Softbank Mobile Gives Away iPhone 3G To Univ. Students

Posted on May 16th, 2009 by Masaru IKEDA

Softbank Mobile's Logo Aoyama Gakuin University's Logo

Softbank Mobile, Japan's only cellphone operator dealing with iPhone 3G,  and Aoyama Gakuin University announced on Friday that they would distribute the handset to all students studying at the university's school of social informatics[J].    The students are allowed to use it for attendance reporting, lecture podcasting and having online examination.

When a student submits his/her class attending to the university's office with the iPhone 3G, it attaches GPS-based location data and prevents answering the roll call for another to get a credit.

During their universityhood of four years, the students jointly make plans to develop a new iPhone app contributing to the local community in their first year and second year.   Then they attempt to develop an app and put it at the AppStore in the third year and thereafter.

iPhone App for Aoyama Gakuin Univ.
The pictures shown above are quoted from Internet.com[J], Impress Mobile Watch[J] and ITPro from Nikkei BP[J].

Author Information  Masaru IKEDA has co-founded several system integration companies and consulting firms in Tokyo. He has been contributing serial columns to nationwide newspapers and IT periodicals, also he's currently serving as tech consultant for several web companies. His biography is here. His private blog is here.

Tags: Cellular Phone, Japan, News // 13 Comments »

  • http://www.seo-lpo.net/archives/70075 SEO-LPO.net

    [ViaAsiajin] [ 原文へ ] （翻訳：shiro） タグ: 作者: TechCrunch 日本語版編集部 　WEBサイト: TechCrunch Japan

  • http://de.engadget.com/2009/05/18/iphone-fur-studenten-in-japan-riecht-nach-big-brother/ Engadget German

    Hochschul-Services in Anspruch nehmen. Auf eine bessere Bildung und bravere Schüler! Was ist nun aber, wenn man zur Uni geht, aber sein Handy zu Hause gelassen hat? Wir sagen ja, nichts geht über subkutane Chips. Her damit. [Via CG ]Read |  Permalink  |  Email this  |  Comments

  • http://streamyxblog.com/2009/05/18/big-brother-in-japan-university-tracks-students-via-free-iphones/ The Broadband of Choice for Malaysian

    full use of the system this autumn when the new semester starts. The university covers the basic fee for the iPhone ( the hardware itself is “free” in Japan anyway ), but students will have to pay when they exceed downloading limits. ViaAsiajinBookmark It NOW! Hid

  • http://www.rssfabriek.nl/big-brother-in-japan-university-tracks-students-via-free-iphones/ RSS fabriek

    full use of the system this autumn when the new semester starts. The university covers the basic fee for the iPhone ( the hardware itself is “free” in Japan anyway ), but students will have to pay when they exceed downloading limits. ViaAsiajin

  • http://www.blogcottage.com/2009/05/18/big-brother-in-japan-university-tracks-students-via-free-iphones/ Computers & Electronics

    full use of the system this autumn when the new semester starts. The university covers the basic fee for the iPhone ( the hardware itself is “free” in Japan anyway ), but students will have to pay when they exceed downloading limits. ViaAsiajin

  • http://www.nekoroid.com/lang/ind/?news=132 Nekoroid.com – A place where geek and otaku found their daily doze

    kan? Tapi masalah absensi dengan tracking GPS mungkin bakal jadi masalah karena Jepang adalah negara yang sangat-sangat menghargai privasi seseorang, nggak kayak di Indonesia yang bisa seenaknya aja masuk dan ikut campur urusan pribadi orang. Sumber:http://asiajin.com/blog/2009/05/16/softbank-mobile-gives-away-iphone-3g-to-univ-students/

  • http://pimpinturtle.com/2009/06/01/japanese-university-hands-out-free-iphones-to-track-students-by-satellite.aspx?ref=rss I’m A Pimpin Turtle…: Recent Comments

    (Credit: SoftBank) If American school children have to resort to some special mosquito ringtone to use cell phones at school, a university in Japan is doing the opposite: giving cell phones to students. And not just any cell phone–the iPhone 3G. According toAsiajin, about 550 students and staff members in the School of Social Informatics at Tokyo-based university Aoyama Gakuin received the iPhone 3G for free earlier this month as part of their study materials. This is the result of a deal that Aoyama Gakuin

  • http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=10384 Aoyama Gakuin University forcing students to carry tracking devices | Japan Probe

    [...] [via Asiajin] [...]

  • http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/05/18/big-brother-in-japan-university-tracks-students-via-free-iphones/ Big Brother in Japan? University tracks students via free iPhones

    [...] Asiajin Tweet [...]

  • http://gpsobsessed.com/japanese-university-class-gets-free-iphones-with-a-gps-catch/ Japanese university class gets free iPhones–with a GPS catch | GPS Obsessed

    [...] Read [...]

  • http://jp.techcrunch.com/archives/20090518big-brother-in-japan-university-tracks-students-via-free-iphones/ ［CG］ほら、気をつけて！無料iPhoneでビッグブラザーが見ているよ。

    [...] [Via Asiajin] [...]

  • http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10252222-1.html Japanese university uses iPhone to keep tab of students | Crave – CNET

    [...] to Asiajin, about 550 students and staff members in the School of Social Informatics at Tokyo-based university [...]

  • http://www.macbug.de/2009/05/31/iphone-3g-dank-des-iphone-weniger-studi-schwanzer/ MacBug.de » iPhone (3G): Dank des iPhone weniger Studi-Schwänzer?

    [...] Asiajin vor einigen Tagen berichtet hat, können sich die Studenten der Ayoama Gakuin University (Shibuya, [...]

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