Softbank boosting efforts to shore up sales of Apple Inc.’s iPhone 3G

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Softbank Mobile Corp. is boosting its efforts to shore up sales of Apple Inc.’s iPhone 3G just one month after the handset’s strong Japanese debut.

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Initially, annual iPhone 3G sales were projected to top one million units, but now many forecast the sales will reach slightly over 100,000 units, an industry source said.

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Softbank Mobile, the handset’s only seller in Japan, has revised its pricing of data communication fees for iPhone 3G users to a monthly range of 1,695 yen to 5,985 yen, depending on data usage, from an initial flat rate of 5,985 yen.

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Masayoshi Son, president of Softbank Mobile and its parent, Softbank Corp. <9984>, said earlier this month he wanted to put iPhone in the hands of people who did not buy it due to its high price.

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Before the new fee plan, the mobile carrier failed to attract customers who mainly use their handsets for e-mails and phone calls.

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Michito Kimura, senior analyst at market research firm IDC Japan, says iPhone sales are unlikely to rise sharply.

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But there is a view that the iPhone has immeasurable growth potential because users can customize it as much as they wish by downloading software they like.

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An official at a major telecommunications company says that a big software hit such as a game might help iPhone turn around its fortunes in Japan.

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