Hi Nick,
I think Softbank will be the one to coop with Apple.
KDDI is already the leader in mobile music and
DoCoMo works with Napster and Tower Records and
has adopted a flat rate of 1.900 Yen per month for
unlimited music consumption.
Softbank in Japan already offers discounted nanos
if you buy a new Softbank phone.
And, yes, I expect the iPhone to be a premium device
that probably will not need as much subsidies as
low-priced mass market devices.
I met Softbank's CSO Ted Matsumoto, former Qualcomm
Japan President, during my recent Mobile Executive Tour
in November 2006 in Tokyo. Ted made clear to us that
Softbank is extremely aggressive and aims at becoming
number one in the Japanese mobile market.
Therefore, there is only one choice for digital music
for Softbank: Coop with Apple.
I look forward to the iPhone very much as I just switched
to the Macbook Pro.
Regards from Berlin,
Jan.
On Dec 6, 2006, at 6:07 AM, Nick May wrote:
> Should there be an iPhone release in January, any thoughts on which
> of the JP carriers would introduce it here?
>
> If (as has been suggested) the first iteration will basically be an
> iPod nano with phone functionality - (not the other way around....)
> will this allow carriers to sell the phone at close to cost, without
> a large subsidy - on the basis that people have shown themselves
> quite willing to purchase their nano's for hefty sums.
>
> Nick
>
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Received on Wed Dec 6 09:23:49 2006