Japanese carrier SoftBank is "in advanced talks" to acquire Sprint, insiders claim, with a deal worth potentially $12.81bn apparently on the table. Full details of the negotiations have not been leaked, though the deal would undoubtedly represent a significant risk for SoftBank, the WSJ reports. The carrier currently holds the number three spot in the Japanese network leagues, though revealed a deal to acquire smaller rival eAccess for $1.84bn earlier in October.
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‘Softbank’ Stories
SoftBank reportedly in “advanced” Sprint $12.8bn acquisition talks
SoftBank reveals radiation-scanning phone plus 13.1MP Android
Japanese carrier SoftBank has revealed its summer 2012 line-up, including an Android phone with an integrated radiation detector, the usual brace of big-screened beauties, and a 110Mbps mobile hotspot. The Pantone 5 SoftBank 107SH is the most unusual of the refreshed range, delivering not only eight hue options ranging from the salmony-pink shown here through to lime green and sober black, but the ability to track between 0.05 and 9.99 μSv/h of radiation.
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Pogoplug storms Best Buy and Wal-Mart, inks Softbank partnership
Pogoplug will be pushing its personal cloud devices in front of many more people, it's been announced, with the Pogoplug Series 4 headed to every Best Buy store in the US in May, while the Pogoplug Mobile will go on sale in Wal-Mart from April. Meanwhile, a deal with Japanese carrier Softbank will see a co-branded Pogoplug Mobile - which we reviewed here - offered, along with a 20GB cloud storage account.
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Alibaba in talks with Softbank to lead Yahoo acquisition bid
Chinese internet group Alibaba is said to be involved in ongoing negotiations with Japanese telecom giant Softbank in an attempt to establish a bid for all of Yahoo (Alibaba already owns Yahoo's chinese business group, in exchange for a 40% stake in Alibaba and 'strategic partnership' in 2005). Sources familiar with the matter have informed Bloomberg that leading private equity firms Blackstone Group and Bain Capital have also been tapped to participate in the acquisition talks.
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Softbank outs AQUOS 104SH Ice Cream Sandwich phone, more
Japanese carrier Softbank has revealed its latest line-up of Android smartphones, and if you love high-res screens and megapixel-packed cameras then it's enough to make you weep. Among the gems are the Sharp AQUOS 104SH, which Softbank says will launch running Ice Cream Sandwich on a 1.5GHz dual-core TI OMAP4460 processor, paired with a 4.5-inch 1280 x 720 display, 12.1-megapixel camera and IPX5/IPX7 ruggedness, expected to arrive in spring 2012.
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KDDI iPhone 5 deal smashes SoftBank exclusivity
Japanese carrier KDDI has apparently ousted arch-rival SoftBank's monopoly on the iPhone, with a new deal that will likely see the iPhone 5 offered on both networks. Like AT&T in the US before it, SoftBank had been Apple's exclusive partner for the iPhone at launch; that will change with the debut of the fifth-gen model, the Nikkei Business reports, while the handset itself will supposedly support CDMA as well as GSM.
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SoftBank 007SH KT Hello Kitty Android Gingerbread Phone For The Win
Welcome to the greatest Android device on the market today. I'm only half joking, as the specs on this very gaudy looking device are certainly nothing to scoff at, and it boasts the very strange accomplishment of being the second clamshell device running Android 2.3 Gingerbread. The first was of course the AQUOS PHONE THE HYBRID 007SH, essentially the same basic components this device is built on. Yesterday we got a glimpse of the Yahoo! Android phone from Sharp AQUOS, today we get the next rebranded handset in the Hello Kitty Android flip phone. Is this just a Japanese fad, or are cross-brand re-releases of Android devices on the horizon?
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iPhone 4 for Softbank in Japan to be Equipped with NFC Mobile Payment Stickers Next Year
While we wait to see whether or not the next generation of iPhone features Near Field Communications (NFC) technology in the device itself, wireless carrier Softbank in Japan is ready to get the tech off the ground and running. The carrier is calling it a sticker, but it will cover the majority of the iPhone 4's back panel. However, it won't interfere with cases that you may have on the device, like Apple's Bumper Case. It's no surprise that Softbank would take the steps necessary to give the device limited functionality in the NFC department, considering it has had strong adoption over the last several months.
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SlashGear Morning Wrap-up: November 30 2010
You sassafrass you, NOOKcolor! Last night we spoke about how NOOKcolor had been rooted and presented to you the final chapter in our "A Week With" reviews of that device, but what's this?! I snuck another one in on ya! A Week with NOOKcolor: The Missing Link – Viewing Manually Loaded Books and What a Root Means for the Future. Then there's news about how NOOKcolor saved B&N's butt financially this year, and the iPad responds with a magazine - it's got TRON on it! Maybe not a direct response, and I know it's released by Richard Branson, but, you know, but I don't think iPad is worried about the B&N competition. Then we've got some Farmville news and some NASA news about what might be aliens - this expressing the range of information we present here at the R3 Media Network. ALL THIS AND MORE on the SlashGear Morning Wrap-up!
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iPad goes free in Japan with Softbank deal
After UK carriers announced plans to subsidize the iPad last week, it was only a matter of time until rivals were simply giving them away. Japanese carrier Softbank is preparing to offer free iPad WiFi + 3G tablets with two year data contracts as part of an "iPad for Everybody" promotion; the iOS slate is free but the 25-month agreement is 4,725 yen ($56) per month.
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Softbank’s Sharp GALAPAGOS 003SH & 005SH get Capcom 3D gaming
Sharp's GALAPAGOS range isn't just about big ereader tablets; the company has just unveiled two new Softbank Android smartphones, the GALAPAGOS 003SH and 005SH, which each offer glasses-free 3D on their 3.8-inch WVGA touchscreen displays. The 003SH has a 9.6-megapixel camera, while the 005SH has an 8-megapixel camera but makes up for the shortfall with a slide-out four row QWERTY keyboard.
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OHA gets 14 new Android fans: ASUS, Sony Ericsson, Garmin & more onboard
The Open Handset Alliance (OHA) has announced fourteen new members, including ASUS, Sony Ericsson and Garmin, together with carrier Vodafone. While the specific intent of the new members is unknown, they will all either "deploy compatible Android devices, contribute significant code to the Android Open Source Project, or support the ecosystem through products and services that will accelerate the availability of Android-based devices."
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