14 DAY TRIAL // Japanese Android fans who are into social networking will be able to purchase a unique smartphone starting next month, the “Yahoo Phone.”
While this might be surprising for some, it appears that Yahoo is one of the most popular websites in the country, which somewhat explains why someone would want to manufacture such a phone.
The “Yahoo Phone” will be released via SoftBank, which is the third largest Japanese carrier and Yahoo Japan’s biggest shareholder.
The phone is reportedly manufactured by Sharp and will be a special version of the original “AQUOS PHONE THE PREMIUM SoftBank 009SH,” which was introduced in the country a few weeks ago.
According to the carrier, customers who purchase the smartphone will become Yahoo Japan premium members for free for two years, and won't be paying the $4.50 monthly fee anymore
In addition, they will receive additional points for every purchase made on Yahoo Shopping for the next two years.
The Yahoo-branded smartphone will be bundled with loads of dedicated apps, including Yahoo Japan Home, Yahoo Japan Auctions, a calendar, dictionary, Yahoo Loco and more.
“Yahoo Phone” is expected to be delivered with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) on board and will offer users a digital TV tuner, an e-wallet function, as well as infrared communication.
Furthermore, the smartphone comes with a large qHD 4-inch capacitive touchscreen display with 540 x 960 pixels resolution and 16 million colors support.
The device will also boast an 8-megapixel photo snapper, Bluetooth 3.0 and IEEE 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity, as well as microSD card slot for memory expansion (up to 32GB).
Although SoftBank confirmed that it will start retail the “Yahoo Phone” in Japan late next month, it has yet to make any official announcements regarding the smartphone's exact release date and price tag.