Apple Inc.'s newest iPhone models went on sale Friday in Japan ahead of their debut in the United States and other countries later in the day, with NTT Docomo Inc. offering the popular handsets for the first time.
The three-way battle to attract subscribers between DoCoMo, the nation's largest mobile phone carrier, and its two archrivals, Softbank Mobile Corp. and KDDI Corp., which already offer iPhones, is likely to further intensify given the handsets' continued popularity.
"I started lining up five days ago," said Sachihisa Saishiki, 45, who runs his own business and has camped outside the Ginza Apple store in Tokyo on at least six previous times.