Japanese mobile carrier Softbank Corp said yesterday it now has a deal with Apple Inc to sell the iPhone later this year — the first such agreement in Japan for the hit cellphone.
Softbank spokesman Naoki Nakayama said no further details, such as pricing and dates, were available, and he said it was not clear if the deal was exclusive.
Adding the iPhone to Softbank’s lineup in Japan’s intensely competitive mobile market is almost sure to be a plus for the company.
Gadget-loving Japan is already a big market for Apple’s other popular product, the iPod portable music player.
Tokyo-based Softbank has 18.77 million subscribers in Japan and is lagging in third place behind mobile service providers NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp. In recent years, it has been aggressively expanding by offering cheaper services and running catchy TV ads featuring actress Cameron Diaz.
NTT DoCoMo spokesman Shinjiro Minami said the company was unhappy that Softbank had beaten it to an iPhone deal as DoCoMo had also been considering such a deal.
“The user interface is very attractive and it’s a product that’s likely to draw Apple fans in Japan,” he said, adding that it was unclear if DoCoMo plans to continue pursuing an iPhone deal.
KDDI spokesman Satoru Ito said the carrier has not been interested in offering iPhone, and said he had no comment on the Softbank announcement.
KDDI users tend to be youngsters who already use cellphones for music players — making the iPhone less attractive.
As of the end of March, Apple sold 5.4 million iPhones globally, and it has been struggling to keep up with demand in new markets.
Apple has so far struck exclusive deals for the iPhone with AT&T Inc in the US, O2 in Britain, T-Mobile in Germany and France Telecom’s Orange wireless arm in France.
The company plans further expansion later this year through a partnership with Mexico City-based America Movil, which boasts 159.2 million subscribers in 16 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.
Apple is preparing a new version of the iPhone that promises a speedier Internet connection.
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