Japanese Carrier DoCoMo to Gain iPhone This Fall

DoCoMo was finally like,



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Will be interesting to see if Apple will allow DoCoMo to put its bloatware on the iPhone. Don't see how they could have made a deal otherwise. They probably struck the same deal with China Mobile.

you serious? there is absolutely no way apple allowed them to put their bloat on the phone. none. it would open apple up to everybody wanting it. no, DoCoMo looked at the business they were losing year after year and finally conceded, probably negotiating on price to save face.

Will be interesting to see if Apple will allow DoCoMo to put its bloatware on the iPhone. Don't see how they could have made a deal otherwise. They probably struck the same deal with China Mobile.

Or DoCoMo and ChinaMobile got sick of losing subscribers to other carriers. I'm sure more details will leak out before or after the official announcements.

Docomo has sucked for years. They always had the worst coverage, and half a decade later, they finally appear to see the light.

Congrats on staying around this long.

Docomo have pretty much managed to shrug off the iPhone for this long, simply because they have the largest network in 3, 3.5 and 4G. Although Softbank have made strenuous efforts to improve recently after buying their god-awful network from Vodafone, they're still a fair distance behind.

The idea that Docomo's coverage is the worst is either the result of you having no idea what you're talking about (most likely) or a blatant lie.

I've had phones on all 3 networks during the last 10 years. Docomo are far and away the fastest. AU have good coverage, but not amazing speeds. And as I said, while Softbank have improved, they're still playing catchup.

Really, next time you make a pointless comment, at least try to aim somewhere in the rough direction of the truth.

Nothing — NOTHING — gets "added automatically" to a stock iPhone. The only way an app gets installed is if the user (or somebody setting up the phone for him or her) adds that app from the app store.

If you had a Softbank employee set up your iPhone and add the i.softbank account, then that person must have added this mysterious "official menu app" of which you speak.

An i.softbank account is simply an email address. No special app is required. I set up my own i.softbank account, and was never even prompted to download anything. (I configured the account through the iPhone's native Mail app.)

I'm no fan of Softbank, but I'm also not going to perpetuate a rumor that Softbank installs bloatware on iPhones. It just isn't true.

It also seems that the crazy allegations that are being posted here (Softbank bloatware, DoCoMo sucks, etc.) are from newly registered Macrumors members. If I was a suspicious person, I'd suspect that the NTT and Softbank PR departments have their English-speaking employees working these forums...

100% agree on this one ! both carriers have their good and bad points....Softbank doesnt put crapware on iphones and DoCoMo has an excellent network. While saying that, people here in Japan say that softbanks network isnt very good (Ive had no problems) - their prices are pretty good compared to DoCoMos.

apps like Yahoo! / My softbank / Softbank official menu app.
These get added automatically when you setup an i.softbank account.

Nothing — NOTHING — gets "added automatically" to a stock iPhone. The only way an app gets installed is if the user (or somebody setting up the phone for him or her) adds that app from the app store.

If you had a Softbank employee set up your iPhone and add the i.softbank account, then that person must have added this mysterious "official menu app" of which you speak.

An i.softbank account is simply an email address. No special app is required. I set up my own i.softbank account, and was never even prompted to download anything. (I configured the account through the iPhone's native Mail app.)

I'm no fan of Softbank, but I'm also not going to perpetuate a rumor that Softbank installs bloatware on iPhones. It just isn't true.

It also seems that the crazy allegations that are being posted here (Softbank bloatware, DoCoMo sucks, etc.) are from newly registered Macrumors members. If I was a suspicious person, I'd suspect that the NTT and Softbank PR departments have their English-speaking employees working these forums...

Docomo has sucked for years. They always had the worst coverage, and half a decade later, they finally appear to see the light.

Congrats on staying around this long.

Are you serious? Have you used an iPhone on Softbank or au/KDDI? There's no comparison — DoCoMo's network absolutely blows away the competition.

I've had Softbank for the past five years, simply because I wanted an iPhone. I can't wait to switch back to DoCoMo.

EDIT: I see you are located in the United States. Yes, I would imagine DoCoMo coverage is pretty spotty in your neck of the woods. ;-)

Softbank iPhone here in Japan already includes some of its bloatware preinstalled.

It does? Mine didn't. Nor did the four other iPhones I purchased for my company.