iPhone balancing act: DoCoMo or SoftBank?

Apple is reported to conduct talks with Japan's two UMTS carriers on a subject of who will launch iPhone in Japan. KDDI au the second biggest carrier is missing from the talks due to its CDMA network standard, which is not supported by iPhone. Japan is poised to become a first country to enjoy 3G version of iPhone. However, it is not clear who will get the "right of first night" with iPhone. DoCoMo variant is more attractive for Apple as the carrier controls more than 50% of market in Japan. However, DoCoMo is notoriously known for its tight control of the handset ecosystem in Japan and is not willing to cede it to anybody else. Maybe, that is the reason why Apple is bringing SoftBank to the negotiation table - to make DoCoMo play by Apple's rules over the fear that the iPhone deal may be snatched by SoftBank. It looks like Apple needs to stand firm with its conditions of revenue sharing with operators. If it shows weakness now, operators in other countries will demand the same deal. The possible solution is a compromise between Apple and DoCoMo - Apple still get the revenue-sharing but with a smaller margin than it got in the US or Europe (and other operators won't necessarily know about the terms of the deal). Below are some headlines from today's news sources discussing the matter:

• Apple Mulls Options for iPhone Japan
• Apple plays DoCoMo against Softbank over iPhone
• Apple in Talks with DoCoMo in Japan
• Apple Meets With DoCoMo, Softbank On Launching iPhone in Japan

Sharp SH905i first to feature Dolby Mobile

Sharp came up with an amazing piece of technology when they recently announced the SH905i handset for NTT DoCoMo. According to Sharp, it is the first handset in the world to use Dolby Mobile technology to enhance the sound of music and live TV played on the SH905i. The list of wow things they put into this phone doesn’t end with Dolby Mobile. Other advancements worth mentioning include 3-inch Wide VGA AQUOS display that uses Sharp’s proprietary developed vertical alignment technology called Mobile Advanced Super View enabling wide viewing angles, TOUCH CRUISER pad, which is an interface similar to the touch pads on notebook PCs, Manga Book Reader, IrSimple & IrSS standards for easy wireless transfer of pictures to compatible printers, and HSDPA for high-speed data transfers of up to 3.6Mbps.

Phone Specs
Model:	SH905i
Carrier:	NTT DoCoMo
Maker:	Sharp
Price:	N/A
Form factor:	Clam/swivel
Color variations:	Black, White, Pink, Blue
Weight:	125 g
Dimensions:	112 X 48 X 16.9mm
Main display:	3 inch (480X854) Full Wide VGA (16,777,215 colors)
Talk time:	200 min
Standby time:	max 540 hours
Platform / OS:	Symbian
Memory:	memory
Memory card slot:	microSD/HC
GPS / Location:	Yes
Bluetooth:	No
Infrared:	Yes
USB:	N/A
Wi-Fi:	No
Camera:	3.2MP
Video calling:	Yes
One-seg TV:	Yes
Music player:	Yes (AAC/WMA/SD Audio)
Browser:	Full browser
FM radio:	No
Mobile Wallet:	Yes (DCMX)
QR-code:	Yes
Biometrics:	Yes (Writing recognition)

Source: Sharp press release

Related articles on Sharp's mobile phones:

• Sharp handsets do magic and spur mobile web usage in Japan
• Softbank Spring Collection: Sharp Internet Machine 922SH
• Sharp is still undisputed handset leader in Japan: 1Q07 data

SoftBank's top ten selling phone models

GfK, a market research company, published ranks of top selling mobile phones with each operator in Japan during the last week of November. This post will cover SoftBank. See table below for the top 10 sellers with SoftBank brand.

SoftBank Top Ten
1 (3)	Sharp 920SH
2 (1)	Sharp 911SH
3 (2)	Panasonic 705Px
4 (5)	Toshiba fanfan. 815T
5 (7)	Panasonic 810P
6 (6)	Sharp 910SH
7 (8)	Toshiba 911T
8 (10)	Toshiba 814T
9 (4)	Sharp Fullface 913SH
10 (11)	Sharp 812SH

Source: GfK via ITMedia

KDDI au's top ten selling phone models

GfK, a market research company, published ranks of top selling mobile phones with each operator in Japan during the last week of November. This post will cover KDDI au. See table below for the top 10 sellers with au brand.

KDDI au Top Ten
1 (1)	Toshiba W53T
2 (2)	Casio Exilim W53CA
3 (3)	Sharp W52SH
4 (4)	Sanyo W52SA
5 (5)	Kyocera A5528K
6 (8)	Sony Ericsson W53S
7 (6)	Casio W52CA
8 (7)	Panasonic W52P
9 (9)	Toshiba W54T
10 (20)	Kyocera W53K

Source: GfK via ITMedia