; Willcom will follow suit with a similar service in the same timeframe. KDDI notes though that its venture will be expensive, costing as much as $1.3 billion by the end of 2013.
Apple is already in negotiations to release the iPhone in Japan, reports indicate. Sources say that Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently met with Masao Nakamura, the president of Japan's largest wireless carrier, NTT DoCoMo. Jobs has also supposedly met with people from Japan's third-largest carrier, Softbank, and executives from both carriers are said to have flown multiple times to Apple's Cupertino headquarters. Notably excluded from reports is Japan's second-rated carrier, KDDI.
Apple today announced a promotion for Japanese iTunes customers, saying that 10 winners will be chosen from entrants from now until January 8th that will win 100 free iTunes songs – a value of approximately 19,000¥. SetteB.IT reports that Japanese users interested in the promotion can apply using the online registration form, located on Apple's Japanese iTunes website. The promotion doesn't appear to be offered in any other country, and while the prize is a generous one, only 10 winners will be chosen from a country with over 127 million residents.
Apple's Japanese online store has once again launched a "Lucky Bag" deal to coincide with the holidays. From now until December 25th, visitors to the site will be able to enter to buy one of 200 bags, 10 going up each day, for 35,000 yen after tax; the key is that shoppers will never know exactly what is in the bags until January 2nd, when they finally ship. Apple will say however that the bags should contain handpicked assortments of iPod accessories, along with other music items.
Japanese carrier Softbank has begun carrying two new 3G phones by Sharp, the 820SH and 821SH. Both are extremely flat, stainless-steel clamshells, and come in an unusual assortment of colors: the 820 can be had in blue, black, red, white, gold and green, while the 821 has deeper hues of red, green, purple, silver, cyan and brown. The phones also have Bluetooth, GPS and two-megapixel cameras, but the primary attraction is 1Seg TV recording, saved to microSD cards up to 2GB in size.
Sony on Monday sparked holiday sales with two versions of its more unique flash-based players. Both the dancing, programmable Rolly and the stick-sized E013 Walkman are receiving a special Christmas Package in Japan that preloads six familiar Christmas songs, including "Silent Night" and "White Christmas." The Rolly also receives special preset dance routines to match the music.
