Watching TV on the iPhone is quite a big deal in Japan so Softbank announced on Thursday that it plans to sell a TV-Tuner add-on for later this year. Besides getting you all that TV action it will work as an extended battery pack.

The TV-Tuner will cost about $100 and it will go on sale sometime in December. The tuner will have an internal WiFi module and an external antenna for connecting to the 1seg mobile terrestrial broadcasting service. The software will be available for free from the App Store when the time comes.

CEATEC is a popular IT & Electronics Exhibition that takes place in Japan, and the latest 2008 edition was one week ago - from 30 September to 4 October. One of the cutting-edge devices presented at the expo came from Sharp, and it is named Softbank 9225H.

The handset is a bit strange in terms of design, but in the inside you can find a full QWERTY keyboard which isn’t very common to see in this type of phones.

On the list of specifications the Sharp Softbank 9225H offers 1seg TV tuner, a 2-megapixel camera, a 3.5-inch VGA (internal) screen, a multimedia player, a microSDHC slot to store all the audio and video data, and lastly, e-mail functionality.

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You won’t find any precious stones on this latest addition to Softbank’s ever growing lineup of Toshiba products but the Toshiba 824T has features that could make anyone forget jewels. Measuring in at just 50×103x17.8 mm, the 824T has an expansive 2.8-inch widescreen QVGA display, an integrated 2-megapixel camera, built-in GPS, Bluetooth, and a microSD slot with 2GB support. Looks like the Japanese need more TV and less connectivity as this clamshell has a 1Seg TV tuner included but WiFi fails to make it with just Bluetooth and 3G/W-CDMA network support. No word on when or for how much this will be available, but when it is, users can get the Toshiba 824T in pastel pink, pastel blue, pastel purple, and the ever popular vivid pink.
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Japan’s Softbank is going to reduce monthly fees for the iPhone 3G in order to attract more customers. Softbank is willing to drop prices from 7,280 yen or $67 per month down to 2,990 yen or $27. That’s quite a price cut wouldn’t you say? I certainly hope that other carriers are watching this move.

The price cut will come from a reduced price of the data rate and it will certainly draw even more attention to the iPhone in Japan. More people should switch to the iPhone with this new low price offer.

Apple’s 3G iPhone has now reached the stores for sale. If you are in Japan, you can choose to pay 23,000 Yen (138€) for the 8GB version or 35,000 Yen (209€) for the 16GB version. Avail of the offer giving unlimited free calls from 1 to 21 as per White plan. Hey! You can enjoy Unlimited Data package by paying just 6,000 yen (36€). Hurry up to get 90 days free telephone support.

Softbank is the Japanese carrier that managed to snatch a deal with Apple for releasing the 3G iPhone in Japan. I’m not going to build up suspense and throw it right in the first paragraph. The 8GB version will cost about $215 or 23,040 Yen which is almost matching AT&T’s price.
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Japan is next in line to deliver the iPhone. Softbank have announced yesterday they have signed a deal with Apple and they will offer the iPhone to the Japanese market by the end of the year.

I like their original press release (read bellow) as it has all the information you need about this agreement:

SOFTBANK MOBILE Corp. today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple® to bring the iPhone™ to Japan later this year.

I fear they might have said too much already. Rival company NTT Docomo were supposed to be the ones to bring the iPhone to Japan according to some rumors. From what we’ve already seen in other countries, where multiple carriers have obtained Apple’s signature on the commercialization of the iPhone, I wouldn’t be surprised if NTT Docomo will sell iPhone plans too in the near future.

via Appletell

Panasonic’s SoftBank 921P 3G phone comes in different color options including Gold, Silver, Black, Purple, Mint green and Pink. This 3 G High-Speed VIERA-enabled cell phone lets the user record 15 frames per second to 30 frames of video. It features 5.1 megapixel CMOS camera.

This cell phone gives you the power of photography by letting you click 5.1 megapixel still images with powerful hand shake feature. Not only this, you can also use features like the new auto-focus face / face auto exposure and tone correction technology.

Panasonic SoftBank 921P 3G phone sports 3.1 inches wide VGA (480 × 854 dots) display. The cell phone can work on W-CDMA and GSM networks. You can get up to 8 GB microSDHC memory card (optional) along with the phone.

With features like these, I would definitely pony up some to get my hands on the Sharp DM002SH, but it’s only the Japanese children who will be lucky this time. Headed for Softbank, the DM002SH clamshell has the “Disney” tag attached to it, but I find no trace of anything cartoonish about this cell phone. Even the diamond-patterned outer shell looks more endearing to a teenager than a kid still watching Disney classics. If you think this just oozes style with no substance, you are wrong. The Disney phone is a 3G-ready device with HSDPA support and rocks two displays, a 2.6 inch internal WVGA with a 0.5-inch OLED display on the outside. There’s a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth, infrared, a microSD slot, and 50MB of built-in memory. Mobile TV has become the norm in almost all of the recently released cell phones in Japan and the DM002SH is no exception.

The Sharp DM002SH will be available in June on Japan’s Softbank carrier and if you have promised your kid to get him/her one, you better have a large enough wallet, at least for Disney’s sake!
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Check out the new SoftBank 813SH 3G phone by Sharp. This phone does not sport a camera - and is primarily intended for use in locations where cameraphones are banned due to security restrictions. You don’t want anyone with a camera snooping around in your Government’s secret service agency, would you?

The SoftBank 813SH features dual display, and the outer display can display up to 3 lines of new incoming email - quite a nice feature. The 3G phone also features a full fledged browser and can open PDF files. Other goodies include a QVGA LCD display, support for microSD memory card, address book backup facility and bi-lingual in Japanese and English.

The phone is available in Matte Black and Pearl White, weighing in at 104 grams.

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How great can it be if you can monitor your security cameras wherever you go? Sitting in front of the monitors could be inhibiting. And besides, who’s to tell nothing’s going on when you’re not looking? If you can’t afford security guards to keep an eye on each and every premise of your home all the time, and you’re someone who’s always on the go, the CCTVMobile ConnectVu range of products could be the answer to your needs.

As long as your phone has connection (GSM, GPRS or 3G), you’ll be able to access your security cameras anywhere you want. All the cameras in your system could be accessed, not just one. And, if there’s one particular area in your home you’d want to monitor closely, you can set up CCTVMobile’s Intelligent Motion Detection to detect movement in that location. If any movement is caught, you’ll be sent an SMS message so you’re aware of what’s happening. Check out more about it in the official web site.

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How great can it be if you can monitor your security cameras wherever you go? Sitting in front of the monitors could be inhibiting. And besides, who’s to tell nothing’s going on when you’re not looking? If you can’t afford security guards to keep an eye on each and every premise of your home all the time, and you’re someone who’s always on the go, the CCTVMobile ConnectVu range of products could be the answer to your needs.

As long as your phone has connection (GSM, GPRS or 3G), you’ll be able to access your security cameras anywhere you want. All the cameras in your system could be accessed, not just one. And, if there’s one particular area in your home you’d want to monitor closely, you can set up CCTVMobile’s Intelligent Motion Detection to detect movement in that location. If any movement is caught, you’ll be sent an SMS message so you’re aware of what’s happening. Check out more about it in the official web site.

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Oh lordy. I’m not big on mecha (that’s robot for you, who don’t know what mecha is), but I’ve had my share of it. And now, Softbank has come up with every mecha geek’s ultimate dream — a mecha-phone called the SoftBank 815T PB by Toshiba. The new SoftBank 815T PB model comes in two different versions as you can see on the pic — the Silver X07 and the Blach X01. Aside from 3G capability, this phone features a 2.4-inch QVGA TFT LCD with 0.8 in monochrome OLED subdisplay, 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, 14 MB built-in memory, and a microSD card slot expandable up to 2GB. Other features include “Buddy Talk” which lets you communicate with your phone as it displays a variety of expressions:

…and “Mobile Story,” a card type battle RPG. Of course, as mentioned, these phones can transform into mecha-like bots with movable limbs. The SoftBank 815T PB phone will be available in Japan by April 2008. Check out the phones in their tame, unaltered state after the jump.

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Move over, Le Million, here comes Softbank’s Tiffany and Co. hand phone for the Japanese market. If you have US$94K sitting around somewhere in your house, this is a good buy, if I may say so, myself. The Tiffany phone boasts 400 diamonds covering its façade, totaling 20 carats in all! This sparkly baby by Softbank will hit the stores on February 2008.

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Just like millions of people around the globe are clamoring for the iPhone, the Japanese too, want their share of the iPhone pie. Hence, Softbank introduced the new Softbank Fullface 2 aka 921SH to fill the void of the popular handset in the Japanese market. Of course, it’s still different from the Jesus phone. The SoftBank 921SH features a keyboard which slides behind the 3.2-inch VGA LCD. That LCD isn’t a touch screen like the iPhone’s either, although the SoftBank 921SH has a motion sensor at the bottom. This device, manufactured by Sharp, has a 3.2 megepixel camera, music player, Bluetooth connectivity, 1-Seg TV tuner, and high-speed 3G. It will be available in black, white, bright blue, gold, and pink by early March of 2008.

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And yet another mobile phone to be released by Softbank in the Japanese market is the Sharp 922SH mobile handset. The Sharp 922SH features a 3.5-inch VGA LCD using Sharp’s Aquos technology. It has a full QWERTY keyboard, high-speed 3G connection, Bluetooth connectivity, and multimedia player among others. The Sharp 922SH measures 56×116x17mm, and weighs about 32 grams. Aside from the main 3.5-inch LCD, it also features a 1.18-inch sub-LCD at the front. The Sharp 922SH will be available in gold bronze, metallic black, pearl white, and pearl pink on late March 2008.

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Still another addition to the line of Softbank releases is the Panasonic 822P handset. The super thin phone with 8.9mm depth boasts a 2.2-inch QVGA display. The Panasonic 822P also features 2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, and a microSD card slot of up to 2GB. It can support up to 200 minutes talk time, has Bluetooth connectivity and supports global roaming function. The Panasonic 822P will be released in the Japanese market by February and will be available in gold, white, pink, black, and red.

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Japanese telecom giant, SoftBank, has announced its spring line of cell phones. Along with the Samsung 821SC and the renamed N95, the Toshiba 820T is destined to hit Japan via SoftBank in February. The 820T is a cutesy little clamshell with much hidden underneath its pretty hood and is a perfect companion for the little ones. There’s a 3.2-megapixel camera and a 2.4-inch QVGA screen on the inside. And then there is the GPS with location tracking feature, extremely helpful in monitoring those pesky kids. It weighs about 116g and is 23mm thick with a standby time of 500 hours and talktime of approximately 220 minutes.

The Toshiba 820T will be available in three colors of flower pink, jet blue, and snow white starting in February at a price of 42,720 yen on SoftBank’s two-year contract.

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Still another addition to Softbank’s Spring line along with Samsung 821SC and X02NK is Samsung 820SC. The clamshell international roaming device named Samsung 820SC supports 1-seg. The Samsung 820SC features a 2.6-inch QVGA OLED screen, 1.96megapixel camera with auto-focus, up to 2GB microSD card, 3G connection, music player, infrared, and Bluetooth. The handset which would be available in gold, black, silver, and red would be released by mid-February 2008.

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Along with the Softbank X02NK, the Samsung 821SC is included in the Softbank Spring line of handsets. The toy-looking phone will be available in purple, pink, red, silver, and white. Measuring 49×99.5×16.7 mm, the Samsung 821SC features 2.4-inch QVGA OLED screen, 1.96 megapixel camera, up to 4GB micro SD card, infrared, bluetooth, and music player among others. The Samsung 821SC will be available starting mid-March 2008 in Japan.

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