Business

Editor: Bruce Meng
9 Sep 2008 09:41:02 GMT

TOKYO, Sept 9 – Softbank Corp is turning to
corporate users to stoke demand for Apple Inc’s iPhone, as the
initial hype surrounding the launch of the device in Japan fades.

Japan’s third-biggest cellphone operator is pitching the
iPhone as the ideal gadget for office workers to answer e-mail on
the go, much like Research in Motion’s BlackBerry is used in many
Western markets, and said it would offer 7,500 of the devices for
free trials.

“Wake up, Japanese businessmen,” Softbank Chief Executive
Masayoshi Son told attendees of a briefing for its corporate
clients. “Having a weapon to fight is the quickest way to bring
back high productivity in Japan.”

In July, Softbank became the first Japanese carrier to sell
the iPhone 3G as part of the gadget’s global launch, beating out
industry leader NTT DoCoMo Inc which sells the BlackBerry in
Japan.

The iPhone, which combines a music and video player,
cellphone and Web browser, attracted a slew of buyers in the
first few weeks after its debut, but its momentum is believed to
have slowed.

Softbank has lowered the bottom end of the monthly fees for
the device twice to boost demand, while the company’s net
subscriber gains came back down to pre-launch levels in August.

On Tuesday, Softbank gathered about 3,000 corporate clients
to talk about the iPhone’s benefits for business and demonstrated
possible ways to use it in 18 different industries.

Apple holds a mere 2.6 percent share of Japan’s personal
computer market, but Mitsubishi UFJ Securities analyst Shinji
Moriyuki said the market for the iPhone’s corporate use could be
big, because it would be easy to create new applications for the
device.

“Companies can think of new ways to use it. It could
especially make things easier for businesses that use visual
effects a lot,” he said. “If they recognise it as a strong
marketing tool, it could replace their current dedicated
terminals.”

Son said he no longer needed to carry a laptop on a business
trip and suggested that having an iPhone would cut 30 percent of
personnel costs for companies, because normal business people
spend that amount of their working time travelling or moving
around — time they could be checking e-mail if they had an
iPhone.

“It will drive you crazy for the first two weeks because you
are not familiar with how to use it,” he said. “But after two
weeks it becomes lovable. After loading 50, 100 CDs that you have
at home, you can never let it go.”