Softbank iPhone Pricing Plan Leaked?
Has the Softbank iPhone pricing plan been leaked? According to What Japan Thinks a purported confidential memo detailing Softbank’s pricing structure for the iPhone has made its way to the web.
“A number of Japanese blogs are publishing what purports to be a confidential memo from SoftBank on the pricing plan for the new 3G iPhone. Assuming the memo to be genuine, what they are offering is as follows.”
What Japan Thinks has the full translation and breakdown of the memo, explaining the various pricing which is claimed to be tied to the iPhone’s eventual release in the Japanese market on July 11, 2008.
In short, it boils down to roughly 10,695 yen per month, or about $100/mo, for the iPhone with an unlimited data plan and MobileMe mail. You read that correctly folks: $100/mo on top of the $199 the iPhone handset will set you back. Softbank will try to tie all iPhone purchases to a 2-year contract, which has the potential impact of costing consumers roughly $2600 just for the basics.
That is pretty damn expensive in and of itself, but especially for a personal monthly mobile plan, and especially here in Japan. What the fuck is Softbank thinking? Surely they are not interested in selling iPhone’s in Japan if this plan is realized. Makes me wonder if docomo will ever offer an iPhone, because I could potentially see them as a much better partner than Softbank.
Selling the iPhone in Japan is going to be difficult to begin with. Japan already a well established market for powerful mobile devices. The phones we have here do far more than most phones in any other country. Granted, no keitai has as elegant an interface as the iPhone has, nor do any have Safari-like browsers. But Japanese devices have a lot more functionality than your average US mobile phone. Comparatively, feature-for-feature, the iPhone is definitely not a knockout punch in the Japanese market.
The younger generation, which is driving keitai sales in Japan, have feature prerequisites which will make iPhone adoption difficult. The iPhone lacks standard emoji (the wacky emoticons seen on all Japanese keitai), mobile wallet (making payments with your keitai much like a credit card), 1-seg TV tuners and more; these features are completely absent from the iPhone yet Softbank plans to charge an arm, leg and your spleen for the iPhone?
Additionally, the iPhone is much larger physically when compared to other keitai. Add to the fact that the handset lacks “necessary” features and it becomes almost self-evident that the iPhone will be a potential major failure in the huge Japanese market.
If this purported memo is true, and this is in fact the pricing structure, then I find it hard to believe that Japan will sell many of these little critters. I have been craving an iPhone since day 1, and have patiently waited for over a year to hear news of the iPhone’s release in Japan. After reading this, assuming it is true, I have to truly question whether or not purchasing an iPhone is a worthwhile decision.
I must admit my extreme disappointment. After waiting as long as we have had to wait in Japan, I have to say I expected more. Although I was afraid Softbank would “win” the “war” for the device I never thought they would go balls-to-the-wall and charge such a high price for the near-holy grail of mobile computing. Assuming the worst, purchasing an iPhone in Japan may only be for those very dedicated few who will blindly follow Steve Jobs regardless of price.
I can only hope this memo is outdated or a fake, with more reasonable heads prevailing. Until we know for sure, I can only be cautiously optimistic.
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http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200806230526DOWJONESDJONLINE000116_FORTUNE5.htm
CNN Money says the iPhone dataplan will be 5,985 yen per month. Yes, that’s $60, double what people are whining about in American with AT&T. But Softbanks normal data plan for smart phones is $100/month. So I’m a bit relieved.
I’ve heard different. even with the subscription the 8gb is for ¥23,000, ¥960/month as on softbank’s website.
http://www.softbankmobile.co.jp/en/news/press/2008/20080623_01/index.html
which is about $ 215 right?
soo im guessing its pretty cheap compared to australia / us’s prices which is really expensive.
I was recently in Japan with a group of friends and we went into a softbank looking for an ATM not realizing it in fact was not a bank. What an odd name for a phone company.
Ends up the only ATM’s that did work were in the post offices.
Also, side note, we were in Akihabara on the day of the stabbings. Yikes