Softbank to cut minimum monthly fee for iPhone to Y2,324

Wednesday 27th August, 07:36 AM JST

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PleasureGelf at 08:06 PM JST - 27th August

My calculator says that 2990 minus 2324 is 666, the number of the beast. That's a sure sign that iPhone is evil.
franknbeans at 08:22 PM JST - 27th August

Actually, Paris Hilton has one. Not only the mark of the beast, but a beast uses it!

It is just a trendy little gadget that does just enough and is new enough to be the "next big thing". Gotta give it to apple, but lately they are sh#$ing on their customers left and right.

From a spate of problems with the iphone, to the complete and total failure of the mobileme application, the inability to connect to 3g with the iphone, and a LOT of broken Macs, Apple has not only not been a customer advocate, they have hidden the scope of the problem and based their future on their past success.

Risky gamble if you ask me. And from the iphone's sale performance, many agree.
YangYong at 10:38 PM JST - 27th August

Why down grade to that? It, as Vodafone did, has entered a market it hasn't even tried to understand. I mean, it doesn't so much as have a strap slot through which to thread my securing strap. Rubbish. Doesn't have cash storage, doesn't have blue tooth, infra red, doesn't, doesn't and doesn't again. It's been bought by gadget geeks, so it might reach 12% of the market...
franknbeans at 10:40 PM JST - 27th August

Check out the Nokia n810. If you have a bluetooth phone and hotspot access, it is AWESOME. I use it for everything....
Sarge at 10:50 PM JST - 27th August

"initial charge of 7,280 yen"

I bet a bunch of people people paid that.

Hey, franknbeans, whaddya think of insane? Is he insane or what ha ha ha
franknbeans at 11:08 PM JST - 27th August

The iphone is like the tamagotchi, and the pet rock before it. It works best in the hand of pre-pubescent highschool kids who continually tell their parents the vasoline jar is empty because they were "conditioning their baseball gloves". Insane should realize that combined with the tiny screen watching the lasted NSYNC video REALLY will make him go blind.
Sarge at 11:16 PM JST - 27th August

franknbeans - Thanks for the advice on iphones - I believe I'll delay getting one for awhile longer! And har!
Good_Jorb at 01:38 AM JST - 28th August

When is the last time you had to calculate ROI equations with revolving interest rates on your iphone and map the results on a Pareto chart? HMMM. Bet I lost you there. OK, let me make it simple. YOU CANT.

How many people base their cellphone purchases on if it can do financ(i)al calculations? I remember when I bought my last cellphone, the first question I asked was, I have a cost-benefit analysis project to do, can this cellphone handle NPV calculations (sarcasm).

Iphones are not designed with business users in mind, so arguing that it can't do a graph is pointless. I personally use a Blackberry Bold(supporting a few fellow Vancouverites) but than I need it for business purposes (not related to if it can do calculations or not) but if didn't need a cellphone for business, I would most likely buy an iphone.
franknbeans at 01:48 AM JST - 28th August

I use a Nokia N810, which isnt a phone, but pairs with a phone through bluetooth with wonderful results. The above poster flamed my choice based upon his own feelings about the iphone, so I pointed out that the iphone is not the end all, in fact it has a great many faults: case in point apple is considering a recall or at least a full memory flash due to faulty 3g connection protocol.

My cellphone choice is the casio W62CA which is pretty much the most bulletproof phone on the market right now. The fact I can pair the devices and conduct work on the road is just an added benefit.

Other problems with the iphone are lack of flash support, poor resolution (only 320x480 vice 800x400), lack of open source, lack of replaceable battery, and no bluetooth.

As you stated, the iphone is a neat tool, aimed at recreational users, but the clowns who say it has all the computing power of a desktop, and really believes that others high opinion of apple as a corporation make their device somehow better are misguded and plain silly.

G'Day.
kimigano at 05:36 AM JST - 28th August

With the new virus risks (due to insecure third party software), and the invisible "surprise" pricing, it's no wonder the iPhone has barely sold in Japan. Japanese consumers know who understands their market.

Did I even mention the lack of functions that we Japanese demand in a cell phone that the iPhone doesn't have?
insanemembrane at 07:46 AM JST - 28th August

FUD spreading brothers and sisters: 1) You don't know that the iPhone has barely sold in Japan (no figures have been released) 2) No flash support is for the best right now. 3) Anyone who says it has poor resolution has never actually seen or touched one. 4) Lack of open source? Tell me how many mobiles are open source (aside from a Linux which runs are very few phones) and then looks at the App store and tell me there's a problem. 5) No replaceable battery. Classic FUD indeed. Apple has a replacement program for the first generation iPhone.. more than likely will announce one for this phone as well. Only uber geeks carry a second battery. Regular people have no interest. My iPhone has to be charged at night once a day. If you need more than that then you need a hobby. 6) "Considering a recall." This nothing but a lie.. pure FUD. Bad 3G reception is also a lie.

The headline is about price reduction which is great for everyone and came about as a result of competition from another carrier. You are trolling for Apple related articles so you can spread Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt.

These are the same people who have been telling us Macs are toys and "avoid them at all costs" for years. Now that Vista is their only answer they don't talk about that anymore.
kimigano at 02:17 PM JST - 28th August

You don't know that the iPhone has barely sold in Japan (no figures have been released)

Two points:

1) I have access to the figures

2) If they were good, you would have heard about it. Believe me.
franknbeans at 08:03 PM JST - 28th August

The iphone is far from perfect.

How many people do you see with one? Now subtract the highschool girls and i'll bet you have fingers left over.

No reasonable rational person can argue with the spate of lawsuits and problems the iphone has encountered. There are problems with the 3g. There are problems with the operating system. It lacks many features that are standard on most other products, and it is missing things like the saifu and others that Japanese consumers have grown to expect.

That being said, this horse has been beaten enough.
kimigano at 01:42 AM JST - 29th August

franknbeans,

I think you're being too easy on the iPhone. It's not just saifu, it's infra red, strap holders, one-seg TV, a simple keypad input system with buttons, iMode, Suica, and on and on - the iPhone is at least 10 years behind what Japanese consumers are used to having for free.

Lawsuits are the least of the problems with the 3G. We now have to worry about getting a virus from insecure third-party apps (think Winny). The iPhone is letting anyone write apps, which sounds like a recipe for terrorists and hackers.
Bilderberg666 at 11:52 AM JST - 29th August

Kimigano- beware beware, not only are the outsiders in Japan they are introducing 10 years out of date technology, that will catch nasty viruses.

My, god have the public been informed of this terrible threat to Japan?

People will mostly buy the phone based on their own judgement, but some will be it as the new trend, same as everything else in Japan.

Kimigano came out with the usual "we Japanese", which negates everything he has said in my mind.

I don`t care if the phone does well or not, but if peole are happy with it, great.