Japan mobile phone company Softbank’s just announced their 3G Apple iPhone price – 23,040 yen, or about $215.

The AP carried the news that Softbank, who won the coveted spot of Japanese iPhone carrier, will likely be charging monthly fees of 7,200 yen to iPhone users. The fees will be for all-you-can-eat data plans, with likely talk minutes being thrown in as well.

Softbank is looking at the iPhone as a means to wrest customers away from competitors like DoCoMo and KDDI Corp. At $215, the Japanese iPhone price won’t differ much from AT&T’s retail price of $199. The question is – how much is Softbank spending to subsidize each iPhone? AT&T’s more than $300 per phone raised a few eyebrows in the US as some questioned whether it was too much of a gamble for AT&T, despite the reception and excitement that greeted the new iPhone announcement.

Softbank’s chief executive Masayoshi Son is pretty upbeat on the iPhone’s prospects in Japan. "We expect the first lot to evaporate instantly. We in the company will probably fight to get one as well," Son said.

The Japanese launch of the iPhone will probably be a gauge for its takeup around the world. Japan can be a tough sell, with an already saturated market and a highly tech-competent crowd. DoCoMo already set the benchmark for 3G applications with specialized phones that offered features and conveniences over what other telcos could offer in other countries. The Japanese government has since issued directives to DoCoMo to open up its networks – previously, users of non-local mobile phones would have trouble getting mobile phone access due to the nature of DoCoMo’s closed network.

The opening of the Japanese market to more phone models might spell trouble for DoCoMo – and opportunity for competitors like Softbank who are betting on Japanese consumers’ openness to new technology.

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Entry was posted on Monday, June 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 pm under iPhone.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Erna Mahyuni.
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