Softbank unveils Twitter Widget, Gundam video phone

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Softbank Mobile Corp on Tuesday introduced a mobile widget and S! Appli for users to enjoy Twitter on their SoftBank handsets, and a limited-edition handset to mark the 30th anniversary of the robot Gundam.

The “Twitter Widget” is preinstalled so that it is easier for users to tweet from the display. Also, ”TweetMe for S! Appli“, S! Appli for TweetMe, and mobile widget such as “twinavi” which helps search and follow celebrities’ tweets will be available. All of these applications will be preinstalled on nine of Softbank’s new models for summer.

The Gundam Softbank 945SH G video phone comes with a 180-millimeter-tall, 1/100-scale plastic model kit of the first Gundam mobile suit robot. The catapult display base will double as the phone’s charger.

The phone itself is capable of recording high-definition (1,280×720-pixel) video, although the phone only has a 854×480-pixel main screen. Users can customize the phone with a battery cover modeled after the Gundam’s shield and exclusive decals. Softbank will pre-install original Gundam content on the phone, such as images for the standby/menu screens and ringtones.

Meanwhile, NTT Docomo Inc unveiled its new cell phones for the summer sales season, with the former focusing on multifunctional handsets. Of the 20 handsets to be released by NTT Docomo from late May, three are smartphones, including Sharp Corp’s LYNX model featuring a large 5-inch screen, apparently aimed at Apple Inc’s iPhone which is exclusively offered by Softbank in Japan.

Also, Japan Airlines Corp said it will start the JAL Mile Phone service on June 1 in collaboration with KDDI Corp, the provider of ”au” mobile services, as well as Inphonix Inc, a provider of telecommunication services.

The new service, available with a handset specially built for the service, will offer seven mileage points for every 100 yen in mobile bills.