Japanese Cell Phones
 

Hi All,

For those thats living in Japan or traveling in Japan now. Can one of you do me a favor and find out how much will it cost to purhcase a phone (Any carrier, Docomo, Softbank, au) without a plan. Please check the price for the latest phone for me

The reason I am asking is that, now that some phones support GSM, they become in demand here in Canada, however, some wants a steep price of USD$750 for a phone. So I am just wondering what is the buy out cost in Japan

Depending on the model, usually between 40000 around 50000 yen new in the shop.

However, I can`t really recommend buying one in Japan to use elsewhere. No, make that I can`t understand the point...
All the services are unique to the phone carrier, so at the best the only thing you`d be able to do is use the lower quality calling features and the camera. Text messaging supposedly uses a different format, as does access to the net via your phone... So it would be a real waste just to get a Japanese cell phone and lack the ability to do pretty much anything with it.

There are lots of GSM phones on Yahoo auctions Japan :
Yahoo!

I don`t think that is what the original poster wants, as those are foreign models. I was under the impression they were looking for Japanese models...

As Nyororin said, there really wouldn't be a point because most of the features of those phones are pretty much only in Japan such as the credit card thing, train ticket, and I don't think they even operate on the same frequency as the US does. Keep in mind though, what I listed was a fraction of what those phones can do.

Your better off looking at European phones if you want something that destroy phones Canada/US(I am assuming they are both about the same, which wouldn't take much), might I suggest the Samsung Omnia HD(spec wise, not features such as the credit card thing) which I think would easily rival any Japan or Korean phones for that matter.

Thanks guys

What kind of "unique feature" are we referring to? Most phones are not build specifically for one carrier (I worke din that field before, and was involved in some major phones out there now), so it can just be a matter of having the right tools to get it to work.

I can see that Live TV can be a feature, but its not a matter of the carrier, its a combination of things...

Streaming audio and video.. same thing... combination of things....

Thanks Nyorin, those prices sound reasonable.. more so than 800USD

When it comes to phones in Japan - they ARE made for one specific carrier. Each carrier has a large number of carrier specific services and features using their own formats - which simply do not overlap. This is why you never see "unlocked" phones in Japan, as it would be pretty much pointless to use one on another network as the only thing that would work would be the normal calling.

The way the phones are made and the service styles in the North America and Europe are drastically different than how things are done in Japan, so it`s really hard to compare. Figure on everything short of normal calling (and often even half of that as Docomo and AU use specific techniques to improve call quality which do not overlap or work on other networks) not working on another network. It`s not a software lock, it`s full out hardware differences... If you want to swap out parts, hack together a Frankenstein phone in order to get a handful of things to sort of work, feel free but I can`t see the point.

I have an iPhone. :D

The docomo network is lightyears ahead of the rest of the world in terms of what it offeres and how it works. I have never used it but I had to research it for an article I wrote a few years back.

Problem is as other posters have stated it doesn't work outside Japan.

What Cell phone brands do japanese like the most? I've always been curious about this P:

I don't know the brand but it looks like a rectangle I believe the top part can swivel sideways not sure. But I've seen tons of that phone.

Maybe a Samsung ?

For the period between 2008.11 and 2009.2 - the cellphone sales ranking.

1 ＮＴＴドコモ F-01A (Fujitsu)
2 ＮＴＴドコモ N-02A (NEC)
3 KDDI（au） EXILIMケータイ W63CA (Casio)
4 ＮＴＴドコモ P-01A (Panasonic)
5 ＮＴＴドコモ SH-01A (Sharp)
6 ＮＴＴドコモ N-01A (NEC)
7 ＮＴＴドコモ FOMA P906i (Panasonic)
8 ＮＴＴドコモ FOMA P706iμ（ミュー）(Panasonic)
9 KDDI（au） AQUOSケータイ W64SH (Casio)
10 ＮＴＴドコモ FOMA N706i (NEC)

I believe that total market share is Panasonic in first, and NEC in second...

Cool! I didn't even knew that fujitsu, Casio and Panasonic make cell phones.
Thanks.

They`re certainly the market leaders here.

My phone is a Panasonic, and I really cannot imagine using a different brand.

It is interesting that you say this because DOCOMO is the company that invented what became the UMTS/WCDMA 3G standard. They were using the transmission technology several years ago while the rest of the world putzed around with GSM.

Are Pocket PCs popular in Japan?

Not at all. The Pocket PC / Smartphone market is pretty close to nil.

In the early days if you designed an app you wanted to sell on DoCoMo you had to ensure if would work on EVERY phone currently using their network, even the out of date ones.

Blackberry/iphone are the best phones period.

Pick up a J phone on yahoo for as little as $10, but why??????????????

some docomo phones are worldwide and can be used overseas.

Is Nokia used in Japan?

I would assume, aren't they headquartered there?

*props for Portal*

I have a Docomo phone, and as far as I have been able to tell, Docomo phones are not unlockable, and will only work on the Docomo network. I have a 904i, which is a multi-band phone and GSM compatible. Docomo has a worldwide service called "Worldwing" which works in partnership with carriers in other countries. My phone cost about $550.

Some of Softbank's phones are unlockable (mainly the Iphone), as well as some of the HTC models. Of course, these are not Japanese phones, even though they are immensely popular (and expensive) here. Certain HTC models (H01XT and others) have been modified for Softbank so that they cannot be unlocked.

Most Japanese GSM-compatible phones will be the higher-end types, which will likely be more expensive than the garden-variety models. Your best bet is to search Docomo's or Softbank's sites for details about their phones, and then do a separate search on these models for details from users.

Yes, Nokia is used in Japan however not enough for Nokia. They recently announced that they will be abandoning the Japanese market because of lack of market share.

Not that I`ve ever seen.

J-Phone? Wow, blast from the past. :D My first cell phone 10+ years ago was a J-Phone.