Japanese iPhone users can buy $1,000 cases from today

Despite being able to choose between an enormous number of super-advanced cell phones for years now, the Japanese have come to embrace the iPhone. The number of iPhones in circulation is estimated to have topped the 1 million mark quite some time ago, which triggered SoftBank BB (a sister company of Japan-exclusive iPhone provider SoftBank Mobile) to start offering something very Japanese and unique today: handmade iPhone cases [JP] priced at $1,000 each.

The so-called JAPAN TEXTURE [JP] series consists of a total of five cases with different designs. Created under the supervision of a historian, SoftBank says each case is covered with special lacquer and gold dust. It takes three to four weeks to make one, which kind of explains the price.

The main idea of these cases is to show how Japanese warlords from the Sengoku period would probably use their iPhones if they lived today. Each case comes with a specially designed pouch, a booklet explaining the historical background of the design and a storage box.

If you own an iPhone, have $1,000 to spare and a strong penchant for Japanese history, this might be the right thing for you (but SoftBank isn’t planning to sell the cases outside Nippon).

Japan Approves 3.9G Network Plans

According to multiple sources the Communications Ministry has approved business plans for 3.9G services submitted by four Japanese telecom operators; DoCoMo, KDDI, SoftBank Mobile and eMobile, with service roll-outs beginning in September 2010 through late 2012. The combined investments to build base stations, service equipment and related facilities for these new networks are forecast to top 1 Trillion JPY, or approx. $10 Billion, by 2014.

Among the four, 3.9G services are forecast to attract around 36 million subscribers, with DoCoMo projecting 17.74 million 3.9G customers. DoCoMo, KDDI and Softbank Mobile expect roughly 30% of their existing customers to switch to 3.9G services.