Softbank Corp is turning to corporate users to stoke demand for Apple Inc's iPhone, as the initial hype surrounding the launch of the device in Japan fades.

Japan's third-biggest cellphone operator is pitching the iPhone as the ideal gadget for office workers to answer e-mail on the go, much like Research in Motion's BlackBerry is used in many Western markets, and said it would offer 7,500 of the devices for free trials.

"Wake up, Japanese businessmen," Softbank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son told attendees of a briefing for its corporate clients. "Having a weapon to fight is the quickest way to bring back high productivity in Japan."

In July, Softbank became the first Japanese carrier to sell the iPhone 3G as part of the gadget's global launch, beating out industry leader NTT DoCoMo Inc, which sells the BlackBerry in Japan.

The iPhone, which combines a music and video player, cellphone and Web browser, attracted a slew of buyers in the first few weeks after its debut, but its momentum is believed to have slowed.

Softbank has lowered the bottom end of the monthly fees for the device twice to boost demand, while the company's net subscriber gains came back down to pre-launch levels in August.

On Tuesday, Softbank gathered about 3,000 corporate clients to talk about the iPhone's benefits for business and demonstrated possible ways to use it in 18 different industries.

Apple holds a mere 2.6 percent share of Japan's personal computer market, but Mitsubishi UFJ Securities analyst Shinji Moriyuki said the market for the iPhone's corporate use could be big, because it would be easy to create new applications for the device.

"Companies can think of new ways to use it. It could especially make things easier for businesses that use visual effects a lot," he said. "If they recognise it as a strong marketing tool, it could replace their current dedicated terminals."

Son said he no longer needed to carry a laptop on a business trip and suggested that having an iPhone would cut 30 percent of personnel costs for companies, because normal business people spend that amount of their working time travelling or moving around -- time they could be checking e-mail if they had an iPhone.

"It will drive you crazy for the first two weeks because you are not familiar with how to use it," he said. "But after two weeks it becomes lovable. After loading 50, 100 CDs that you have at home, you can never let it go."

 Source:Reuters