Report: Softbank and Apple to co-develop iPod phones - Page 2

Spooky.

I'm not certain it is necessarily incorrect. I believe there is a romanization scheme that transliterates it to shimbun.

nasal before bi-labial voiced plosive fricative is pronounced m, but written correctly is n.

Yes, the transliteration is "m", not "n". Like "tempura". Research your romanji standardization rules (the modified hepburn system) for more information, I have studied japanese for many years and "m" is correct in the case of shimbun but spelled with "ん".

LOL...there are numerous flaws with that one, just looking at its buttons, for example. In case anybody's still worried, I have confirmation from Japan that Softbank will be supporting an iPod-containing phone. Basically, Vodafone would be the service provider and Apple will develop the phone itself (that's how it works with Sony, Toshiba, etc).

The only problem to this is that AU has a much better marketing, appeal, target class, and all that. Vodafone is featuritis, at least in the way they advertise themselves. Various providers already have music-centered or more-than-music-capable phones. AU, for example, has probably a few of these, and they have appealing service packages. An Apple phone, no matter how good it looks or feels, no matter with the iPod, even if it were the best thing since cellphones themselves, would face stiff competition, especially from the distinctly more Apple-like (in terms of high-class) reputation of AU. Cell phones in Japan come in all sorts of forms, and some of them are actually quite easy to use (more importantly, people are already used to their own phones' difficulty, so ease of use is not so significant). An Apple phone with music will necessarily need camera functionality (nobody buys a phone without a camera unless you want a phone that works ONLY as a phone), which will in turn require a memory card slot. Standard settings and phone operating software will need to be redone in an Apple way and yet not be too dissimilar to what's out there because people will find it hard to use if, say, ring tones are not found under settings.

Apple is definitely partnering up with Softbank for this. The problem I see is that even in Japan where everybody needs cell phones, it's simply not likely to make much more than a small ripple. If they'd gone with AU (or if AU had started working on hi-speed Internet), then there would be a significantly better chance.

In regard to cellular phones, the REST OF THE WORLD gets the cool stuff first, especially east asia, because in Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan people go through cellular phones like crazy. Like, several units per year. This allows the phone makers to market the services and terminals much differently than the way it's done in the USA. Here, people aren't as willing to buy the latest phones for no apparent reason other than style. So the whole market is different.

When it comes to cell phone technology, the 800lb gorillas are Qualcomm and Lucent, both American companies. Samsung (Korea) makes a lot of cell phone Silicon, but the bulk of the intellectual property behind the signal processing of 2.5G and 3G cell systems belongs to American firms. GSM is very non-american, but as far as the industry is concerned it should be ancient history by now, and it has no place in 3G. The only reason it still exists is what they call EU protectionism.

I've been a Mac lover since the first 128k appeared in 1984. I've owned numerous Macs throughout the years, and my current favorite remains to be the G4 Cube. I've always been interested in Apple products, even those that were not strickly a desktop or notebook computer (e.g., Newton). And while I do love music, I don't worship it nor do I have an addiction to it; hence, I've never been able to understand the iPod phenomenon. I do not own an iPod, nor do I have one on my shopping list. I therefore have no idea what people here in Japan or even those abroad find appealing about putting all but the kitchen sink in a tiny pocket phone. But I am observant enough to invest my money in these technologies, including Apple stock, to profit a bit from market trends. More power to the youth who keep the stock prices riding high!

I have lived in Japan for over 12 years. Vodafone's success is rather mixed. Overall, it has a lower "coolness factor" than AU or DOCOMO. Docomo has more of a cult following, with young people picking it because the brand name is hip (the success of i-mode had much to do with that). AU has some pretty slick phone designs which sway many from DOCOMO. Vodafone thought it could pick up customers by buying out the J-phone customer base, but that didn't work out as planned. And while I recommended Vodafone to my wife on reason of cost-of-ownership, I must agree that competing phone companies do have some alluring features.

Vodafone is obviously banking on the appeal of Apple Computer Music Company to ride the new wave of cell phones that have music features. And while I would never get a phone myself due to musical functionality, I do see the growing number of ads on Japanese TV from other phone makers touting such features. It's increasingly clear Japanese youth want downloadable tunes on their cell phones (as if 4MP digital cameras and wireless credit card payment features weren't enough).

Well, with Apple's computer sales wanning in Japan, hopefully this move will give the company a leg-up and add a boost to their stock price as well. And with prices for cell phone music in Japan being as high as they are, Apple may very well capture a large segment of the market here with more economical pricing. More power to them!

iTunes music store for mobile (being able to purchase and download full music tracks to your cell phone) requires strong 3G infrastructure with good speeds. Just a thought.

Softbank has officially denied the rumors saying that the news is completely "in the imagination" of reporter.

But if Softbank is under NDA with Apple, the denial doesn't mean anything.

NBC Nightly news reported this joint venture last night with no expansion to the headline.

What does Softbank do?

They own Vodaphone Japan.

Right. In that case I vote this one as rubbish. It doesn't make sense for Apple to link with a specific network, as going with Voda will be exclusive.

Also, who is manufacturing this phone? Apple needs a Nokia/SE/Motorola/HTC more than it needs a network.

Softbank is a lot more than just Vodaphone.

http://www.softbankbb.co.jp/english/

But, it's the networks that control what will go onto the phones, and how they will work. If Apple produces their own phone, there is no guarantee that the features they want to supply will be appreciated by the networks.

If Apple want's to have downloads directly from iTunes, and the networks don't, then it won't happen.

even little things that the phone manufacturers are blamed for are the fault of the networks, such as Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.

The only real way that Apple can do what they want to is with a carrier that hasn't already set up some systems that Apple wants to supply on their own.

That's why there is talk of Apple setting up a virtual network ala Target.