“Addressing a widely-publicized feature omission for Japanese iPhone users, local carrier Softbank on Thursday announced plans to begin selling a TV Tuner add-on later this year that will also serve as an extended battery pack,” Sam Oliver reports for AppleInsider.

“Expected to retail for around US$100 when it goes on sale in mid-December, the rechargeable brick-like receiver will include an internal Wi-Fi module and external antenna for tuning into the One-Seg (or 1seg) mobile terrestrial broadcasting service available in Japan and parts of Brazil,” Oliver reports.

“The device will deliver the One-Seg signal to iPhones via Wi-Fi through a specialized application that will be made available on the App Store free of charge. This frees users to place the receiver in their purse or pocket. Alternatively, the gadget can be connected to iPhones via the dock connector, where it can then serve as an secondary iPhone battery,” Oliver reports.

Full article here.

On Wednesday, Japan’s Softbank said “its operating profit for the second quarter reached a record high on cost cuts as the iPhone pulled in more mobile phone subscribers,” AFP reports.

“The company’s mobile phone carrier Softbank Mobile benefited from the July launch in Japan of Apple Computer’s iPhone 3G, allowing Softbank to attract more customers than its rivals NTT DoCoMo and KDDI’s ‘au’” service,” AFP reports.

AFP reports, “Softbank president Masayoshi Son, one of Japan’s richest people, said he used an iPhone every day. ‘It’s useful, and the more I use it the better I can understand its strong points,’ he told a news conference.”

Full article here.