Apple talks with DoCoMo for iPhone sale in Japan

BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Apple Inc now is negotiating with Japan's largest cell phone operator NTT DoCoMo Inc to launch the iPhone in Japan, according to media reports Wednesday.

DoCoMo spokesman Shuichiro Ichikoshi said company President Masao Nakamura met recently with Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs.

Apple said it plans to launch the device in Asia in 2008 but has not provided details.

DoCoMo is competing against Softbank Mobile Corp, a unit of Softbank Corp, for the right to market the iPhone.

DoCoMo is Japan's leading mobile service provider, with a claimed market share of over 53 percent, while SoftBank is the country's third-largest cell phone network.

Apple and DoCoMo are still negotiating the terms of a deal, with one stumbling block being Apple's demands to receive the same percentage of subscriber revenue from DoCoMo that it receives from other carriers.

In every market it's entered so far -- the U.S., the U.K, Germany and France -- Apple has picked an exclusive mobile carrier partner for the iPhone. The subscription revenues that those carrier share with Apple have been a closely-guarded secret, although most analysts have pegged Apple's piece of the action at between 10 and 13 percent of the monthly fees.

The "multiplier effect" phone, which was d¢íbuted in this June in America, features a touch screen and combines the features of a cell phone, iPod, digital organizer and wireless Internet device.

iPhone users are the first consumers in the world to gain full and unfettered access to the internet while on the move, as well as enjoy a simpler way to manage contacts, listen to music and make traditional calls.

(Agencies)