Softbank/Vodafone Tie-up & Is the Best-of-Breed 905SH Good Enough?

The historic SoftBank / Vodafone press conference, held 18 May at Tokyo’s swanky Conrad Hilton, generated a flood of information and even more questions. Not much seems certain after Softbank’s Masayoshi Son and Vodafone’s Arun Sarin dropped the announcement of a never-before-tried plan for UK carrier Vodafone PLC to cooperate with Japanese Internet services company Softbank in a 50-50 joint venture aimed at developing mobile phones, services and content (mostly for Japan). On one level, the move is a straightforward play to enable Vodafone to keep at least some connection to Japan’s cutting-edge market and extract expertise, content, devices and business models (everything the old Vodafone KK was supposed to do). But looking deeper, the devil is readily apparent in the details: Who pays for what? To whom does value flow? Will VF be willing to implement strategy and devices from Japan via Son that they weren’t via their own wholly owned subsidiary? And what’s in it for Softbank — What could they possibly need from The Rest of the World?

As the humidity settles in for another long, torrid Tokyo summer, a ‘wait-and-see’ response is the most generous recommendation WWJ can make; however we can point to one bright spot: the new flagship handset, the 905SH. Available on 27 May, the phone is probably the best piece of mobile gear available on the Tokyo street this season. But will it be enough to stem the inevitable tide of subscribers from the company formerly known as Vodafone to Softbank competitors? Probably not. (Subscribers log in for more commentary on the rebranding, the new VF-Softbank joint venture and other Japan mobile highlights.)