Who said the iPhone would struggle to find traction in the super-competitive Japanese wireless market? That’s right, just about everyone. Following on new sales estimates that point to 3 million iPhone 3Gs in the wild, a new study from from TechOn, dubbed “iPhone Affects KDDI’s Net Subscription Growth,” points to incredible new subscription growth on SoftBank, [...]

KDDI is partnering with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to launch a 24-hour online bank. The 50-50 venture will be called Jibun Bank or "me bank," and will reportedly debut in mid-July. Initially, account holders will be able to make online payments using their mobile phones or PCs, with such features as loans, insurance and credit card [...]

Finally, the third of the largest Japanese mobile operators (other two are DoCoMo and SoftBank) has announced its summer collection. As you're about to see, it's good to be in Japan these days. With so many great options, the only "problem" left is to choose the right device. Let's quickly go through KDDI's offering: Hitachi Wooo [...]

Pointing your phone at a 2D barcode and getting back information is handy, but what about pointing your device at any object ever created and getting information about it? That is what the ViPR Visual Recognition technology does and Japanese operator KDDI has licensed the technology and plans to introduce it in their Spring 2008 [...]

Why fuss with vague or complex search strings to find information about a product that you're holding in your hands? Sure, semantic and contextual search engines help narrow down your search to the most likely hits by "reading between the lines," but they still require you to describe the object you're searching for. That's where [...]

Panasonic has announced the sale of it's 100 millionth Mobile phone in Japan. It has supplied devices to carriers including NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, and Softbank. Pansonic first began selling mobile comms terminals in 1979 - the first mobile phone being in 1987. Since then Panasonic has gone on to be Number 1 or Number 2 in [...]

Japanese CDMA operator KDDI has decided that they're going to go with LTE for their next generation network, just like their competitors NTT DoCoMo and Softbank. Expect the new network to be up and atom sometime in 2010. [Via: Cellular News] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:LTE gets a boost with GSMA support - 4G is now LTENTT DoCoMo [...]

Wow, the Japanese handset market is really proving to be a tough nut to crack (a profit from, that is). With Sanyo's recent exit from the mobile phone business, and Mitsubishi's withdrawal from the handset game, it's clear that even Japan's larger handset makers are done with the grind that is the mobile phone industry. The [...]

Sharp, the pioneering LCD manufacturer, has released another handset fitted with their famous Sharp AQUOS brand of LCD display. The Sharp W61SH will only be available to subscribers on Japan’s KDDI network - sad. With a 2.8 inch Sharp AQUOS display that sports an amazing 2000:1 contrast ratio, the Sharp W61SH is almost enough to get us to move to Japan. Yankees with a longing for a mobile phone with a Sharp AQUOS display will have to settle for the T-Mobile Sidekick LX . The Sharp W61SH is available in Black, White, or Hot Pink (care to take a guess at our favorite color?). [Via: MobileWhack ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:KDDI Busts Onto US MVNO Scene - KDDI Mobile To Launch In AprilSharp boothSamsung to start AMOLED phone production for KDDI JapanSamsung prepping AMOLED handsets for KDDISharp EM-ONE dual-sliding smartphone

There’s nothing new in a fact that two companies from different industries are co-operating to extend both of their respective brands. Most notably, you’re probably aware of the Nike/Apple partnership which resulted in Nike offering its shoes along with an iPod. Now, we have the mentioned shoe manufacturer partnering with KDDI in Japan to offer the limited series of customizable shoes with KDDI’s Infobar 2 . Just like the phone, the shoes will be also available in four different colors to match the phone’s look, and will be further customizable using the Nike ID feature. Starting December Nike will be accepting orders, but to keep it exclusive only 222 will be sold… [Via: textually.org ] ---Related Articles at IntoMobile:KDDI Busts Onto US MVNO Scene - KDDI Mobile To Launch In AprilHTC P5500 Nike gets another name, new shape - HTC Touch IISamsung to start AMOLED phone production for KDDI JapanLive pics of the HTC Touch Slide - to be announced next weekHTC P5500 (Nike) is coming