NTT DoCoMo still wants the iPhone

If there’s one thing you have to love about the iPhone, is that thanks to Apple’s tight control over their device, the iPhone does not come loaded up with carrier bloatware that can be typically found on other handsets. However Japan’s NTT DoCoMo is attempting to persuade Apple to bend their rules just for them, but it’s precisely because of bloatware which is why NTT DoCoMo isn’t carrying the iPhone 4S.

NTT DoCoMo is one of the largest, if not the largest, carrier in Japan, holding about 50% of the cellphone market and boasting 60m subscribers. Their insistence on adding its i-mode and e-wallet features to all their phones, iPhone included, is why Apple and NTT DoCoMo have yet to reach some sort of agreement.

The carrier has also expressed concern about the massive volume of iPhones that they would have to commit to as well, and they are worried that not all customers may stick around on their network for the iPhone, especially since it is being offered on other Japanese carriers as well. Will NTT DoCoMo succeed? It seems highly unlikely that Apple will agree to bloatware being installed on their iPhones, and if they were to give in to NTT DoCoMo, it would set a precedent with all other carriers around the world, something which we think Apple would like to avoid.