Japanese iPhone carrier Softbank Mobile will introduce a new program giving customers free 8GB iPhones under a two year contract. Disappointment looms for those who just handed over $235 (or about 22,782 Yen) with the plan starting on Friday.

Although not clear, Softbank may be employing the philosophy that every time the price of the iPhone has dropped, demand has increased. This possibility was noted during last months earning conference call by Apple COO Tim Cook. Sales of the iPhone in Japan have been slower than expected where this plan by Softbank may potentially create the perfect springboard for iPhones into the market. Softbank are starting the “iPhone for everybody Campaign“, with the Mobile Corporation offering price cuts across the board by reducing the maximum monthly data plan rates (from $62 to $45.60) with free texts and voice calls to other Softbank Customers on the 3G Network.

It is interesting that sales have been apathetic with Japanese mobile phone users who have been playing around with advanced devices for years. Compared to data-capable touch-screen phones in the US which are, in the grand scheme of things, a newer idea, iPhones have been selling like hotcakes. The success or failure of the program will be one to watch both from the initial uptake from Japanese Mobile Users as well as long term carrier revenue. If employment of such a campaign can create market turnaround and maintain customer loyalty, I can only hope other carriers jump on the bandwagon of offering free phones under long-term contracts. I’ll be honest – I’ll take a free iPhone. That price is right!

[via CNET]

Live TV will be streaming to your iPhone with the new version of NexPlayer from NexTreaming. Fully compliant with international standards such as 3GPP and 3GPP2, and also supports proprietary specifications for some operators such as Orange, Vodafone, SKT, KTF and LGT.

NewPlayer has been optimized for the hardware capabilities of the iPhone. NexTreaming states that “NexPlayer will be the best choice for the customers who want to enable mobile phones with an excellent player for worldwide network operators.” The application comes as part of the Companies range of products including NexTV, NexPlayer Lite, NexCam and NexMusic.

In addition, the streaming function is available to support multi-cast DVB-H of the European mobile TV standards, CMMB of the Chinese mobile TV standards and MBMS of the 3GPP standards and 3GPP based uni-cast streaming. The media player has abundant features with NexTreaming stating that the product has “already proved (itself) in the market through commercial references and being evolved.” NexPlayer is avialable for more than 120 handsets worldwide. The features and specifications include:

Standard

• 3GPP local/progressive download/streaming (3GPP Rel.4, Rel.5, Rel.6)
• 3GPP2 local/progressive download/streaming
• KWISF (Korean Standard) local/streaming
• ETSI DVB-H
• OMA BCAST / CBMS
• CMMB(China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting)
• MBMS(Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service)

Operator Proprietary Specification

• SKT : Timed Text / MIDI / Local / Streaming (June Service)
• KTF : Local / Streaming (Fimm Service)
• LGT : Streaming (VOD Service)
• China Unicom : Local / Streaming (AMC, 3GPP, 3GPP2)
• Orange : Streaming / Progressive download (FastTrack™)
• NTT DoCoMo : i-mode local/progressive download/streaming
• Vodafone : Vodafone Live, Radio DJ(RTSP Extension)
• T-mobile : Real streaming (RDT)
• KDDI : local

Protocols

• RTSP (RFC2326)
• SDP (RFC2327)
• RTP/RTCP (RFC3550, 3551)

Depacketizer

• H.263 (RFC2190,2429)
• MPEG-4 (RFC3016)
• H.264 (RFC3984)
• AMR-NB/AMR-WB (RFC3267)
• Extended AMR-WB(RFC4352)
• EVRC (RFC3558)
• AAC-LC/AAC-LTP (RFC3016)
• HE AAC (RFC3016,3640)
• HE AAC V2 (RFC3016)
• 13kQCELP (RFC2658)

Typical Functions

• Play/Stop. Pause/Resume
• Fast Forward, Rewind
• Random Access
• Repeat (Full, Partial)

Specific Functions

• Multiple instances (PIP)
• Time-Shift
• Streaming recording (Including PDCF)
• Snapshot (save as jpeg file)
• Thumbnail view
• File information extraction
• 3GPP/3GPP2 timed text
• i-mode / KDDI DRM
• DRM decryption integration (OMA DRM, SKT/KTF/LGT DRM)
• Supporting interfaces with ESG(EPG) and CAS

Experienced Chip

• Qualcomm
• NXP
• Broadcom
• Texas Instruments
• Spreadtrum
• Marvell
• Samsung

Experienced OS

• REX
• Nucleous
• Symbian
• Linux
• uITron
• ThreadX
• WinCE / Windows Mobile
• Windows 2000/XP/Vista

[via NexTreaming]

It’s a nice local directory app for iPhone. 360Wichita launched iPhone version of its visual directory, allowing iPhone users to access to Wichita businesses and information including coupons, maps, pictures, and more from around Wichita.

Our community directory, 360Wichita.com, is the premier online directory of Wichita business, real estate and area attractions, designed to provide valuable information and unique visual content to online consumers. The directory is a lead generator for our clients and offers a visual representation of Wichita for visitors around the world.

iPhone users can get the application for free from the iTunes AppStore (or by searching “Wichita” or “360Directories”). The application is currently used in Kansas City, Charlotte, N.C., Dallas/Ft. Worth and Tampa, Fla.

[via Wichita Business Journal]

InstantAction are actively working on the next Galcon project to enable iPhone gamers to take on PC users who play the popular strategy game. Developed by Phil Hassey and originally appeared on desktops version before finally making its way to the iTunes App Store last year.

The iPhone version comes with five different game modes and also features sound effects, resume support, several map layouts and a text driven help screen.

MTV Multiplayer wrote:

“Galcon” is a popular planet capturing strategy game already on the iPhone that already includes some robust multiplayer, including Internet-based play with other iPhone users, but like “Scrabble,” it requires access to a Wi-Fi point.

With “Galcon” now on the PC, however, one of those restrictions will be lifting. The InstantAction guys told me they’re actively working to allow InstantAction “Galcon” players to go head-to-head with “Galcon” iPhone users in a future update.

The Galcon iPhone version costs only $4.99 –instead of $9.99 that it previously used to cost– through the AppStore.

[via MTV Multiplayer]

Apple launched its first-gen iPhone in November 2007, and its 3G version in July 2008 in the UK. As of today, O2 has revealed that sales of the iPhone in the country have just hit the one million mark.

It helped Telefónica’s O2 mobile network outperform its UK rivals, the company revealed today.  The UK consumers can own iPhone (both models) on a pay as you go basis (as well as contract) by offering the iPhone on PAYG at £342.33.

[via Pocket-Lint]

Kyte offers a turnkey framework that streamlines the creation of custom music applications for the iPhone, allowing artist and labels optimize the apps as both a promotional tool and an extension of the traditional album release.

The solution’s benefits include:

• Distributed through iTunes App Store.
• Instantly updates with latest content including shows, twitter, and news,
• Eliminates the need for costly iPhone app development.
• Interactive engagement features.
• Enables you to converge online and mobile audiences into a single community.

Universal’s customized apps for The Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga, Soulja Boy, The All American Rejects, and Keri Hilson, which are released recently, created by Kyte platform. Check-out here to get more info on this solution.

[via hypebot]

Nomadics introduced a new iPhone application called MultiCal, allowing users to view Google calendars. iPhone users can view one, some, or all their Google calendars in real time in one interface.

MultiCal’s features include:

• No syncing required.
• No need to replace your iPhone calendar and contacts.
• Easily switch multiple accounts and calendars on or off.
• View and compare multiple calendar layers.
• Simultaneously view co-workers, friends, family, or project calendars.

User can’t change appointments or schedules from the application, but should log into his/her Google account on a computer to do it. MultiCal is available now on the App Store for $1.99.

[via I4U]

Starting today, “Supersize Me” iPhone App for ZumoDrive is available – for the grand price of $0 for a limited time.  Hurry up and grab it now, or else you’ll have to shell out $4.99 later on when the company starts charging for it.

ZumoDrive also dropped the price of the 25GB plan to $6.99, 50GB for $11.99 and 100GB for $19.99 per month.  If all you need is 1-GB, it’s still free and the 10GB starter plan still cost $2.99 per month.

Finally, ZumoDrive Beta is officially open to the world to test drive and enjoy, so go forth and expand your iPhone or iPhone 3G’s storage beyond the 8 or 16GB of storage!

Thanks David Zhao for sending this over!

Hello,

David from ZumoDrive here. I wanted to tell you about a couple of major announcements that we are making later today. Before I dive into the details, I want to thank you for using ZumoDrive – our success so far has been a direct result of our users. We welcome your feedback, ideas and even criticism at all times.

“Supersize Me” iPhone App – That’s right, our iPhone app is called “Supersize Me” and will be available starting Wednesday February 25th in the Utilities and Music categories of the Apple App Store. Now it really doesn’t matter if your iPhone has just 8 or 16 GB – you’ll never again have to choose which content to put on it. Just like ZumoDrive supersizes your PC or Mac, the Supersize Me iPhone app lets you put ALL your music, photos and documents on your iPhone and delivers a fantastic experience whether you’re connected via WiFi, 3G or EDGE. Browse through your entire music library and play anything as if it were stored on your phone. See your entire updated photo archive as it grows. View all your files including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF at any time.

The regular price of Supersize Me is $4.99, but we’re giving the application away free to early users like you for a limited time – so go grab it now!

Oh yeah, if you like Supersize Me, please don’t forget to rate it on the App Store. For those of you who use other smart phone brands, we’re working to support the major platforms and will make ZumoDrive available on them later in the year.

Lower ZumoDrive Pricing – Yes, we’re dropping our pricing to make ZumoDrive more affordable for you and everyone else. You can still get 1-GB of ZumoDrive storage for free, and our 10-GB starter plan runs $2.99 per month. But as of Wednesday February 25th, you’ll get 25-GB for $6.99, 50-GB for $11.99 and 100-GB for $19.99 per month.

ZumoDrive Beta Now Public – Thanks to the help of our private beta users like you, we’re now ready to offer ZumoDrive to the rest of the world starting Wednesday February 25th. So feel free to invite your friends to try ZumoDrive – they’ll no longer need a beta access code.

Thanks once again for your support. You can view more regular updates on ZumoDrive (along with general musings by our team) by subscribing to our blog. I would also encourage you to follow us on Twitter to get the latest updates from us.

Best,

David Zhao
ZumoDrive Founder and CEO