PHS is in a bit of a pickle right now -- the niche wireless standard has no path for technological growth, has just a handful of supporting carriers around the world, and frankly, was never intended for wide-area deployment to boot. That leaves Japan's PHS-powered network, Willcom, in the lurch, which explains why they've recently hooked up with HSPA giant NTT DoCoMo to launch modern data devices. Mooching off someone else's network isn't a long-term strategy for survival, though, so what's next? Reports are flying in Japan today that rival SoftBank may look at scooping up Willcom's assets in exchange for its debtors waiving some percentage of its $1 billion in IOUs; what SoftBank would ultimately do with that extra spectrum is unclear, but presumably they'd continue to run PHS for some predetermined period of time before transitioning it to HSPA or LTE. Of course, Willcom has a rep for releasing wild devices that avoid the beaten path set by its larger rivals, so here's a preliminary word to the wise, SoftBank: if you make this happen, keep the product people on board.

When two of Japan's largest mobile carriers conspire to release nearly 40 phones in the span of 24 hours, editors covering the story are sure to lose hair and a solid year of lifespan -- but for consumers in the local market, it's nothing but good news. Here are some of the highlights from NTT DoCoMo:

• Fujtsu F-02B: Described as a "jewelry quality" phone with a snap-on perfume holder for "an air of elegance."
• LG L-03B: Has support for Korean, Japanese, and English for frequent travelers (in other words, English speakers, if you find yourself on this archipelago and you don't speak a lick of the local tongue, seek out this phone).
• Sharp SH-04B: Designed to look like a melting chocolate bar by food-themed wardrobe accessory maker Q-Pot -- for some reason we don't fully comprehend.
• Fujitsu F-04B: Realizing the concept shown off at CEATEC last year, this one features a removable keyboard that operates via Bluetooth and a 12.1 megapixel camera.
• Panasonic P-01B: This flip looks like pretty much every other in the lineup, but its got a secret -- the keypad doubles as a touchpad. Clever.
• Samsung SC-01B: Samsung's Windows Mobile 6.5-powered entry here appears to be a remix of the B7330 sold globally, which makes it about 1,000 times weaker than every other phone in the lineup.

And from Softbank:

• Sharp AQUOS Mobile FULLTOUCH 941SH: All we need to say about this one is "4-inch 1024 x 480 display," which, as you might be able to imagine, is a world's first.
• Sharp AQUOS Mobile 943SH: Dual one-seg tuners let you watch one program and record another, and a mention of transferring Blu-ray content has us thinking that Managed Copy is along for the ride.
• Toshiba dynapocket X02T: Remember how NTT DoCoMo had previously gotten the TG01 as the T01A? Yeah, well, now it's Softbank's turn -- and this time, it's called the X02A. Not much more to it than that.
• Samsung X01SC: This looks to be a localized version of AT&T's Samsung Jack, of all phones, meaning that it's a Windows Mobile 6.5 Standard phone (no touchscreen) with a QVGA display and portrait QWERTY keyboard.
• Sharp 942SH KT: No lineup would be complete without the obligatory Hello Kitty marketing tie-in, and the 942SH KT does the honors this time around with a black shell featuring stylized pink text and graphics.
• Samsung OMNIA VISION 940SC: Samsung's now-famous OMNIA brand comes to Softbank on the wings of a 3.5-inch AMOLED display, one-seg tuner, and kickstand for desktop viewing.
• Sharp Jelly Beans 840SH: We don't think you'd want to try eating it, but the 840SH comes in seven colors -- hence the name, we think.
• Android: The simply-named Android runs -- you guessed it -- Android with a 3.7 inch AMOLED display and 1GHz Snapdragon processor; unfortunately, it won't be available until next Spring and the manufacturer isn't being revealed right now.

Both companies are also adding wireless digital photo frames to the lineup, and in Softbank's case, a pair of data modems with support for 7.2Mbps on the downlink. We'll admit -- we didn't think we'd live to see the day when Canada had three live networks with data rates trouncing Japan's.

Read - Softbank Winter '09 / Spring '10 collection
Read - NTT DoCoMo's new series

It's not often that we have an opportunity to point and laugh at the crushing antiquity of anything in Japan. Look, don't get your hopes up, we can't really do it here either -- but with LTE, it seems like the rest of the world has finally reached technological parity. Japan has just gotten around to approving its 4G carriers' game plans, with NTT DoCoMo likely first out of the gate thanks to deployments in 2010 (around the same time that Verizon expects to have some markets in action). eMobile, Softbank, and current CDMA carrier KDDI will follow on through 2011, with a grand total of over a trillion yen (about $10.4B) being spent in the next half decade. Don't get us wrong -- we're sure the handsets will still be cooler than anything we can get, and they'll likely have the entire country blanketed in 4G before most others have just a handful of cities live, but at least they're not on 5G. Yet.

[Via IntoMobile, thanks Lauren]

[Via Digg]

Man, talk about a long time coming. The last time we saw a line of i:Virt watches from Citizen, it was a bright fall day in 2007, and obviously our style threshold was entirely different. Thankfully, the outfit's latest line of Bluetooth-enabled timepieces are far sexier, though we have to say -- the fact that they only support Softbank phones makes us shed a tear on the inside. As with most other BT watches, these too will display emails, alert you of incoming calls and even clue you in on the latest news (via RSS, we suspect). Both the TM84-0341V and TM84-0342V feature a stainless steel case and a life of around five days with a full charge; there's no mention of price, but frankly, we're too depressed to even find one. Poor us.

[Via Akihabara News]

Is it a phone? Is it a camera? Does it really matter anymore? If neither the mirumo 934SH nor the Solar Hybrid 936SH are quite to your liking, feast your eyes on this other wonder from Sharp that's hitting SoftBank Mobile in Japan this summer, the AQUOS SHOT 933SH. The headlining feature on this sucker would be the massive optics combined with a 10 megapixel low-noise CCD sensor, which is made infinitely easier to use as an actual camera thanks to a rotating touchscreen display -- just flip it around, snap it facing outwards, and voilà, your old point-and-shoot is on notice. Otherwise, you've got a 3.3-inch WVGA display (perfect for viewing one-seg television) and global roaming capability, so don't be surprised if we try to smuggle one of these stateside when it launches in late May, alright?

As you might expect, Japanese carrier SoftBank's summer 2009 lineup contains the usual science-fiction array of ridiculously well-equipped handsets -- plus 3G photo frames and a Lenovo IdeaPad S10 with embedded WWAN -- but the real news here might be a pair of lovelies from Sharp. The mirumo 934SH (pictured left) features a 3-inch external display that can display time, date, weather, news, and other information without consuming any power between changes; sounds like E-Ink, though Sharp describes it simply as a "memory LCD." You've also got an 8 megapixel camera, a waterproof shell, and a UV sensor that can help you determine just how quickly you need to slather on the SPF 30. Next up is the Solar Hybrid 936SH, a phone suspiciously similar in concept to the device Sharp is working on for SoftBank competitor KDDI au. Clearly the big draw here is the big solar array up front that'll give you one minute of call time or two hours of standby per 10 minutes of charging, but you've still got IPX7 water resistance, an 8 megapixel camera, and a full wide VGA display at your disposal. Look for the 934SH in June and the 936SH in August -- if you happen to be in Japan, anyhow.

When they said "Tuesday," they meant it. Not long ago, the clock struck midnight in the Land of the Rising Sun, and sure enough, the bona fide Skype application (v1.0.0.63) for Apple's iPhone has gone live. It's absolutely free to download, and early reports from Japan have been pretty stellar in regard to sound quality. We're fully expecting it to roll out elsewhere as Tuesday (March 31st) arrives in various time zones, so make sure you (and at least one Skype buddy) stay up late to try 'er out. [Warning: iTunes read link may not work for all time zones yet.]

[Via Engadget Japanese]

Just last month we heard that Japan's CDMA giant (that'd be KDDI) would be throwing its weight behind LTE, and now we have every idea that it'll be filling out an application to prove as much in April. According to a new report in The Mainichi Daily News, Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has decided to begin taking applications for 4G frequency allocation beginning in around three months, while approvals are expected to start in June. NTT Docomo, KDDI, Softbank Mobile and Emobile have all been granted permission to apply, and if we had to bet, we'd say the entire foursome will do just that. Ah, 4G -- so close, yet so far away.

[Thanks, Vagrant]

If you're American, don't even pretend you care about this. 'Cause you don't care about mobile TV at all, and we've got the facts to prove it. For those parked in Japan, though, you have every right to get jazzed. Softbank's 1seg TV tuner / battery charger has finally been loosed on the carrier's home turf, and the lucky cats over at DVICE were able to acquire one and give it a whirl. Setup was said to be a breeze, the 1seg pickup was crystal clear and the device itself was satisfactorily lightweight. As for downsides, the entire app is in Japanese, and even with the extra juice, watching TV on the go zapped the life out in around an hour with brightness maxed. Check the full writeup and unboxing gallery in the read link below.

[Via OhGizmo]

There are a few UMA-based solutions floating around for automatically transferring PBX lines to phones when employees are in the office, but Japan's SoftBank is taking a more direct approach by cutting WiFi out of the equation with its new White Office service launching in March. All of the key functions of a PBX -- transfer, hold, and so on -- will be supported, and unlike UMA, mobiles can be used as extensions whether their users are in or out of the office. So yeah, sorry, Japanese folks -- escaping work just got that much harder. Pricing will be announced closer to launch.

[Via Slashphone]

It's that time of year again -- the time when Japan's carriers announce a seemingly never-ending torrent of phone after incredible phone. We've already hinted at some of these monsters, but we wanted to take a deeper dive and really find out what's being offered this time around. Follow us right this way, won't you?

NTT DoCoMo's fall / winter 2008 lineup
KDDI au's fall / winter 2008 lineup
Softbank Mobile's winter 2008 collection

Though there are fully sixteen devices comprising Softbank's latest round of phones, most are sitting in the giant -- quite literally giant, in fact -- shadow of the mighty 931SH. With the exception of a USB modem and two Nokias that are looking a little irrelevant in the face of Espoo's decision to pull out of Japan, though, we're going to give everyone equal time here -- so read on for the full batch!


Sharp 931SH

Let's just jump right into the big guns, shall we? Closed, the 931SH from Sharp looks just a bit like an iPhone, but opening it reveals a d-pad and numeric keypad. What's more, the 931SH's ridiculous 3.8-inch 1024 x 480 touchscreen puts the iPhone's to shame, as does the color selection -- Black, Silver, Pink Gold, and Red -- and the camera, which measures 5.2-megapixels strong.



Samsung 930SC OMNIA

Everyone's getting in on the OMNIA action lately, so naturally, the Japanese version has to kick it up a notch or three. To do that, it swaps out the WQVGA display found on global units with a wide VGA one, but otherwise, some of the specs should sound familiar: 8GB of onboard memory and 7.2Mbps HSDPA, to be specific. The backside is available in Black, White, and Red -- all options we'd like to see in other parts of the world.



HTC Touch Diamond X04HT

Turns out that NTT DoCoMo isn't the only Japanese carrier that wants in on HTC's mojo. They're launching a version of the Touch Diamond as the X04HT, but unlike the once-over the OMNIA received, the X04HT is basically a dead ringer for its international cousin. VGA, 3.2-megapixel cam, Windows Mobile -- we all know the drill by now -- and it's available in any color, as long as it's black.



HTC Touch Pro X05HT

There's an old saying that goes something like this: "Where there's a Touch Diamond, there's a Touch Pro." Never heard that? Well, Softbank apparently has, putting its own version of the Touch Pro -- the X05HT -- right alongside the X04HT. It offers the same VGA display, 3.2-megapixel cam, and QWERTY (albeit localized) keyboard as other Touch Pros around the globe.



Samsung 930SH

At first, you might not make much of Softbank's claim that the 930SH's 15.2mm-thick shell is markedly thin -- but then you realize that it's packing an 8-megapixel camera, which elicits an "ohhhh, that explains it." Unfortunately, it looks like all the engineering went into that cam, because it's a pretty boring, unassuming flip otherwise. At least it's available in your choice of Blue Green, Black, Pink, White Silver, and Silver Violet, right?



Casio 830CA

What's this, wide QVGA? You've already lost our attention, Casio -- but let's go through the paces here: 5.2-megapixel camera, one-seg mobile TV, a trick (well, trick outside Japan, anyway) translucent dot-matrix LED display on the face, and availability in White, Gray, Black, and Orange.



Toshiba fanfun.2 830T

A wide QVGA display, 2-megapixel camera, and artfully-angled corners should tell you that the fanfun.2 830T from Toshiba is more about looking totally awesome with the phone plastered to the side of your face than it is about taking the perfect photo. To that end, it's available in five fun (some might say "fanfun") colors: Pink, Black, White, Vivid Pink, and Gold.



Toshiba fanfun.petit 831T

The important specs of the 831T are essentially the same as the 830T, but the fanfun.petit (seriously, where do these names come from?) ups the designer ante by offering changeable faceplates. The phone itself comes in White or Pink, then you choose one of six plates (or none at all, if that's how you roll) to customize the flip and make it your own.



Panasonic 830P

The 830P's being billed as a simple, super-readable handset -- and the 2-megapixel camera and WQVGA display certainly back up that billing -- but it's still reasonably attractive, we suppose. Gold, Silver, Black, and Pink are your options on this one.



Sharp PANTONE 830SH

The 830SH isn't the first PANTONE-branded set to grace Softbank's airwaves -- and if we can keep getting crazy colors like this eye-searing green, we hope it's not the last. Yeah, it's only got a WQVGA display and 2-megapixel camera like several other of the lower-end devices here, but come on -- green. Bright green. Cut it some slack, alright? If the green isn't to your liking, there are fourteen other colors to choose from, so dig in.



Sharp 830SH s

The 830SH s continues Softbank's GENT branding -- an indication that the phone's targeted at the mature crowd with big, easy-to-read fonts and huge buttons that are virtually impossible to mispress. It looks a whole heck of a lot like the 830SH and features the same technical specs, but the color selection isn't quite as varied or vibrant: Natural Brown, Warm Pink, Deep Green, and Mat Silver.



Samsung 730SC

Who goes to Japan for a phone this boring? Not us -- and we're not sure why anyone would want this up against any other phone in the lineup -- but alas, Samsung is offering the meager 730SC for folks who are looking the simplest, most basic phone imaginable (by Japanese standards, anyhow). QVGA display -- no "wide" about it -- 1.3-megapixel cam, and just black and white shells to choose from. That's all she wrote.



Sharp 823SH Tiffany

If you're just now reading about this phone, you're already too late to get one -- but at over $100,000 a pop, it probably a moot point for you (and if it's not a moot point, we'd love to talk about some business opportunities with you). Just ten examples of the diamond-laden testament to conspicuous consumption were made, and Tiffany's even kind enough to provide owners with a lovely leather case that looks like it could've come out of a Crackerjack box. Beauty's in the eye of the beholder, eh?

Recession? What recession? While many in this world are grumbling about a so-called weakened economy, at least eight individuals aren't hurtin' at all. Or, at least they aren't acting like it. The (very) limited edition Softbank 823SH Tiffany, which was offered up for ¥13 million, has sold out in just three days, proving once again that there is simply nothing too expensive for at least some folks to buy.

[Via textually]