softbank

While it initially appeared that Apple was caught off guard by the furor over how bad its in-house map application is, the company apparently had plenty of warning.

Developers have been complaining about Apple's Maps since shortly after they were given the first pre-release version in early June, CNET has learned. They say they filed bug requests, sent e-mails to specific Apple employees, and vented on message boards only other developers and Apple could see.

Threads on Apple's developer forums described some of the problems that appeared well ahead of the final version of the software, and they … Read more

It's not exactly clear what's behind Softbank's tentative proposal to acquire control of Sprint. But that hasn't stopped lots of folks from trying to make sense of a cross-Pacific deal that hasn't even been formally struck yet.

At least the outline of a possible transaction is coming into focus. According to The Wall Street Journal, Softbank -- which zoomed to success in the Japanese market thanks to a years-long exclusive on the iPhone -- would pony up as much as $12.8 billion to acquire a roughly 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel. That payment … Read more

Last update: 8:20 a.m. PT

Sprint Nextel has confirmed that it's holding discussions with Softbank regarding a "substantial investment" by the Japanese mobile carrier.

The confirmation came several hours after a report in the Wall Street Journal said, citing sources, that Softbank is in advanced talks to acquire the U.S.-based carrier for $12.8 billion. Beyond that, details are slim, and there's no telling if the companies might actually arrive at any kind of a deal.

Sprint's statement stopped short of saying that the company would accept a full buyout:

Softbank this week introduced its summer smartphone lineup for Japan and included a device -- Sharp's Pantone 5 -- that includes a Geiger counter to track radiation. 

Aside from the novelty of the first smartphone that can track radiation, Softbank's move highlights how it knows its local market well and may tap into a global theme at some point. Softbank is among the leading wireless players in Japan.

The backdrop for Softbank's Pantone 5 is obvious. In March 2011, Japan was hit with a tsunami and earthquakes that led to a nuclear meltdown. Since the … Read more

Online-payment company PayPal and Japanese telecom and Internet firm Softbank announced this evening a joint venture, PayPal Japan, meant to create "the premier digital wallet for online, mobile, and offline transactions" in the Asian country -- one of the world's largest economies.

As a first step, the companies said Japan would be the fifth nation to get PayPal Here, a Square-like service that lets small businesses accept credit and debit card transactions -- and PayPal payments -- through a smartphone.

PayPal Here was unveiled in March, in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Hong Kong. A week … Read more

TOKYO--Though its growth has slowed significantly in recent years, DoCoMo managed to get more than 60 million Japanese to sign up for contracts as of last Sunday.

That's nearly half Japan's population of 127 million. The figure includes subscribers to DoCoMo's LTE, 3G, and 2G mobile services.

DoCoMo's high growth period in the late 1990s saw it increasing by 10 million users in only 18 months. But recent years have proven more challenging for the phone giant. … Read more

Let's make a deal? Not yet.

One day, Yahoo and its two Asian partners no doubt will finally resolve their long-running talks about how to deal with the sale of its Asian properties. Each of the three players involved in this long-running melodrama--Yahoo, China's Alibaba, and Japan's Softbank--has an interest in getting this done. But it seems that disagreement still rules the day.

The rumored deal would have involved swapping Yahoo's ownership in Alibaba and Yahoo Japan back to those companies in a trade for some still-to-be-determined assets. But the talks are now dead in the … Read more

Softbank has agreed to repay a $1.135 billion loan to Citigroup by selling most of its 4 percent stake in Yahoo.

The Japanese Web and telecom company said in a press release that it plans to transfer its Yahoo shares to Citigroup as repayment for a 2004 loan. After unloading the stock, Softbank has reduced its Yahoo stake to just 0.002 percent.

The original agreement called for Softbank to repay the loan with either cash or the Yahoo stock. With Yahoo's shares tanking since the deal was signed, Softbank netted a huge profit on the deal. The … Read more