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Apple said to be working with Softbank on "co-branded" handset
Japanese news agency Nikkei is reporting that Apple and new Vodafone Japan owner Softbank are working together to develop cellphones capable of downloading and playing music from the iTunes store. Details are, of course, very slim at this point, as we don't even know whether to characterize this as a "true" iPhone, or simply a ROKR-like model featuring only software from the iPod manufacturer powering a non-Apple handset. However, Nikkei is quoting sources that say the phone, which may be released as early as this year (and which is definitely NOT pictured alongside this post), is expected to sport both Softbank and Apple branding, which may indicate that Cupertino will have a hand in developing the hardware as well. Whatever they're working on, we wanna know about it, and we won't rest until we have a ton of specs and pics for you.
Softbank says farewell to Vodafone brand
Vodafone K.K. might be third place in Japan, but as a former part of the world's largest phone company, you would think Softbank would want to keep the name around. But after buying the Japanese division of Vodafone for 14.9 billion USD, Softbank has decided to drop the name and go with a new one, which has yet to be announced. Along with the name change, Softbank plans to announce a new management line-up in April, along with having the Softbank pres move to a dual role over both companies. The acquisition should be complete by April 24th, so we suppose we'll know more then.
