DoCoMo and SoftBank in talks with Steve Jobs

NTT DoCoMo said Wednesday that its president had met with Apple chief executive Steve Jobs amid reports that Japan's top mobile telephone operator is in talks to launch the iPhone here. NTT DoCoMo is competing with smaller rival Softbank Mobile, which has also entered talks with Apple about acquiring the sole rights to offer the iPhone in Japan, the Nikkei business daily reported. Executives from both NTT and Softbank have also made multiple trips to Apple's Cupertino, Calif., headquarters. Representatives at Apple, DoCoMo and Softbank declined to comment.

Source: Yahoo News, The Wall Street Journal

3G Second-gen iPhone in final phase

"After meeting with key component suppliers and manufacturers in Asia, researchers for investment bank Goldman Sachs said this week they believe Apple will introduce two revisions to the iPhone in 2008"..."Among them is a second-generation iPhone currently in the "final design phase," the analyst said. The handset is expected to "have a similar form factor as the current version although it could have a different look and will probably include 3G capability."

Source: AppleInsider

SMS trademark application filing by Apple Computer

On 23rd October 2007 Apple applied to the Japan Patent Office (application number 2007-108626) for the SMS trademark registration. iPhone's SMS application can send and receive SMS messages in multiply sessions. Could this be a sing that iPhone is coming to Japan?

Registration details (Japanese)

Source: AppleLinkage