"There are people who want something other than the iPhone, and Softbank is not short-changing those customers," said Softbank CEO. He stressed that all of the seven smartphone models the company is launching carry the latest 2.2 version of Android, which is "far superior" to the previous 2.1 version.

China's Alibaba is in talks with one of its investors, Japan's Softbank, to form a tie-up to help merchants from their online marketplaces sell into each others' markets, according to a source familiar with the situation.