Stories by Jay Alabaster

At Ceatec, Intel pitches among Japanese heavyweights

In a corner of the sprawling exhibition hall of Ceatec, the annual electronics show running this week in Japan, this booth is packed with a varied display of technology -- a cyborg arm that boosts biceps strength, a futuristic classroom with touchscreens in the desks, and a digital bulletin board for households that tracks family members through GPS.

Softbank announces 110 Mbps network, may handle iPhones

Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile carrier and exclusive purveyor of the Apple iPhone in the country, said Thursday it would launch in November a new data network allowing downloads of up to 110 Mbps (megabits per second), faster than many wired connections provide today.

KDDI accelerates smartphone shift, stays mum on iPhone

KDDI, Japan's second-largest mobile operator, on Monday announced a new range of smartphones, accompanying services, and a low-cost pricing plan, but stayed mum on whether it would offer Apple's new iPhone next year.

Report: Japan KDDI to sell iPhone 5 from next year

KDDI, which runs Japan's second-largest mobile carrier, will offer the iPhone 5 from early 2012, ending Softbank's monopoly of the device in Japan, the country's largest business newspaper reported Thursday.

Report: DoCoMo, Samsung to form mobile chip venture

NTT DoCoMo will partner with several Japanese hardware makers and Korean manufacturer Samsung Electronics to develop core chips for use in future smartphones, Japan's biggest business newspaper reported Monday.

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