3G iPhone for Japan?

Apple is in negotiations with two Japanese wireless carriers to sell its iPhone, but negotiations are dragging out over the critical issue of revenue-sharing, according to press reports.

Apple is talking with Japan's top carrier, DoCoMo, as well as No. 3 carrier Softbank. Apple CEO Steve Jobs recently had a sit-down with DoCoMo chief executive Masao Nakamura in San Francisco to discuss a deal, the Wall Street Journal reported.

"The negotiations are not going smoothly, as Apple's conditions are extremely hard to meet," a source familiar with the meeting told Reuters. "The ball is in Apple's court right now."

Apple appears to be ready and willing to play hardball in Japan. While it clearly has shown a preference to cut exclusive deals with the top carrier in a country -- that means DoCoMo -- press reports suggest that Softbank is extremely interested in becoming the iPhone carrier, leverage Apple would use to bring DoCoMo to its terms.

Apple has been talking to Softbank for some time, and the No. 3 carrier is making an aggressive push to take customers away from its larger competitors. The Wall Street Journal suggested Jobs is feeling quite smug about Japan. "A person familiar with the situation said Apple doesn't expect to have any difficulty concluding a deal with a Japanese operator," the Journal reported.

Japan is the world's second largest economy and one with a healthy appetite for the latest in cell phones. It boasts 100 million cell phone users, who buy new phones every two years on average.

Whichever carrier gets the Apple deal will certainly sell a lot of phones.The phone Apple winds up selling in Japan might prove to be the rumored 3G iPhone. DoCoMo doesn't run a GSM or Edge network, as all current iPhone carriers do, so Apple will have to deliver an iPhone compatible with the UMTS or HSDPA standards.

source: yahoo

Related Posts:

Asian Suppliers Reveal 2nd Generation 3G iPhone for 2008
Google Optimizes Picasa for the iPhone
iPhone Predicted to be Target of Malware Hackers in 2008
Funny Nokia N95 Vs Apple iPhone Video
$ 2,000 Platinum iPhone
Send MMS with your iPhone
Stylus for the iPhone
Apple Threatens Iphone Sellers in Singapore's Sim Lim Square with US$690 ( S$1000 ) Fine
UK's Carphone Warehouse Misleads iPhone Customers on Insurance