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Toshiba's 815T PB on Softbank threatens humanity
We kind of wish this was fake -- and we're tentatively overjoyed that it's not -- but we can't help but feeling a little freaked at the Toshiba 815T PB on Softbank, developed to coincide with a new show featuring (you guessed it) robo-phones called Ketai Sousakan 7. Yeah yeah, QVGA, 3G, 3.2 megapixel camera, that's all well and good, but our latent fear of cellphone brain cancer kind of just went out the window.
LiMo Foundation plans SDK for mid 2008
With all the hubbub over Android at Mobile World Congress this year (and in the world, in general), it only makes sense that other Linux-based contenders would step into the light. The LiMo Foundation -- a consortium of some pretty major players -- has announced plans for an official SDK in the second half of the year which will cover native, Java, and WebKit development. The software, dubbed the R1 LiMo Platform, will pull together existing APIs and development tools into a more cohesive whole, with ACCESS taking the lead on the native side, Aplix heading up Java development, and Motorola fleshing out the WebKit tools. There are 18 LiMo-powered handsets on display at Mobile World Congress this year, with seven vendors using the platform -- including Samsung and LG -- and the group says it's just added nine new companies to the team. The creation of a cohesive platform should bolster the consortium's position in the market. Says CCS Insight's Ben Wood, "To have a credible platform, a more detailed operating system framework is likely to be required." Read - LiMo Foundation Announces SDK Strategy Read - LG, Samsung bet on new mobile Linux platform
Softbank Mobile's Spring 2008 collection
Right on KDDI's heels comes Softbank, roaring in with fourteen new models (not including the oh-so-pricey Tiffany phone) for the spring season. Though the lineup includes the usual array of crazy clamshells, this particular group includes a curious model designed specifically for stock trading and the Japanese introduction of a couple phones we're already well acquainted with. Can ya spot 'em in the picture there? Read on!
Softbank hooks up with Tiffany for nauseatingly expensive handset
See, the problem with most phone manufacturer / boutique hookups is that the handsets start out at a fairly high price -- but not high enough to keep them out of all but the most privileged, ridiculous people -- then quickly fall off to the point where even we can afford to put one in our pocket if we really wanted to. What's the point in a designer-branded device if it's actually attainable? Well, Tiffany and Japan's Softbank Mobile have it all figured out, vowing to release a phone this month that comes in somewhere north of ¥10,000,000 (about $93,600). Seeing how it's Tiffany and all, rest assured it'll have plenty of glittering gems -- over 400 diamonds, to be specific, totaling somewhere north of 20 carats in weight. Question is, what exactly do you do when Softbank comes out with another all-new lineup in a few weeks?[Via textually.org]
Disney Mobile rises from ashes to invade Japan
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again -- preferably on a different continent. That's the attitude Disney is taking with its Disney Mobile MVNO, shutting down its poorly-received US service and heading over to Japan where Softbank is serving up the necessary airwaves this time around. The target demo is decidedly different now, too -- whereas the US service was aimed at families with young kiddies, the Japanese rendition is targeting women in their 20s and 30s, seen as prime consumers of Disney content. The first handset to support Disney Mobile will be the DM001SH, a reworked version of Sharp's 821SH for Softbank that features 3G data, a 2 megapixel cam, 400 x 240 internal and 60 x 32 external displays, one-seg mobile TV, FeliCa, and no shortage of Mickey Mouse branding. All told, we'd say it's just a tad hotter than the carrier's now-deceased US offerings. Look for the service to launch March 1.[Via Tech-On!]%Gallery-14721%
DoCoMo to carry iPhone in Japan?
The iPhone continues its trek across the world-- the next country to have a rumored release is Japan, and sources there say that DoCoMo will likely be the company to release the Gadget of the Year there. But both NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Mobile have spoken with Apple, and DoCoMo, says a local news agency, might not want to be as generous with sharing the subscriber revenue as some other companies Apple has worked with before.Then again, is Japan really that excited about the iPhone anyway? They've had some pretty awesome personal communication devices for years, and while the iPhone is definitely a quality device, my suspicion is that it won't stick out nearly as high above the rest of the options over there. Of course, on the third hand, Apple may consider the Eastern market all bonus cash anyway, and may take a dive on the subscription rates just to get what they can.All speculation at this point, of course-- it's up to DoCoMo and Apple to decide what they want to do and how they want to do it.
College course via mobile phone being offered in Japan
Finally, your greatest and weirdest dream can be realized. Besides being able to check your Facebook account, email your girlfriend, call your Mom on the holidays, or play a Java version of Golden Axe, you can take a college class via your mobile phone. The questionably named Cyber University in Japan has begun offering a mobile class on the "mysteries of the pyramids," but instead of a typical PC's display of text, images, sound, and video, the mobile version offers a streaming Power Point presentation on the topic. The university -- 71-percent of which is owned by Softbank, a mobile service provider -- has 1,850 students, and offers almost 100 courses, though only one is available for phones. Sakuji Yoshimura, head of Cyber University, says that the technology will allow those with jobs or who have disabilities greater access to education. "Our duty as educators is to respond to the needs of people who want to learn," he said -- then went on to add, "Even if the course is interrupted by an SMS."
Mickey's back: Disney to launch mobile services, handsets in Japan
You know what they say: nothing gets you over the last one like the next one. Apparently, Disney is totally signed on to the aforementioned mantra, as just under seven weeks after Disney Mobile hung its US-based ears in shame, the Japanese unit of Walt Disney Company will reportedly be firing up similar operations in its neck of the woods. Apparently, the outfit has "reached a basic agreement" with Softbank Mobile to lease telecom networks and start providing nationwide service to those interested. Furthermore, it will be buddying up with Softbank to "develop handsets and consign its output to other companies," and if all goes to plan, Disney hopes to sign up "more than one million subscribers." Oh, and if that wasn't enough to make you scrounge up that decade-old Mickey Mouse figurine and give it a long overdue hug, users of the service will also have exclusive access to "animated film downloads." Regrettably, there's no word on an actual launch date just yet, but we'll be keeping a (grossly oversized) set of ears to the ground.[Via Yahoo / Reuters]
Softbank's Winter 2007 lineup
Alongside KDDI, Softbank and NTT DoCoMo have both announced their autumn / winter '07 handset lineups as well. More on the NTT DoCoMo goodies shortly, but for now, let's take a closer look at just what Softbank has to offer our friends on the other side of the Pacific, shall we?[Thanks, Chris N.]
Japanese government orders Nokia to report on overheating batteries
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has ordered Nokia's Japan unit to "report by next Friday on details of a series of accidents" involving Matsushita's li-ion batteries that were recently found to have, shall we say, toasty tendencies. Reportedly, the ministry had phoned up Nokia Japan President Tyler McGee to hear his explanation, but apparently, it has deemed that more details are necessary. It seems the purpose here is to examine whether there were "any problems with Nokia Japan's handling of the overheating accidents," and considering that it purportedly took 16 days (6 more than the limit) for that unit to report initially on the problem, it may already be in a bit of hot water.
Toshiba's skinnable 815T shows off options
Although we knew Toshiba's 815T would soon be joining the Softbank Mobile team, the firm has finally got official on the customizable handset, and there's even pictures to prove it. Among the features are a 2.4-inch QVGA internal LCD, a 0.8-inch external OLED, two-megapixel camera, W-CDMA connectivity, microSD expansion slot, and of course, a slew of different skins and covers to liven it up. Reportedly, this here mobile is set to go on sale next week, but feel free to take a look at your options beforehand by following on after the jump.[Via Slashphone]
Softbank Mobile unveils summer '07 lineup
Let's be honest: 'round these parts, we're lucky to get a summer phone, let alone fricking thirteen of them. Following KDDI's announcement of ten brilliant handsets for the summer months, Japan's Softbank Mobile is unleashing a full thirteen of its own from Toshiba, Sharp, and Panasonic, along with darkhorses Samsung and HTC. As can be expected for a Japanese carrier aiming to impress with a new lineup, Softbank's colorful stable includes something for pretty much everyone. Let's have a closer look after the break.
Softbank moving towards common mobile OS
Many global wireless carriers are trying on approaches to get the user experience on all those different handsets to be a common one for the customer. As such, some carriers have been toying with the common mobile operating system software that can be deployed on many handset models. Add Japanese carrier Softbank Mobile to this list, as the company wants to make it easier for manufacturers to make those newer multimedia-rich handsets for its network that operate in the customer's hands the same way. To facilitate this, Softbank's adoption of the Portable Open Platform Initiative (POP-i) will provide it access to the OpenKODE API. This adoption will lead Softbank handsets down a common path of standards for advanced graphics and media processing in its mobile phones.[Via mocoNews.net]
Softbank Mobile releases 911T from Toshiba
Yeah, we covered this one before when Softbank first announced it back in January, but its spec sheet is so frickin' glorious that we felt the need to hit it up one more time now that the Japanese carrier has started populating store shelves with it. The first thing one notices when laying eyes on the 911T slider sourced from Toshiba is the screen -- all 800 x 480 of it. Other features include a decent 3.2 megapixel cam, HSDPA, Bluetooth, and a full 1GB of internal storage in a case that measures in under 18 millimeters thick. If you have the good fortune of residing in Japan, pick yours up now from Softbank in your choice of red, gray, black, or white.
Softbank Mobile set to launch WM6 devices in Q2
If you're into Toshiba and HTC WM6 handsets -- and you're in the Far East reaches of Japan -- Softbank Mobile may like to speak with you. The carrier recently stated that it would be launching WM6 Smartphones by Toshiba and HTC by the end of the second quarter (read: before the end of June). Softbank wants to be the first Japanese carrier to have WM6 units available to customers, apparently. The launch units? Well, they include the Toshiba G900 and the HTC unit (no model announced yet). We're glad to see the Toshiba-developed G900 alongside the presence of HTC, and like Softbank Mobile, we don't know which HTC unit will be forthcoming. Maybe a -- gasp -- new model?
Swarovski bejewels Samsung's 707SC for Softbank
Softbank Mobile customers finding that their Samsung-sourced 707SCs aren't getting the sheer volume of mesmerized stares they were hoping for, we come bearing good news: you can now re-up the chances for hypnotizing passers-by into a dazzled trance with crystal encrusted versions of your phone, courtesy of the good folks at Swarovski. Personally, with its HSDPA, QVGA display, video calling, and 2 megapixel cam, we thought the 11.2mm phone was hot enough as-is -- but adding sparkle never hurts. We guess.[Via Gearfuse]
Softbank's spring '07 collection
Alright, this is just getting ridiculous. Between NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and now Softbank, we've already seen enough new phones for the Japanese market in this young year to last us years of in-depth analysis. That'd be just great if we actually had years to track 'em all down and play with them, but oh, no -- we've no doubt that there'll be a fresh round of handsets dropping just in time for the temperatures to rise. Let's see if we can blurt all these new Softbanks out before they've been obsoleted by their successors: from Samsung, the 708SC; from Sharp, the 812SH and 813SH; Toshiba brings the 911T, 812T, and 813T; Nokia (yeah, Nokia... crazy!) packs the X01NK; Panasonic does the 706P, and NEC rounds out the bunch with the 706N. Some of this is old news (at least one phone, the kid-friendly 812T, has been kicking around for a while, and the X01NK is basically a rebranded E62) but the real story here seems to be the 812SH clamshell which'll be offered in no fewer than 20 (yes, twenty) frickin' colors. But wait, it gets better: the phone is co-branded with Pantone, which we're guessing must mean that the color of the phone is extraordinarily... uh, accurate. The 911T slider is another winner, rocking that same 800 x 480 display we saw in Hitachi's W51H, a 3.2 megapixel cam, A2DP, a 1seg TV tuner, 1GB of onboard storage with microSD expansion, and enough juju to humiliate pretty much any phone with the stones to step to it. Actually, we're pretty sure the same could be said of about any phone in the bunch.
Softbank releases 812T for the kiddies
Softbank and Toshiba have teamed up to release another electronic tether GPS-enabled phone for children, the 812T. The pastel clamshell is visually distinctive, thanks to (what appears to be) a rather large ring for attaching the phone to clothing, backpacks, or keychains -- but the real draw here, of course, is the GPS receiver that parents can use to watch their little ones traverse the streets of Japan from the comfort of their softly-glowing computer monitor. Other features include a 1.3 megapixel cam, a QVGA internal display, microSD memory expansion, and Yahoo! Messenger support (this is Softbank, after all, purveyor of Yahoo!'s Japanese 'net service). We're also guessing those clear lenses on the phone's front cover some strobe lights for criminal-blindin' action when necessary. [Warning: PDF link][Via Akihabara News]
Sharp 911SH does one-seg for Softbank
Sharp is showing off a nifty little (if you can call 22 millimeters of thickness "little") one-seg clamshell with a pivoting screen for Softbank customers, the 911SH. The phone apparently looks to displace the outgoing (and similarly-styled) 905SH, though it's not much of an upgrade -- the camera remains unchanged at 2 megapixels, Bluetooth carries over, and the Aquos-branded screen rocks the same 400 x 240 resolution, though it gets upped to 3 inches. The major draws here, then, appear to be the switch from miniSD to microSD expansion (if you can really call that an upgrade) and the availability of seven tasty colors.[Via Mobilewhack]
Influx of new subscribers briefly paralyzes Softbank
Americans, some of whom still have the nasty aftertaste in their mouths of the nightmarish number portability rollout here, must be feeling for their Japanese counterparts today. After flipping the switch this month to allow folks to take their numbers with them, it seems Softbank Mobile was the big winner -- sort of. In the process of accepting thousands of incoming applicants, their computer system buckled under the load, leaving the carrier all but paralyzed over the weekend and unable to accept sign-ups or cancellations. Fortunately, it looks like their IT folks were on the ball and everything's back to normal now (we hope).
