NEWS / MOBILE PHONES

Apple in Talks to Launch iPhone in Japan

19 Dec, 2007, 5:35 pm IST | by AP | Mobile phones

Apple Inc. is negotiating with Japan's top mobile phone carrier to launch the iPhone in Japan, though the cut of subscriber revenue that Apple wants has been a sticking point, according to a report published Tuesday.


NTT DoCoMo spokesman Shuichiro Ichikoshi said company President Masao Nakamura met recently with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Shuichiro declined to comment further.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, reported Tuesday that Jobs and Nakamura discussed launching the iPhone in Japan.

Apple has said it plans to launch the device in Asia in 2008 but has not provided details.

NTT DoCoMo had nearly 53 million subscribers and commanded more than half of Japan's mobile phone market at the end of September, but has struggled to add new users in recent months amid fierce competition from KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp., which have slashed rates and launched aggressive sales promotions.

Apple and NTT DoCoMo are still negotiating the terms of a deal, with one stumbling block being Apple's demands to receive the same percentage of subscriber revenue from NTT DoCoMo that it receives from other carriers, according to the Journal.

If a deal with NTT DoCoMo falls through, Apple is also talking with Softbank, according to the report.

Apple spokeswoman Jennifer Bowcock declined to comment.

The introduction of the combination iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing device to the world's second-largest economy would be a tremendous boon for Cupertino-based Apple, which hopes to sell about 10 million iPhones by the end of 2008.

Apple has sold more than 1.4 million iPhones since they went on sale June 29 in the United States. Subsequent launches in Europe have boosted sales and sparked a legal fight over Apple's exclusive use of T-Mobile, part of Deutsche Telekom AG, as its wireless provider in Germany.

Apple's strategy thus far has been to pick an exclusive mobile operator for each region: AT&T Inc. in the United States, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom's Orange wireless arm in France.

Last month, the chairman of China Mobile, China's biggest mobile services operator with nearly 350 million subscribers at the end of September, revealed the company was in talks with Apple to bring the iPhone to China.
RELATED STORIES

Windows 8 likely to support Adobe Flash

Windows 8 likely to support Adobe Flash

About eight months back, when Microsoft introduced its Windows 8 Metro UI, it was almost clear that the company’s Metro version........

Dell Latitude 10, first Windows 8 tablet shows up

Microsoft's programme to incubate 10 Indian start-ups in cloud computing

Giant radio telescope gets split location

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime TF201 Review

Top 5 potential Gmail alternatives

Yahoo! Axis reportedly slowing down IE9

 

features

Unboxing and first impressions of the LAVA XOLO X900

Unboxing and first impressions of the LAVA XOLO X900

The XOLO made its way into our labs recently and needless to say, our tech

By Shayne Rana

Mobile Grudge Match - Samsung Galaxy S III vs HTC One X

Mobile Grudge Match - Samsung Galaxy S III vs HTC One X

Last night, we witnessed Samsung unveiling, what they have been referring...

By Roydon Cerejo

Samsung Galaxy S III - What to expect

Samsung Galaxy S III - What to expect

Apple fans have the iPhone 4S and Android fans have the Samsung Galaxy S2.

By Karan Shah , Rossi Fernandes

MORE FEATURES

Photos

Lava XOLO X900 Unboxing

Lava XOLO X900 Unboxing

04 May, 2012, 05:28 PM

2.8

Samsung Galaxy S III Launched

Samsung Galaxy S III Launched

04 May, 2012, 01:04 AM

4.7

Nokia 603 Review

Nokia 603 Review

09 Apr, 2012, 01:58 PM

3.4

MORE PHOTOS