(Adds plans for second Android model in fourth paragraph.) By Pavel Alpeyev
March 30 (Bloomberg) -- KDDI Corp., Japan’s second-largest mobile-phone operator, will introduce its first handset running Google Inc.’s Android operating system in June to catch up with rivals NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Softbank Corp. The new model, made by Sharp Corp., will feature a 5-inch touch screen, full physical keyboard and will be able to receive television broadcasts, Tokyo-based KDDI said in a statement today. The handset is the first Android phone by a Japanese manufacturer. The carrier, which has lagged behind competitors in new subscriber additions since April 2007, is adding the Android phone to its lineup to tap demand for handsets that can surf the Web and download music, video and applications and counter similar moves by rivals. DoCoMo, Japan’s largest mobile-phone operator, plans to sell its second Android model from April 1, while Softbank, Apple Inc.’s exclusive provider of the iPhone in the country, will introduce its first next month. “It’s true that we have been late in introducing an Android model,” Makoto Takahashi, responsible for KDDI’s content and media, told reporters in Tokyo today. The company plans to add a second model that will more closely resemble the iPhone in the fall, Takahashi said, without elaborating. KDDI rose 1.7 percent to close at 481,500 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Sharp advanced 1.2 percent to 1,170 yen. DoCoMo gained 1.9 percent to 142,100 yen and Softbank was little changed at 2,312 yen. Android, a newcomer to the smartphone operating system market, will see its handset base jump to 68 million units by 2013, from 690,000 in 2008, researcher IDC Corp. said in January. Google software will outpace Apple’s and Microsoft’s platforms to be second only to Symbian, used by Nokia Oyj, it said. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-30/kddi-will-sell-sharp-made-android-phone-from-june-update2-.html -- Salam, Agus Hamonangan Japri: [email protected] -- "Indonesian Android Community [id-android]" Join: http://groups.google.com/group/id-android/subscribe?hl=en-GB Moderator: [email protected] ID Android Developer: http://groups.google.com/group/id-android-dev ID Android Surabaya: http://groups.google.com/group/id-android-sby ID Android on FB: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=112207700729 To unsubscribe, reply using "remove me" as the subject.
