Softbank Mobile announced it would begin the iPad pre-orders tomorrow (Monday, May 10) at 10am, Japan Time. You’ll be able to make it at iPad authorized dealers such as selected Softbank Mobile shops and consumer electronics retailers. Apple Japan’s online store deals with the iPad Wi-Fi model only, and Apple Stores will deal with all… Continue reading Softbank Mobile To Begin iPad Pre-orders Tomorrow
Category: News
Mobile Content Provider Voltage To List On Tokyo Stock Exchange Next Month
It’s time for another tech IPO in Japan. Voltage, a Tokyo-based mobile contents provider, has received approval to list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Mothers market on June 11 (code: 3639). The company plans to issue 200,000 new shares to the public, next to 220,000 shares coming from its existing shareholders. If demand is bigger… Continue reading Mobile Content Provider Voltage To List On Tokyo Stock Exchange Next Month
10-centimeter Cubic Satellite Keeps Tweeting From The Space
Nakasuga Lab., the University of Tokyo, introduced a bot account tweeting the real-time state of a satellite which is located in the earth low orbit. The tweet(@XI-V) keeps us update with parameters like the satellite’s surface temperature, battery voltage and where it is located over of the planet and also shows us still images shooting… Continue reading 10-centimeter Cubic Satellite Keeps Tweeting From The Space
Amazon Envy II: Rakuten now wants to produce hardware (a barcode scanner)
Another case of Amazon envy from Rakuten, Japan’s biggest online shopping “mall”? It seems so. According to various reports, Rakuten is currently pondering the development of a barcode scanner. One of the reason for Rakuten to get into the hardware business – according to a company representative quoted by The Nikkei (“Japan’s Wall Street Journal”)… Continue reading Amazon Envy II: Rakuten now wants to produce hardware (a barcode scanner)
DeNA Reports USD100M On Quarterly Profit; They To Focus On Social App Business
Last Friday, Tokyo-based mobile game platform developer and game publisher DeNA announced the company’s quarterly consolidated financial result ended March 2010, which shows us good figures like USD200M in the net sales (81% increase compared to that of last year) and almost USD100M in the operating profit (240% increase compared to that of last year).… Continue reading DeNA Reports USD100M On Quarterly Profit; They To Focus On Social App Business
Tokyo Giants & Hanshin Tigers, Both To Introduce Specially Designed Handsets For Better Fan Engagement
The Yomiuri Giants[J], a professional baseball team based in Tokyo, announced it would introduce a new cellphone handset especially designed for their fans in late June in association with Japan’s second largest mobile operator KDDI and MVNO (mobile virtual network operator) Inphonix[J]. The team’s logo is printed on the handset, and player’s portraits and the… Continue reading Tokyo Giants & Hanshin Tigers, Both To Introduce Specially Designed Handsets For Better Fan Engagement
Amazon Envy: Rakuten Builds Own Distribution Centers
Big shake-up in Japan’s $70 billion e-commerce market: Rakuten, Japan’s leading virtual mall (over 30,000 merchants, over 50 million customer accounts), is about to launch an attack against its biggest (yet indirect) rival), Amazon Japan. The biggest difference between the two sites is that Rakuten is a B2B2C platform without a warehousing function. But that’s… Continue reading Amazon Envy: Rakuten Builds Own Distribution Centers
Softbank To Stop Further Development Of Japan-Made Mobile Technology And To Take Chinese 4G Standard?
Softbank, a Japanese telecom and media company who will take over the next-generation PHS service called XGP[J] from the service’s predecessor Willcom in corporate reorganization proceedings, is reportedly considering to adopt China Mobile‘s TD-LTE standard instead for the service in Japan, several Japanese news sources reported. If Softbank adopts TD-LTE, Softbank’s subscribers in Japan and… Continue reading Softbank To Stop Further Development Of Japan-Made Mobile Technology And To Take Chinese 4G Standard?
[Breaking] Yahoo! Japan And DeNA To Runs Social Game Site Yahoo! Mobage
The Dominator of Japanese web Yahoo! Japan and DeNA, who runs one of big three Japanese social networking services Mobage Town, just announced to form an united front on PC social gaming. The new service tentatively called “Yahoo! Mobage” will launch late this summer. According to the release, Yahoo! Mobage will have; social game platform… Continue reading [Breaking] Yahoo! Japan And DeNA To Runs Social Game Site Yahoo! Mobage
Tokyo-Bay Fishermen Start Seafood E-Commerce; Line-ups Are Updated From Boats Every Morning
A fishermen’s cooperative[J] in Yokosuka, a Tokyo suburb known for having a U.S. fleet activities, launched a fish and seafood e-commerce site that sells what have been caught in Tokyo Bay in the morning of the day. Fishermen on boats take pictures of their fishing results and put them on the website with retail prices… Continue reading Tokyo-Bay Fishermen Start Seafood E-Commerce; Line-ups Are Updated From Boats Every Morning