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  (Source: http://www.softbankmobile.co.jp/ja/news/press/2008/20081030_09/index.html)

  (Source: http://www.softbankmobile.co.jp/ja/news/press/2008/20081030_09/index.html)
Softbank announces 1-Seg Wi-Fi tuner for the 3G iPhone in Japan

According to a JapanToday article, Japan’s exclusive iPhone carrier SoftBank Mobile will release a 1-Seg Wi-Fi tuner that will allow customers to watch television on their iPhones in Japan. The tuner will also be used to provide free Wi-Fi internet connection services using the Yahoo!BB Hotspot network. Yahoo!BB is a subsidiary of the SoftBank group and the free internet service will begin on November 4.

The 1-Seg tuner will also works as a mobile battery charger for the 3G iPhone. The expected price will be about 10,000 Yen ($100 USD) and is planned to be released in the middle of December. The tuner transfers the signal from the 1-Seg digital TV broadcasting service to an iPhone using a Wi-Fi connection. The device will be 50x85x16mm in size, provide 3 hours of 1-seg television viewing time, and also provide 2 to 4 hours of iPhone use when used as a backup battery.

The 1-Seg Wi-Fi tuner is an attempt to address criticisms the 3G iPhone is not tailored to the Japanese market limiting its success. The inability to watch 1-Seg television and the lack of emoticons when typing email were some of the largest criticisms directed towards the iPhone.

Masayoshi Son Softbank’s CEO said, “Email without emoticons can’t be email in Japan,” He also stated, “We persuaded Apple Computer (to localize iPhones for the Japanese market).” The company will add an emoticon function to iPhones within the year through a software update.

Son said Softbank hopes to increase the number of iPhone users by providing unique mobile service and functions tailored to Japan’s mobile market. It remains to be seen if a solution that forces customers to carry 2 pieces of hardware will be a success. Many Japanese cell phones already have the 1-Seg television service built in.

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Is this completally different to...
By Aloonatic on 11/3/2008 9:40:50 AM , Rating: 3
... the system used in the nokia N96?

DVB-h or something I seem to recall?

Not that it is used in many countries as far as I am aware.

The iPlayer facility on it could be pretty handy though.

On a side note, anyone from the UK have any idea how a phone that can pick up TV would affect licence fee payment?

You can get away with not paying it and watching the iplayer, 4-OD and so on on your PC, as long as you don't have an actual TV anywhere in your home.




RE: Is this completally different to...
By sprockkets on 11/3/2008 2:15:33 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe. DVB is used for sure in places like South Korea, where Cowon's devices, even the little D2, can watch the portable version of high def broadcasts and radio, with a simple small attachment and small antenna.

Having to use wifi to transmit it to an iphone? Talk about a kludge.


RE: Is this completally different to...
By sprockkets on 11/3/2008 2:29:10 PM , Rating: 2
Wait, I always get the letters mixed up. I believe DVB is for the big tv's and DMB is for portable devices.

I can't find the pic of the DMB version of the D2, but it only had a small antenna on it, and nothing else we could see.

Shame too. Our portable versions of HD material for TV and radio suck so much in comparison to theirs.


RE: Is this completally different to...
By spartan014 on 11/3/2008 11:15:44 PM , Rating: 2
In Japan, the DTV transmission standard is not DVB. It seems that the 1-Seg transmission is using ISDB-T standard..


RE: Is this completally different to...
By afkrotch on 11/4/2008 7:37:16 AM , Rating: 2
ISDB-T has 13 segments. 1Seg uses 1 segment of ISDB-T. 1Seg is available on the PSP or DS, via an add-on.


By spartan014 on 11/4/2008 11:06:34 PM , Rating: 2
All I wanted to convey is that N96's DVB-H capability won't do any good in this case...


Just like everything else with Apple products
By Zensen on 11/3/2008 8:36:51 AM , Rating: 2
You need to have an add-on to make use of it.

Less is obviously more with them. You spend more you get less in the original package...

Convenience is certainly not there when yer lugging that along with yer phone. Almost as big as the phone from that picture!

Maybe people like add-ons and they should rush off and get this but a lot of people in Japan have a nintendo DS also and with a simple add-on they too can watch tv and they actually play games that aren't gimmicky.

Or you can just get a phone with that tv broadcast capability built in.




By nomagic on 11/3/2008 12:49:39 PM , Rating: 3
I fail to see how iphone is superior in terms of function. My 2-year-old 3G Sharp Cellphone let me watch DTV on it without any add-on.

If I ever buy a iPhone, it would be a tremendous step backward.


By garethcoker on 11/6/2008 9:57:09 PM , Rating: 2
Seriously, in Japan, TV on the phone is nothing new. The fact that the iPhone has it will not be sending shockwaves through Japan. There are lots of other phones on which you can watch TV, usually on in-built Sony, Panasonic, or Sharp screens and in addition users don't have to carry around an add-on to achieve this.

I expect this to have very little impact. The iPhone has a LONG way to go before it can even come close to matching the quite outstanding features that Japanese phones have. I have to leave Japan next year, and it will be sad to say goodbye to my current phone!




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