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The letters a-u. The Willcom section is wildly inaccurate; well over half of the students I know with cell phones also have Willcom phones. They use their normal phones for normal stuff and Willcom phones for talking. Docomo and au really have comparable networks. I've never been anywhere (and I've been in some pretty hick areas and way up in the mountains) where I didn't have reception with au. The only place I've never had reception is in tunnels, which is to be expected; Docomo has repeaters in SOME tunnels in Tokyo, but that's hardly something to base your purchase on. Softbank can be spotty at times, but generally okay. The whole "young people have Softbank" thing -- I've never seen it out here. Most people (read: junior/senior high students) I know have Docomo with au second and Softbank third. Phone designs are usually cited as the reason, with the Softbank people all using iPhones. Does anyone have the IS11SH? Any opinions on it? I'm especially interested in its responsiveness and the screen. They have some crappy 3D lenticular screen on the display models and that would completely drive me away if normal 2D content looked like that as well. tarepanda fucked around with this message at 08:54 on Jul 14, 2011 |
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Jul 14, 2011 08:51
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dtb posted:Half? Wow. In all my years in Japan (of which many were spent as a student) I've met one person with a Willcom phone. Maybe it's a region based thing. The person I knew in Tokyo who had one was from Nara. It might be something with younger people. I'm talking junior/senior high here; I don't know about young adults or adults in general. If you go on social networking sites (like mixi or cgiboy) or read forums, a lot of people mention that they'll use phones and that they have Willcom phones (コム持ち).
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Jul 14, 2011 09:07
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That's less au and more your phone. If your phone's not compatible with the networks of the country you're in, then you're going to be out of luck no matter what country you're in. The only GSM band that South Korea has is 3G, IIRC. If you get a Global Passport-certified au phone, then you can use it anywhere. If it's not Global Passport-certified, then you're pretty much at the luck of the draw as to whether or not your phone works on the bands of whatever country you happen to visit.
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Jul 14, 2011 12:38
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You need a credit card for the au versions or they turn you down on the spot. I'm not sure about Softbank though, and I've never heard of e-mobile. Never in my five years here have I been able to get a card and it pisses me off. zmcnulty posted:Officially, buying prepaid phones in Japan requires a foreigner registration card. Getting a foreign registration card requires (at least) a permanent address in Japan. Thus, as a tourist, you will be unable to get a prepaid phone. Two things: One, it's officially an "Alien Registration Card," and two, you can get one on a tourist visa. Whether a company will be willing to give you a phone after seeing that your visa expires in less than three months is another matter. I did this and got a phone from an au store. tarepanda fucked around with this message at 13:11 on Jul 14, 2011 |
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Jul 14, 2011 13:06
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As far as I know, smartphones can only use regular internet and have no EZweb access.
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Jul 15, 2011 04:52
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I use it every now and then when I'm really, really bored.
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Jul 15, 2011 12:06
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These are for Japanese people to use and make sense if you live in Japan. EMOTIONS 1. Veins popping out on forehead. 2. Puff of air -- it can be used as either dust behind someone while they're rushing out, or someone exhaling. 3. Dancing guys, whatever. you're happy, there's a party, etc. I've seen this used... twice? 4. Spiral, usually used to signify depression. TEXT REPLACEMENTS 5. Post office 6. Ticket. 7. Beginner icon -- you see this in games and on cars too. 8. Slot machine 9. Bus stop 10. Onsen/hot spring 11. ココ, or "here" 19. Curry Rice 20. Bento 21. Onigiri 22. Senbei/rice cracker 23. Nabe stuff on a stick 24. Dango HOLIDAYS/SEASONS 14. maybe incense 15. fish windsocks for koibonori 16. wind chimes, a hallmark of summer/tanabata MISC 17. I think it's a golden Buddha. tarepanda fucked around with this message at 06:28 on Jul 18, 2011 |
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Jul 18, 2011 06:25
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If anyone here uses au (I seem to be in the minority), I have a relatively new iida G11, complete with box/manuals/etc that I'm looking to sell. It's a nice slider phone. PM me if you're interested.
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Jul 21, 2011 07:44
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Weatherman posted:All I want is a clamshell phone with a decent front-panel display so I can read my emails without having to open the drat thing! (Oh and a key that enters a space glyph when I'm writing in English.) That's what I thought I wanted too when I bought the G11. It's a compact slide with basic controls beneath the screen so you can just look at your e-mail without opening it.
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Jul 25, 2011 00:17
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Push 0 twice and it'll turn into a space.
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Jul 25, 2011 03:56
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I heard the other day that Softbank is now charging full price for their smartphones up front. Has anyone else seen this?
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Jul 29, 2011 00:25
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tyblazitar posted:So I'm a real noob when it comes to mobile phones, and still use a basic prepaid phone. However, I want to buy a smartphone while in Japan and get with the times, so I have a few questions. Yeah. Phones tend to be locked into one company. That's pretty much the only way that companies have to draw in customers. tyblazitar posted:I tried finding out about plans on their site, but my Japanese skills aren't quite there yet, and even with extensive rikai-chaning I didn't quite understand... well, anything. I'm looking for a one-year plan (or a longer plan without outrageous cancelling fees; I'm only staying about 10 months), preferably with packet-houdai and mail-houdai (or at least a high set amount), and maybe a few minutes included, but I don't call much. What kind of monthly fee am I looking at here, and how much for the phone itself? You can get a one month Plan SS (5 minutes or so) that will give you a base charge of around 1000 yen, then toss pakehoudai (unlimited data) on top of that. E-mail is just data, so it's included in pakehoudai. The shortest payment term on cell phones with au that I know of is 12 months, but I'm just saying that off the top of my head. When you cancel your phone, you will have to finish paying it off. Depending on what you get, where you get it, and what kind of deals you get, you're looking at a base charge of around 10000 yen. au pakehoudai works on a sliding scale; you pay for your data up to a certain point (6000 yen or so? It's been a while...) and then you just don't pay more than that no matter how much data you use. So if you go all the way up to that point, you could be looking at around 16000 yen a month. Phones are much more expensive here than in America. tyblazitar posted:I'm also interested in OneSeg, but I don't really know much about how it works. I'm assuming I'll have to sign up for extra services to watch TV? Is there any recording feature, or will I still have to watch stuff live? OneSeg is just watching TV on your tiny phone screen. Reception can be crap. Your phone can record shows. You don't really have to sign up for anything extra, though there are pay channels/shows/movies. tyblazitar posted:Finally, I'm guessing payment is always month-by-month? I would prefer paying everything in one lump sum when I buy it, both because I won't have to worry about bills every month, but also because I probably won't have a bank account immediately when I get there, and I want to get the phone asap. It's always month-by-month because they don't know how much they'll be charging you in the future. You may be able to buy the phone outright if you have 60000 yen or so on you, depending on what phone you want and how much it costs. Japanese plans don't give you the ridiculous minutes that American plans do, so if you use your phone more than the allotted 5 minutes (the cheapest plan), then you have to pay for the extra minutes. Like I said before, the data works on a sliding scale as well. It's not hard to pay. Take the bill to a convenience store and give them cash. tyblazitar posted:Speaking of getting it quickly, will I need the ARC itself, or is the little note saying it's being processed enough? They don't really try to bundle poo poo with phones here like in America. The only time I've seen anything like that is when someone asked if I wanted a microSD card. You will need your alien card. They need the number and the proof of your address/occupation/visa. Obviously they don't want to give a phone to someone with a 12-month contract if their visa is three months.
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Jul 29, 2011 11:50
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Ara posted:I just reply to people with SMS when they send me an SMS. Never in five years have I gotten an SMS from anyone except a foreigner... and that only once because I never replied.
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Jul 29, 2011 12:25
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tyblazitar posted:I'm not American, and I'm used to stuff being more expensive than in Japan. I am too, but that doesn't mean I enjoy paying 800 USD for a phone. tyblazitar posted:But if I have the processing note and my passport with the visa in, wouldn't that be enough? Not really a big deal, but again, if I can get a couple of weeks longer of service, then I want to. It wasn't enough for me five years ago. I needed the actual card with the registration number and all.
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Jul 29, 2011 12:53
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Ara posted:I'd say 75% of Japanese people that I've exchanged mails with have used SMS exclusively, with the occasional email when I guess they accidentally selected the wrong thing or something. But then I have literally never known someone who didn't have Softbank, so maybe that has something to do with it. I will admit that I prefer SMS on my phone since it has a nice green background with white text, rather than the email's black-on-white. Strange softbank people. White on black for life.
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Jul 29, 2011 13:51
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He realizes that, I think... since he talks about how you can condense using kanji. There's no point to SNS, though, when almost everyone has unlimited mail or data plans and e-mail falls under those.
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Jul 30, 2011 21:49
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Sorry for the double post. A local cell phone shop was running a massive promotion, (5000 yen in JCD gift certificates, 5000 yen in local gift certificates, 10000 yen off a new phone, and 10000 yen off for switching customers!), so I finally took the plunge, went to Docomo, and got the Galaxy S2. I still honestly prefer my old phone for the regular numpad. But it's nice having a variety of apps available on the go -- especially chatting and Google Maps. A few questions, though: 1. Are there any must-have, super-convenient Japanese apps? Tabelog or something comes to mind here. 2. Is there a way to set it so that the English input uses the keyboard and the Japanese input uses the numpad? Or should I just suck it up and use romaji? 3. Any must-have Japanese language learning apps other than ankidroid? Maybe we should add a bit to the top about common/useful apps for android/iPhone?
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Aug 1, 2011 00:57
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Kenishi posted:I'm actually kind of glad someone on here has a Droid phone from a provider in Japan. For non-JP phones we have to get an app called Simeji in order to get JP input on droid phones. I've been wondering for awhile if Simeji is a rip off of the default JP input system that comes with droid phones in Japan. If you would do me a favor and check out Simeji and let me know, that would be awesome. It sounds like a ripoff. I couldn't stand flick; it made me really, really slow. I imagine it would be faster once I got used to it, but for now I can tap the keys much faster than I can flick accurately. Right now I usually use the QWERTY keyboard and switch between Japanese/English input modes, putting up with romaji conversion/input. Kenishi posted:How are the Galaxy S2's they look realllly nice. Is the GPS functional on them? Many of the Galaxy S's had disfunctional GPS. Is it easy to root the S2's from Docomo? I like mine so far. The keyboard is much better than what was on my first generation iPod touch years ago; that was one thing that convinced me to go with the Galaxy S2. The GPS works fine; I just used it with Strava to record my short bike commute to school. No problems there. Google Maps works fine with it too. I don't know about rooting; I really don't see a reason why I'd have to root at this point.
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Aug 1, 2011 03:00
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No problems with speed. I mean, it's a dual core phone. I don't expect to ever have problems unless I'm playing some massive game on it. The normal Touchwiz interface was speedy enough, but when I tried switching to Launcher Pro, it was amazingly fast. Like I said, I hate the Flick system and use a normal pad; both the normal pad and the QWERTY keyboard romaji input have support for the predictive text system. I've only owned the phone for a few days and the GPS is fine. I'll be sure to complain about it if something happens... though I'm on Docomo's insurance, which means I get a free replacement if anything breaks. There's some bloatware, but none of it starts with the phone and you can uninstall it easily. Some of the things are nice; for example, the McDonald's coupon app is installed automatically and available in your app drawer. Some things are necessary, like Docomo's e-mail app for using your @docomo address. The phone was something like 55000 yen, but I got a lot of discounts for various reasons. I'm paying something like 1300 yen/mo over two years for the phone and insurance. As far as flashing new ROMs goes, I wouldn't really want to mess with that on a Japanese phone; there are a few things that I really feel like I need/want in the Japanese cell phone ecosystem, so I don't want to screw with that.
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Aug 1, 2011 04:43
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No, but only because it comes with Swype already installed.  There are also two sets of App Markets on the phone -- the normal Android App Market and a Docomo App Market. The Docomo one includes only apps filtered and inspected by Docomo. Apps bought there can simply be appended to your bill. The Android App Market is the normal App Market you love/hate and also seems to be able to charge your Docomo account directly if you register your address with gmail.
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Aug 1, 2011 04:55
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You can do it via QR code, I believe. I haven't tried it for myself yet, but the Docomo rep said that you can generate a QR code which, when read, creates a profile. I've seen it done on the XPeria and it was pretty slick -- much easier than finding IR ports and lining them up and waiting and all that bullshit. I didn't clearly answer your question because I don't know the answer. If it's not like Simeji, it's enough like what you described to be practically the same thing. You can try a phone in the store if there's anything nitpicky you're wondering about, but I'm not about to go download/install/set up Simeji when this works fine. Under input methods, I have Swype (Japanese compatible), Samsung Japanese Keyboard (not Japanese compatible), and Samsung Keypad (Japanese Compatible) listed. I've heard that the Amazon market is US-only.
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Aug 1, 2011 05:13
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3G bothers me. I asked the sales rep if 3G had solid coverage nationwide, and she said "of course." But my phone is constantly flickering from H (What the Hell?) to 3G. I'll point out that the Galaxy S2 has a lot of the Japanese whizbangs (including a terrible Docomo UI that I switched out of immediately) except for Saifu Keitai. Ugh. I ended up going with it because the Japanese phones don't seem to have a ton of mod/non-official support.
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Aug 3, 2011 23:58
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Wark posted:The H just means that a data connection has been initiated at HSDPA speeds. It'll sit at 3G when there's nothing accessing the data connection. (Or if for some reason there's no HSPA level access and it's using normal 3G data rates, I assume.) HSDPA is basically a technology that provides faster download speeds than stock UMTS/WCDMA 3G. Thanks for clearing that up for me. The keyboard crashes on me pretty much every time I open Android Market and try to search; it's really annoying.
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Aug 4, 2011 06:22
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Might as well try at the closest store to you before you spend money trekking out. Can anyone explain to me how Japanese landline phone numbers work? I'm always confused about what the hell I'm supposed to dial when an ad or something only shows four digits. tarepanda fucked around with this message at 02:31 on Aug 5, 2011 |
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Aug 5, 2011 02:00
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Aha. Thanks. Another Japanese smartphone gripe; the sp mode application DoCoMo provides doesn't allow you to pick the attachment field and take pictures; you can only attach things already in a folder on the camera. Likewise, when you attach a 11 MP picture, it doesn't give you an option to resize it... and there's no easy way to resize pictures on the phone anyway, so it can be really annoying sending pictures to people you know who don't have smartphones and/or aren't on unlimited data.
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Aug 5, 2011 06:48
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zmcnulty posted:Softbank has server-side image resizing for email anyway (and it's on by default), so at least someone @softbank.ne.jp should be OK. Too bad I can count my SoftBank friends on one hand...
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Aug 5, 2011 08:29
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If anyone else out there is suffering with a lovely Android keyboard, try the ATOK keyboard. It's pricey at 1500 yen, but it is amazing. It supports a keitai keyboard in Japanese and a normal keyboard in English, or keitai in both, or normal for both. The touch recognition is better than the normal Samsung keyboard I have despite smaller keys, and the key layout/punctuation are much more usable.
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Aug 15, 2011 14:53
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Why you so lovely, Apple products in Japan? Softbank doesn't want people sucking up data. Docomo has a separate pakehoudai plan that they apply if you start using tethering. It simply replaces the normal data plan and has a higher cap. Edit: My Galaxy S2 just crapped out on me. I don't know if it's been too hot and it overheated or what, but despite showing a signal, I have zero network access. Edit 2: Sigh. http://japanese.engadget.com/2011/08/16/sp/ tarepanda fucked around with this message at 07:38 on Aug 16, 2011 |
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Aug 16, 2011 01:14
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Kenishi posted:I'm still a little mind boggled by the packethoudai and the tethering thing. Unless you are using a specific Docomo based app which will let Docomo know "Hey! I'm tethering here!" I can't see how they would know what you are using the data for that goes through the phone. Tethering data, assuming you have a rooted & reflashed droid, should just look the same as any phone data I think. That's kind of the point. Rooting etc. isn't as big here as it is in America. Most Japanese people aren't going to go root their phone (if they even know it's possible) for free internet. I mean, we're talking about a people who are (generally truthfully) stereotyped as being so addicted to the rules that they queued up after the Tohoku Earthquake. I've never heard of what Interac is telling you. Maybe if you had a tourist or a one-year visa, but even then, I dunno. The helping with a phone contract is bullshit. It's a scheme. Softbank really owns the foreigner market hard, which is one reason I really don't want to go with them. I don't know about third-party maps, but I've found that the first-party detailed maps are pretty accurate. In my experience, I've never not had coverage with au or docomo (so far) no matter where I went (excepting obvious places like subway tunnels) whereas softbank friends have had intermittent reception/slow e-mails on mountains or at my apartment. YMMV etc.
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Aug 16, 2011 12:34
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If you can get to Akihabara, they should have English-speaking staff there.
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Aug 16, 2011 13:43
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LyonsLions posted:If all you want to do is call and text, you can get a simple prepaid phone at Best Buy or Target for like $19.95 and just put minutes on it every time you go home. I got a T Mobile one and it was $30 for a ton of minutes that I couldn't even use up in 3 weeks, and it's nice to have the same number every time I go back, with all my friends' information already in it. I always use my Japanese phone because I like having access to my e-mail. LyonsLions posted:You certainly have some interesting ideas. Softbank wouldn't be one of the biggest phone companies in Japan if Japanese people didn't use it. Third of three is certainly "one of the biggest," but... Nobody's saying that Japanese people don't use it, but that it's the company of choice for foreigners.
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Aug 16, 2011 16:06
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LyonsLions posted:Still not sure why foreigners using it makes it a bad company? Is it so other foreigners won't want to call you or something? It's not a bad company. It's that I don't want to be "following the foreigner herd" or whatever. HIPSTER FOREIGNERS REPRESENT. That and I have zero interest in the iPhone. And yeah, the idea of people not calling me is amazing. It's always foreigners that call me at 10, 11 at night. "hey man, do you want to com--" "NO." I'm a grumpy ex-pat foreigner-hating hermit, I know.
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Aug 17, 2011 04:46
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zmcnulty posted:Tata Docomo has like 40 million subscribers, all foreigners. So be careful, an authentic Japanese person may think you're a foreigner by association. Don't want anyone making that mistake. India, yeah. Totally. It's not "being thought of as a foreigner" that bothers me, it's "following a herd of foreigners because they're foreign" that bothers me. Almost every new ALT here signs up with Softbank because another foreigner they know is with softbank and that whole herd mentality bothers me. Oh, a foreigner found a restaurant? Suddenly all the foreigners go there and only there! Oh, a foreigner found a bowling alley? Suddenly all the foreigners go there! It's boring and I don't want to be a part of that herd.
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Aug 17, 2011 05:20
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zmcnulty posted:This has nothing to do with being foreign It does for me. I've been saying over and over that it's just me. I don't want to be a part of the foreign herd. We've been having a stupid fight over my personal idiosyncracy. :P (Barely related, but it irritates me when people want me to get an iPhone because Softbank has it and all that stuff will be free -- well, I'm sorry, but it's all "free" to me anyway since I have unlimited data. Big deal.)
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Aug 17, 2011 06:14
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Docomo, unlike Softbank, has a tethering unlimited data plan.
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Aug 21, 2011 13:26
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Apps I recommend for the S2: ATOK keyboard This keyboard, its layout, options, dictionary, everything are worth the 1500 yen. It never crashes, unlike the crappy Samsung keyboard, which crashed multiple times a day for me. ????QR??? This lets you write up your contact information and generates QR codes for people to scan. You can make codes for all three companies and add/remove information from your profile easily. Beats bumping phones for IR, especially if you don't have it. tarepanda fucked around with this message at 08:01 on Sep 4, 2011 |
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Sep 4, 2011 07:50
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Softbank already does that, but NTT seems to have taken a stance against it with their multiple unlimited data plans for various types of usage, so I really hope it doesn't change...
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Sep 16, 2011 05:01
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seorin posted:I've read through this entire thread and poked around on the websites for the big three, but I still feel pretty lost - especially since the websites seem really reluctant to disclose price. I'm only going to be here for a year, so I'm pretty sure that I have little choice but to bend over and take it, but I'd like to minimize the damage if possible. Smartphones are very, very expensive here. There are free old models of normal clamshell phones at every store; prices aren't disclosed online to get you into the store. Shop around, because even insode the same company, there will be a lot of different sales and specials. Your best bet for now is to go with a rental phone from a company that caters to tourists -- check google. You won't even be considered for a contract until you've applied for your registration card.
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Sep 18, 2011 03:01
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I meant something more like this: http://www.rentafonejapan.com/
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Sep 18, 2011 04:15
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Sheep posted:Except the iPhone, which is at once both the best phone available on the market, as well as one of the cheapest current generation phones. Go figure. Mobile web is why a lot of Japanese people have both smart and silly phones. Docomo has/had a nice deal where a second phone (silly) would net you a free Galaxy Tab too.
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Sep 19, 2011 14:11
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