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cross-posting from the megathread: I would like to point out that if you're staying less than a month, it's often cheaper to just take your local cell phone plan with you and add international roaming voice + data. Last October my wife and I visited for 10 days, and a pre-paid SIM would have cost almost double.
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May 7, 2013 05:45
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Docomo is lowering smartphone prices The summer launch smartphones, including the Galaxy S4, will see their prices cut by about 1万. Its done to compete with KDDI and the Iphones. This was also an interesting addition, "NTT Docomo said Wednesday it will jointly develop smartphone applications for elderly people with Tokyo-based LINE Corp."
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May 16, 2013 15:07
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I'm going to Japan in September for a year and I'm looking for the most Japan friendly smartphone I can get in Belgium. Any ideas? What are the things I should ask the shopkeeper if I want to know if it will work on Japanese networks?
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May 20, 2013 14:08
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Unless the phone guy is knowledgable on phone freq. I recommend searching online at the phones you are interested and checking their bands. I pulled thiss off the Samsung Galaxy S4 wiki page, they have a nice table chart showing some cross info for countries. Docomo 3g: 800Mhz, 2100Mhz UMTS/HSPA+ Docomo 4g/LTE: 800Mhz, 1500MHz, 2100MHz (Cat3) KDDI/au is probably slightly different since they are CDMA. Looks like KDDI might be 3g: CDMA2000 4G LTE: 750, 850, 1500, 2100 I'm too lazy to look up Softbank. Its worth noting that some phones might support these bands, but may have them disabled by default due to law restrictions on the frequencies in your country. I know on the samsung galaxy phones you can put in some special codes and get in to engineering menus to enable the bands, but if its a very new phone you might have some trouble with this. Research your phone thoroughly before you buy.
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May 20, 2013 15:24
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If you're bringing your own phone in, your only option is to buy Softbank Prepaid, which is the same frequency band as Euro 3G. This will also not get you any data. Furthermore if you're only here for a year you will not be able to sign a contract with any Japanese phone company, they require proof that you can stay here for 2 years. Your only option is to take the same route I did (and believe me I did my research on this): bring in your own Euro-3G compatible phone, get a Softbank Prepaid phone (yes you must buy the phone), order a 400 yen SIM cutter off Amazon, cut the SIM card to your phone, then go over to BIC Camera and sign up on a 1-year contract for a portable wifi hotspot. (if you'll be living in a place that has WiMAX coverage) This has the benefit of being the cheapest option, by far, but also the most inconvenient. The situation is absolutely stupid.
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May 20, 2013 18:44
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NeilPerry posted:I'm going to Japan in September for a year and I'm looking for the most Japan friendly smartphone I can get in Belgium. Any ideas? What are the things I should ask the shopkeeper if I want to know if it will work on Japanese networks? just buy a Japanese phone in Japan. If you have an iPhone now, get one here and use your apps; ditto for Android. Jumping through all those hurdles listed above may be okay for some but you're still then not getting the full capability out of your phone. And once you get here, you can find some phones cheap (especially used) to lower the cost a bit. Or you can get the cheapest phone possible on contract and use a tablet or something with wifi, or just sign up for a 3G portable wifi hotspot thing and use your phone of choice on wifi only (I have a friend who did this for a while). One of my teachers has a large Android hand unit she has a data-only plan for, and then has a cheap flip phone for actual calling. Turned out that was cheaper for her than voice + data for a smartphone. Keep it as simple as possible.
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May 20, 2013 23:44
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Or you can just get a b-mobile SIM and not have to deal with wi-fi hotspots and the poo poo that comes with signing up for a plan with any of the three big providers. I've just used b-mobile's data-only prepaid cards so far myself, but they offer monthly plans with regular phone calls and LTE like this sumaho denwa SIM one, and a friend of mine has been happily using that. Do confirm that the phone supports the frequencies before buying, but I can't imagine that any smartphone sold in Europe wouldn't be able to get on the Japanese GSM networks. Thanks to b-mobile's efforts I don't see any reason now not to just bring your own phone into the country and avoid getting shafted by the horrible industry they've got running.
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May 21, 2013 00:11
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Hell I live here full-time and once my contract is up in October I'm probably going with something non-iPhone + b-mobile. Since April 24 I've only used 695MB of data so around 1GB should be fine. I'm getting tired of the whole contract racket too.
zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 01:28 on May 21, 2013 |
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May 21, 2013 01:07
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Just keep in mind the b-mobile SIM is slllllllooooowww to work and you won't actually have a phone number, which is not a good thing if you're looking for work. (though just fine with friends since everyone uses LINE anyway)
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May 21, 2013 06:55
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I think it depends on which one you get. The one Keito linked to also has a section about MNP so clearly you get some kind of phone number. http://www.bmobile.ne.jp/sp/mnp.html
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May 21, 2013 07:49
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You can get a phone number or you can get a data plan with b-mobile. Pick 1. If you have a friend with a Japanese phone number, you can use the 1GB prepaid card good for a month (instead of 2 weeks) with b-mobile. They just need to phone in the activation.
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May 21, 2013 17:19
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No, just read what's written about the plan I linked to. You get a phone number (no free minutes included, though) and select one out of three data packages to go with it (unlimited data at poo poo speeds, or 4G capped at 1 or 2GB/month before dropping to poo poo speeds).
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May 21, 2013 17:37
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OK, so I read through the OP and the last few pages, haven't seen this offer mentioned: http://japan-wireless.com/products.html#mobile wifi router Basically, it is a pocket sized mobile 4G router with wifi on the emobile network. Unlimited data at 4G speeds and the rates seem really reasonable! They deliver anywhere to Japan and you just post it back to them before you leave. Looks ideal, as I didn't really want voice calls anyway while I was over there. Looks similar to the xcom global thing mentioned in the OP except waayyyy cheaper. I am looking at doing this as I am travelling to Japan for 2 weeks with a buddy of mine. It is Y8300+500 shipping for this period, seems like a good deal. Anyone have any experience with this?
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Jul 15, 2013 03:29
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I'm going to stay in Japan for a year. Should I get a decent smartphone here and do all that sim card poo poo(cutting them out of a cheap cell and inserting it into the smartphone that I brought) someone described to me in this thread some months ago, or should I just get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 or iPod Touch and use Wi-Fi(and possibly supplement with a cheap rear end phone)? The latter seems cheaper if done in Japan, the former is a lot cheaper if I buy one here and bring it along. Honestly, I'd prefer not to have a smartphone at all and just get a cheap plan, but I keep hearing smartphones are pretty indispensable(especially in Tokyo). How true is that statement?
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Jul 21, 2013 13:52
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NeilPerry posted:Honestly, I'd prefer not to have a smartphone at all and just get a cheap plan, but I keep hearing smartphones are pretty indispensable(especially in Tokyo). How true is that statement? LINE/FB has pretty much supplanted SMSing for almost everyone i'm in contact with and I think you need a smartphone for that. Having a map is incredibly handy too (so skip Windows Phone, it uses Nokia's HERE maps that look like this for tokyo). For the iPod Touch idea, there's free WiFi around but it's all behind logins and they can be a hassle to get and it's not going to help when you're in the middle of Yoyogi park or something.
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Jul 21, 2013 14:11
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dazjw posted:LINE/FB has pretty much supplanted SMSing for almost everyone i'm in contact with and I think you need a smartphone for that. Having a map is incredibly handy too (so skip Windows Phone, it uses Nokia's HERE maps that look like this for tokyo). Yep and Docomo has started to phase out most of their feature phones and has replaced them with touchscreen/smartphones. You can still get some here and there but overall its smartphone. NeilPerry posted:I'm going to stay in Japan for a year. Should I get a decent smartphone here and do all that sim card poo poo(cutting them out of a cheap cell and inserting it into the smartphone that I brought) someone described to me in this thread some months ago, or should I just get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 or iPod Touch and use Wi-Fi(and possibly supplement with a cheap rear end phone)? The latter seems cheaper if done in Japan, the former is a lot cheaper if I buy one here and bring it along.
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Jul 21, 2013 22:05
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NeilPerry posted:I'm going to stay in Japan for a year. Should I get a decent smartphone here and do all that sim card poo poo(cutting them out of a cheap cell and inserting it into the smartphone that I brought) someone described to me in this thread some months ago, or should I just get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 or iPod Touch and use Wi-Fi(and possibly supplement with a cheap rear end phone)? The latter seems cheaper if done in Japan, the former is a lot cheaper if I buy one here and bring it along. just get a cheap smartphone, it's the simplest way to solve the problem. Instead of dealing with poo poo like cutting sim cards, unlocking handsets, missing features on whatever network you're on, etc. Having real map access, LINE and Facebook on top of features you'd get otherwise from other options (e-mail, Internet, etc) makes the most sense. I know somebody who used to use a wifi hotspot and an iPod Touch, but then the wifi hotpsot battery isn't the same as a real phone's so charging it can become a pain.
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Jul 22, 2013 00:58
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harperdc posted:I know somebody who used to use a wifi hotspot and an iPod Touch, but then the wifi hotpsot battery isn't the same as a real phone's so charging it can become a pain. Can't be much worse than a smartphone running LINE.
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Jul 22, 2013 01:43
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A cell phone running only the cell radio, is using a lot less battery than a device that has to run a wifi radio and a cell radio. If you're here for a year, it just doesn't make any sense to me to try and use a mifi dongle and a ipad as a primary means of communication.
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Jul 22, 2013 06:19
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NeilPerry posted:I'm going to stay in Japan for a year. Should I get a decent smartphone here and do all that sim card poo poo(cutting them out of a cheap cell and inserting it into the smartphone that I brought) someone described to me in this thread some months ago, or should I just get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 or iPod Touch and use Wi-Fi(and possibly supplement with a cheap rear end phone)? The latter seems cheaper if done in Japan, the former is a lot cheaper if I buy one here and bring it along. If you do the iPod Touch thing, you can get Wimax or some wifi router and install Line through that, and use Line for free calling. You won't have a physical phone number, but I'm not sure it's as important these days unless you need a contact number for job purposes or something.
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Jul 22, 2013 14:37
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I guess I should have posted this here instead: http://sankei.jp.msn.com/economy/news/130906/biz13090608380001-n1.htm
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Sep 6, 2013 02:36
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Selling a brand-new Softbank iPhone 5 this weekend, if anyone wants it. (got it as a warranty replacement from the Apple Store this week - it really is new) 3.5man obo; I live in Shinagawa.
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Sep 6, 2013 02:50
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Anyone getting the Docomo iPhone? I stopped by today since I plan to switch from AU. I was never impressed by AU's coverage in areas like Ikebukuro, but checking out the testing phones near the station was fast enough. No unlocks on the Docomo iPhone, which seems like BS since they were bragging about how you can unlock any phone with them. No push support for their mail either, although they told me it'd be coming next month. I guess I'll wait until then anyway since my AU contract ends next month.
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Sep 21, 2013 12:24
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Apple days are over, just picked up one of these: http://www.sharp.co.jp/products/shl22/ NFC, water/dust-proof, 3080mAh battery, 4.9" IGZO 720p screen, sweep to wake, Android 4.2. Seemed like a no-brainer to me. Sort of sucks that I'll have to rebuy a few apps, but oh well. Ends up as 7400 yen/month base, probably ~1000 yen/month more than I pay now but it's 7GB of LTE and includes tethering so 
zmcnulty fucked around with this message at 06:39 on Sep 25, 2013 |
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Sep 25, 2013 06:31
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Yeah but does it come in gold.? 
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Sep 25, 2013 07:52
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Black is the new gold
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Sep 25, 2013 08:12
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http://www.japanmobiletech.com/2013/09/mvnos-appear-locked-out-of-docomo.html Man, screw Docomo. First they go back on their promises of unlocking every phone, and now this poo poo? Along with their previous attitudes about the iPhone, I feel like I shouldn't be giving my business to such a hard-headed company. Anyway, I found this site which compares signal strength along the Yamanote: http://japanese.engadget.com/2013/09/24/iphone-5s-3-au/ Looks like AU is the overall victor in terms of LTE, including the Ikebukuro area so I guess I'll stay with them. Even the areas where the other carriers are better have an acceptable speed for AU, and places like Shinjuku there's a pretty big gap between them and something like Softbank. They gave me a 15000yen coupon to stay and upgrade, which doesn't really factor into my decision but it'll be nice either way. My main concern is whether or not you actually get LTE coverage in Ikebukuro station itself, I remember my friends with the iPhone5 complaining about how many areas would drop down to 3G, but this is when it first came out so it's possible that the network coverage has gotten much better within the year. I'll try and borrow their phones in the next few days, if the area around the station is stable enough, I'll upgrade this weekend. Original_Z fucked around with this message at 02:36 on Sep 27, 2013 |
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Sep 27, 2013 02:33
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I'll be staying in Tokyo for a year and am planning to get an iPhone, is it even possible to get one bought in Japan to work when I'm back in Europe? Is it possible to buy an unlocked one straight from Apple and just plop a Softbank/Docomo/Whomever SIM? The cost of the handset itself is not a major issue as long as I can use it back home.
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Oct 4, 2013 04:20
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Mecharasputin posted:I'll be staying in Tokyo for a year and am planning to get an iPhone, is it even possible to get one bought in Japan to work when I'm back in Europe? Is it possible to buy an unlocked one straight from Apple and just plop a Softbank/Docomo/Whomever SIM? The cost of the handset itself is not a major issue as long as I can use it back home. No unlocked handsets from either carrier here without a 24 months plan. Even then, only DoCoMo unlocks phones. Bmobile will work though. I've been using their smart phone sim with a nexus 4 from back home. paberu fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Oct 4, 2013 |
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Oct 4, 2013 05:47
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No carrier in Japan (or Apple for that matter) will sell you an unlocked iPhone, nor will they unlock it when your contract is over. If you buy one in Europe, you may be able to use it Docomo or one of their MVNOs, but there is a chance it will only be able to do 3G. Supposedly unlocked iPhones work great on Softbank, but last I heard they will not sell you a SIM to use in an iPhone they didn't sell themselves, so it's kind of a moot point.
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Oct 4, 2013 06:11
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Ganguro King posted:No carrier in Japan (or Apple for that matter) will sell you an unlocked iPhone, nor will they unlock it when your contract is over. What if I were to buy an unlocked iphone in the EU, get another one from softbank, sell the locked one and put the sim into my unlocked device? So much hassle :/
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Oct 4, 2013 06:49
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Just get on a contract here and then sell it on once you're done. It's the simplest way to get a (new) iPhone.
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Oct 4, 2013 08:27
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Why don't you get an unlocked iPhone from Europe and buy a Voice and Data Sim from Bmobile? If this isn't your primary way of accessing the internet then I think you'll be able to live with just 3G. With Softbank you'll also have to pay a fee for early termination.
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Oct 4, 2013 10:34
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bumpin' this thread to say that Apple is now selling unlocked, SIM-free iPhones directly in Japan through its online store: http://store.apple.com/jp/buy-iphone/iphone5s Break all the rules of the Japanese mobile phone industry, Apple. Deliver us from poo poo.
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Nov 24, 2013 11:17
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I'm visiting for a couple weeks and am thinking of going with b-mobile. I just need data for email, internet, maps, etc. Is that still recommended or should I consider other options?
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Nov 30, 2013 09:53
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Preparing to move overseas and looking at cancelation of my softbank contract. Half of it is the remaining cost of my iPhone, but half of it is "remaining monthly payments" which makes it look like I might as well just keep the service on until the contract ends, for the amount of money they are charging to cancel. Anyone have insight?
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Dec 2, 2013 05:58
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My work's encouraging me to get a smartphone, since I won't immediately have internet access in my apartment, apparently, and my trainer seems to indicate that getting internet coverage through my cell provider is the sensible way to go. This makes some degree of sense to me. What would I be looking at in terms of costs? I'd like to keep it under 5k a month for the phone because I'm a cheap rear end, but I'm not stingy on actual internet access at home because good lord am I addicted to this poo poo.
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Dec 13, 2013 03:45
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You're going to have problems then. If you use the internet like crazy, then you probably are going to want to go with the flat rate data plans which assume you'll be using a lot every month. Those run about 5k-6k at least. Then when you factor in the monthly payment of the smartphone, you'll be looking at a total monthly bill of 7k up to 12k. The monthly cost of the phone depends on whether you buy up front or if you decide to pay it off in 1 year or 2 years. There may be a few extra costs added on too that are like 500yen a month. For instance, I have Docomo and have their Flat Rate LTE plan (whatever its called). Soft cap at 7GB/month. I got a Galaxy S4 and opted to pay it off in 1 year. My monthly bill ranges around 11-12k a month.
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Dec 13, 2013 18:00
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Rogue 7 posted:My work's encouraging me to get a smartphone, since I won't immediately have internet access in my apartment, apparently, and my trainer seems to indicate that getting internet coverage through my cell provider is the sensible way to go. This makes some degree of sense to me. I bought my phone outright from SoftBank (new 5s) so that means my flat-rate data plan is about 6,000 a month. However, the phone alone was like 60,000. The price of the phone is figured in so much for most plans that 7,000 is a relatively good ballpark. That said, it's a necessity, so you do what you have to. A smartphone is basically a requirement since it allows you to keep in touch, use a dictionary, have Internet access, etc.
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Dec 16, 2013 01:01
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Rogue 7 posted:My work's encouraging me to get a smartphone, since I won't immediately have internet access in my apartment, apparently, and my trainer seems to indicate that getting internet coverage through my cell provider is the sensible way to go. This makes some degree of sense to me.
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Dec 16, 2013 18:24
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