PCMag notes that Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son revealed in an interview with the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, John Roos, that Apple CEO Steve Jobs was working on Apple’s next big product up until the day before his passing.

“I visited Apple for the announcement of the iPhone 4S [at Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California]. When I was having a meeting with Tim Cook, he said, ‘Oh Masa, sorry I have to quit our meeting.’ I said, ‘Where are you going?’ He said, ‘My boss is calling me.’ That was the day of the announcement of the iPhone 4S. He said that Steve is calling me because he wants to talk about their next product. And the next day, he died.”

Really, could it have been otherwise?

Source: PCMag



It looks like iPad 2, previously delayed due to the earthquake, will finally debut in Japan this week, as well as Hong Kong, India, Israel, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey and UAE.

The Wi-Fi only version will also hit China on May 6.

So who’s getting one?

[Apple PR]

Following the awful earthquakes and devastating tsunami that hit Japan, it is good to hear that Japanese carrier Softbank are offering assistance to children that were left orphaned by the recent disaster, including free replacements for any damaged iPhones.

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son has announced via twitter that all earthquake orphans will receive free phones with all calling costs waived until they reach 18 years old. This offer is even extended to those on other networks such as DoCoMo.

We say well done Softbank and in particular Mr Son!

[Engadget]

While most have assumed the iPhone 5 will include NFC technology for turning your iPhone into an eWallet, Japanese carrier Softbank has announced they’ll be releasing their own NFC payment system for the iPhone 4 ahead of Apple in the form of a sticker you can apply to Apple’s flagship smartphone. From Engadget:

Softbank has responded to complaints about the iPhone 4′s NFC deficit by introducing a new “seal” for the back of Apple’s latest and greatest.

The seal is applied to the back of the iPhone 4 covering all but the camera and will be able to communicate with the FeliCa payment system used in Japan. Apparently the sticker won’t interfere with cases like Apple’s own Bumper case, but based on the picture above I really can’t see this system working with every case out there.

Also noted by Engadget is that the sticker doesn’t actually communicate with the iPhone 4 itself, but acts as a separate system that simply attaches itself to the device. So until Apple decides to integrate this directly it doesn’t look like true NFC has hit the iPhone (yet). Softbank’s NFC seal will be going for ¥2,980 ($36) in February.

This got me wondering — if this “sticker” implementation of NFC were released anywhere else, would iPhone users actually use it or would you prefer waiting until Apple officially rolls NFC into the next iPhone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

[Softbank via Engadget]

Even before Apple announced the iPhone 4 was coming to the US, UK, France, Germany, and Japan on June 24, AT&T announced new, tiered and capped data plans and aggressive upgrade options for the new handset. Internationally…? Cricket chirps.

So here’s where the power of the TiPb nation comes in. We’ve put as much as we could find below, but if you know more about carrier plans and upgrade options in the UK, France, Germany, or Japan, drop it in the comments and we’ll update the post.

UK iPhone 4 pricing

O2 UK

Monthly plans begin at 100 minutes and 500 MB of data priced at £25 for a 24-month contract and £30 for an 18-month contract and ramp up to unlimited calling and 1 GB of data priced at £60/£65. A footnote to O2′s pricing matrix indicates, however, that the carrier will continue running a “promotion” offering unlimited data for all smartphones until October, at which time the company will offer additional data in 500 MB (£5) and 1 GB (£10) buckets.

For £20 a month you can buy off your existing contract to become eligible for upgrade faster. [MacRumors]

Vodafone UK

Leaked [Engadget]

France iPhone 4 pricing

Pending…

Germany iPhone 4 pricing

Pending…

Japan iPhone 4 pricing

Softbank

Black only (no info on white), pre-orders begin June 15, 5pm online and in store. Proof of identity required.

• 57,600 yen ($624) for the 32GB model
• 46,080 yen ($500) for the 16GB model
• COD or 24 payments of 2,400 yen/1,920 yen.
• Value plan Unlimited Data for 4,410 yen per month
• Basic plan starts at 1,029 yen a month, tops out at 4,410 for unlimited
• Value plan subsidizes 1,920 yen a month for 24 months.
• Basic plan subsidizes 1,440 yen a month for 24 months.

A two year commitment for a 32GB iPhone 4 will cost you 57,600 yen but return 46,080 yen in discounts bringing a total difference of 11,530 yen or around $125 USD. A 16GB iPhone 4 will cost 46,080 yen with 46,080 yen discount or a whopping 0 yen!

[Mobile Japan via 9to5Mac]

Keep it coming!

MobileCrunch brings word that, according to Impress R&D [Japanese language]:

[The iPhone 3G is] commanding 24.6% [of the domestic smartphone market], while the [iPhone 3GS] contributes another 21.5%. The 3G was introduced in Japan in summer 2008 (the 3GS followed earlier this year). Sources in Japan say that the iPhone user base in Japan now stands at 3 million, which is an impressive 10% of the global userbase.

They credit carrier SoftBank’s aggressive TV and print advertising, and the lack of similar pushes for BlackBerry and Android, as key factors in the iPhone’s success. (Android comes in at #10 with 2.3% and the BlackBerry Bold at #11 with 1.2%)

This follows similar enthusiasm in Korea, and a tepid response from China — at least for the official, non-gray market models…

UPDATE: Engadget Mobile points out the smartphone market as a whole is really teeny tiny in Japan (lumped in under “others” at 22%).

[Impress R&D via MobileCrunch via MacRumors]

And we thought $99 rumors at Walmart sounded cheap! According to Apple Insider, if you live in Japan and don’t mind signing a 2-year deal with official carrier SoftBank, you can take home an 8GB iPhone 3G for FREE!

No matter the exchange rate, zero is zero, so if you’ve been holding out for an iPhone of your very own, is this finally enough the sway you? And most importantly, what Emoji will you use to express your free iPhone feelings?

(For our non-Japanese readers think AT&T, Rogers, or any other carrier will match this deal any time soon..?

Counting down to its July 11 multi-national debut, Japan’s Softbank has announced (in Japanese, ‘natch) their official iPhone 3G prices and plans. The hardware itself will cost ¥23,040 for 8GB and ¥34,560 for 16GB, a roughly 7% premium over Steve Jobs’ US$199 maximum, amortized over the length of the pre-requisite 2 year contract.

Plans will be color coded, primarily in white, but rumor has it also in orange and blue. Based on the linked-to details, this color system is impenetrable enough I can’t believe North American carriers haven’t rushed to adopt it!

Any Japanese readers who can shed further light on how these charges will shake out on a data-hungry iPhone-class device, please let us know in the comments!

Read Via

From the land of the rising sun, and the trend of mono-sentence-ic press statements, Softbank has announced that they will be carrying the iPhone in Japan with — wait for it — details to follow later!

Unofficial beginning of June scorecard:

Launched: Austria (T-Mobile), France (Orange), Germany (T-Mobile), Ireland (O2), UK (O2), USA (AT&T)

Announced: Africa (Orange), Argentina (America Movil), Australia (Vodafone / SingTel), Austria (Orange), Belgium (Orange), Brazil (America Movil), Canada (Rogers), Chile (America Movil), Columbia (America Movil), the Czech Republic (Vodafone), Denmark (TeliaSonera), Dominican Republic (America Movil/ Orange), Ecuador (America Movil), Egypt (Vodafone / Orange), El Salvador (America Movil), Estonia (TeliaSonera), Finland (TeliaSonera), Greece (Vodafone), Guatamala (America Movil), Honduras (America Movil), Hong Kong SAR (Hutchison) India (Vodafone / SingTel), Italy (Vodafone / Telecom Italia), Jamaica (America Movil), Japan (Softbank), Jordan (Orange), Latvia (TeliaSonera), Lithuania (TeliaSonera), Macao (Hutchison), Mexico (America Movil), New Zealand (Vodafone), Nicaragua (America Movil), Norway (TeliaSonera), Paraguay (America Movil), Peru (America Movil), Philippines (SingTel), Poland (Orange), Portugal (Vodafone / Orange), Puerto Rico (America Movil), Romania (Orange), Singapore (SingTel), Slovakia (Orange), Spain (Movistar), South Africa (Vodafone), Switzerland (Swisscom / Orange), Turkey (Vodafone), Uruguay (America Movil)

Rumored: Netherlands (?),

Note: Extent of America Movil and Orange Africa deployment not yet fully detailed.

Still burning a hole in your direction, China! Only a few days to go…

Read