Following KDDI, Japan’s No.3 telecommunications company SoftBank today also presented the new cell phone line-up for this spring. The company presented a total of nine models and will start selling the first handset of the line-up (the Panasonic 930P) from tomorrow.

Here are all cell phones SoftBank announced today [JP]:

Sharp 932SH
(equipped with three speakers and the world’s first One-Seg double digital TV tuner for viewing and recording two TV programs at the same time)

Casio 930CH
(Exilim handset with the world’s fastest activation time (0.99 seconds) in a 8.1 megapixel cell phone camera)

Panasonic 930P
(Viera handset optimized for watching TV and playing games)

NEC 830N
(extra-stylish and slim (13.9mm) handset)

Panasonic 831P
(3-inch QVGA display)

Sharp 831SH
(featuring an extra-compact body)

Sharp 831SH KT
(same as the 831SH but with Hello Kitty design)

Samsung 731SC
(usable in 5 different languages)

Sharp 830SH for BIZ
(recommended for business use)

I blogged about SoftBank’s 2008 winter cell phone line-up here. The summer 2008 models can be found here.

Renesas, the world’s biggest manufacturer of microcontrollers, is planning to unveil a processor that will make it possible to view full HD video in 30fps on cell phones during the ISSCC 2009 (International Solid State Circuits Conference) that will take place in San Francisco from February 8 to 12, 2009.

The Renesas CPU features a maximum operating frequency of 500MHz and measures just 6.4×6.5mm. It supports video in MPEG-4AVC/H.264/MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.

By way of comparison, One-Seg, the standard for digital TV on mobile devices in Japan and Brazil, has a maximum video resolution of just 320×240 at a video bitrate of 220 to 320 kbit/s.

Via Tech-On

Softbank Mobile today announced the release of a One-Seg digital TV tuner for the iPhone [JP] for the middle of December. One-Seg is a digital TV system only available in Japan and Brazil and usually stands for great picture and sound quality.

The device makes it possible to watch digital TV via WiFi by converting TV signals into IP-based data. Buyers can use the TV tuner (weight: 80 grams) continuously for three hours and can get a free One-Seg application from the AppStore. The device doubles as a battery extender when plugged into the iPhone 3G’s dock connector.

SoftBank hasn’t officially put a price tag on the tuner but Japanese media are reporting it will cost around $100. This is a smart move by the company, considering the lack of a TV tuner was one of the main weak points of the handset in Japan, but I doubt this will have a huge effect on future sales.

Sony Japan today added the XDV-W600 [JP], a mini TV (145×42×98mm, 302g) to their Bravia brand. The new device is waterproof and supports the Japanese digital TV standard One-Seg.

The 4-inch LCD TV (16.7 million colors, 272×480 resolution) boasts an IPX7 and IPX6 waterproof rating, meaning that you can theoretically watch TV under water (at a depth of up to 1m) for around 30 minutes. After a full charge (internal battery and two AA batteries), the XDV-W600 can be used for 23 hours.

The mini Bravia also features an AM/FM tuner and 2GB of internal memory, enough to record about 10 hours digital TV broadcasts.

The Japan-only XDV-W600 goes on sale October 30th (in pink, blue and white) and costs $370.

In Nippon, Panasonic has actually been selling Mini Viera TVs (also waterproof) since June this year.

In light of the end of analogue TV broadcasting in Japan in July 2011, the Japanese government today announced that it’s considering providing up to 1 million households on welfare in this country with digital TV tuners – for free. Another 15.8 million households consisting of elderly or disabled people may receive aid in the form of vouchers, cash, or free hardware.

It is estimated that 75% of Japanese households still use non-digital televisions and wouldn’t be able to watch television in 3 years unless they upgrade. The government wants to urge hardware makers to offer digital TV tuners for prices under $45, down from $185 currently charged.

Digital TV is already available in most of areas in Japan. Most of mobile phones now sold in Japan are equipped with One-Seg digital TV tuners.

Today Panasonic Japan [JP] unveiled a new mini TV specifically aimed at Japanese women in their 20s and 30s. A marketing research company conducted a large-scale survey asking this target group what they would like to do while taking a bath (Japan has a unique bathing culture). 64% responded with “listening to music”, while 51.5% said they want to watch TV while sitting in their bath tub.

From June 20th, those J-girls can do both with the mini Viera TV SV-ME75 (165×90.2×14.3mm). The device will be available in white, black and – of course – pink.

The SV-ME75 is waterproof (up to 1 meter for 30 minutes), compatible to One-Seg digital TV and also comes with a recording function (on SD memory). The 5 inch screen boasts a resolution of 480×272. The device also supports audio files in MP3, AAA and WMA format. JPEGs can also be displayed.

The price is expected to be around $450 (Japan-only). Panasonic will also offer a trimmed-down version (SV-ME70), which comes without a recording function, for $380.

Nothing amazing here, but some of the handsets come with a couple of cool features.

Sharp’s 923SH, for example, is quipped with a 3.3 inch Aquos screen, a 5.2 megapixel camera (29 mm wide angle) and a 6-way motion sensor (pictured above). It also features a lexicon- and a map-key for direct web access to Wikipedia and Yahoo! Japan Maps.

The so-called “PREMIUM WATERPROOF 824SH”, also from Sharp, is the world’s slimmest cell phone capable of receiving One-Seg Digital TV (at 15.3mm thickness).

NEC’s line-up includes the super-slim 820N (11.3mm thickness) and a limited “extra-glamorous” model, which was designed in cooperation with a Japanese fashion magazine (821N GLA, pictured above).

Panasonic’s so-called TROPICAL 823P features the world’s biggest screen for waterproof cell phones with One-Seg compatibility (3 inches) and comes in 3 different trendy bodies.

Toshiba mainly focused on design with both their 823T and the 824T. The former model is targeted at males in their 30s and 40s. It comes with a special button, which after being pushed delivers news specifically filtered for Japanese men in this age group. Both phones feature One-Seg-TV compatibility.