3G iPhone to launch on Softbank Mobile in Japan

Reuters reports that Softbank Mobile will be the carrier launching the 3G version of the iPhone in Japan before the end of the year. A Softbank Mobile press release confirms this. OK, it doesn’t say officially that it will be the 3G version, but in a country where *none* of the handsets currently on sale are 2 or 2.5G, it’s very hard to imagine it would be anything else. Guess we’ll find out June 9. Note: Our friend Lars Cosh-Ishii at Wireless Watch Japan has been predicting this for a while, and as usual, it seems he’s been right. However, I don’ t see any part of the press release that says this is an exclusive arrangement, and taking into account Apple’s recent announcements, I could at least theoretically see it appearing on NTT DoCoMo as well (although that would indicate a major paradigm shift in the Japanese market, where handset models traditionally are exclusive to one carrier).

Posted by:Billich | Entry Date: 2008年6月 4日 16:03