… Signing an Asian partner is key for Jobs, who has set a sales goal of 10 million iPhones by the end of the year. DoCoMo, which holds about 54% of the country’s cellphone market, is keeping the door open. The company confirmed that Chief Executive Masao Nakamura recently met with Steve Jobs. Shuichiro Ichikoshi, senior manager of DoCoMo’s international public relations group, also said DoCoMo is considering buying handsets “from diverse manufacturers both domestically and abroad,” but declined to comment more specifically on the iPhone.Even if Japanese carriers are intrigued by the iPhone, Japanese consumers may prove elusive. Japan’s cellphone market is full of unique challenges that make it difficult for foreign companies to succeed. What’s more, Japanese customers already have a fuller and more intriguing set of cellphone alternatives than consumers in many other countries.
www.forbes.com/technology/2008/01/15/iphone-apple-japan-tech-wireless-cx_ew_0115appljap.html
Apple’s iPhone Fight In Japan
… Signing an Asian partner is key for Jobs, who has set a sales goal of 10 million iPhones by the end of the year. DoCoMo, which holds about 54% of the country’s cellphone market, is keeping the door open. The company confirmed that Chief Executive Masao Nakamura recently met with Steve Jobs. Shuichiro Ichikoshi, senior manager of DoCoMo’s international public relations group, also said DoCoMo is considering buying handsets “from diverse manufacturers both domestically and abroad,” but declined to comment more specifically on the iPhone.