subject: 3G iPhone in Japan? [print this page] 3G iPhone in Japan? 3G iPhone in Japan?
It would be nice it it would be a version of CDMA that works in the states. The only thing is that Verizon's servers wouldn't work with the Visual VoiceMail. I have a feeling that we will not see a CDMA version of the iPhone, ever. I think that I remember reading somewhere that Verizon is going to be replacing CDMA with some version of GSM in the not too distant future. We will just have to wait and see.
This is an update (with a twist) to our originalscoop last November, as it does build on that earlier approach.Update 4 June:It's Official..!!!
SoftBank Mobile enabled WDIG to deploy a so-called MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) inMarch, however if you think about it Disney Mobile is basically a branded Content play or MVCO. The lack of 3G capability was only one part of the puzzle to launching an iPhone in Japan, the revenue share for ODM's here would also be very difficult' considering the operator's relationship with all of the other handset makers. So, we'll go out on the limb, once more, to suggest that in fact it will be SoftBank Mobile andjust maybe the work-around will see Apple Inc. launching its own itunesmusicandvideo MVCO platform!
Of course there are several logical reasons for going with SBM, not the least of which would be easier roaming on their W-CDMA (3GPP) network. It was notedmany times during the Vodafone era here that the company, now SoftBank Mobile, had significant capacity to resell thanks to a quirk in the way spectrum was allocated (all three main carriers split equal thirds, regardless of their user base). While it could well be that SoftBank Mobile will be the actual front-end, with no separate Apple-branded offering a la Disney, it would seem beyond any reasonable doubt now that DoCoMo will not be the lucky winner after all.
Thankfully the news will finally be public in weeks (not months) and we can all look forward to the next round of discussion' such as, will the new version be Flash enabled, what about m-commerce and GPS, or while 16GB of storage is cool, 8GB with double the battery life would be better. At any rate, we look forward to launch day on the Ginza. Check our time-stamp and remember you heard it here 1st
