San Francisco: Japanese web and telecom conglomerate Softbank Corp is working with Apple Computer Inc to develop mobile telephones with built-in iPod music players.
The music-playing phones can download songs from Apple's iTunes Music Store, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said in an article posted on its website on Friday.
A spokesman for Apple in Cupertino, California, was not immediately available for comment.
The report said Apple and Softbank have agreed to co-develop the phone for sale as early as this year. The device is expected to carry both the Softbank and Apple brands, the report said.
Softbank, which said last month it would buy Vodafone's Japanese mobile phone business, appears to be looking to use the power of Apple's brand to compete against mobile market leaders NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp.
Last year, Apple and handset maker Motorola Inc introduced a music-playing cellphone known as the Rokr that has received disappointing reviews for its design and the limited number of songs that can be stored on the device.
Speculation has mounted that Apple is developing its own mobile phone popularly labeled the iPhone that will combine the stylish design of its iPod music and video player with mobile phone features.
