Regarding Japanese Handphones

[midnightspiral]

Since my handphone is starting to malfunction recently, and the fact that I will be making a visit to Japan in a few months, I have this idea of buying a Japanese handphone to replace my current one.

And I have several questions regarding this issue, and I'll be forever grateful to anyone who will take their time to clear my confusion!

Firstly, the cost of a Japanese Handphone without contract and plan. Is it around $100? $200? $500? $1000?

Next, since I live in SG, I uses a SIM card; so, is every Japanese handphone compatible with it? If not, is there only certain brands or model or even none at all compatible with a SIM card?

Another question is...is it able to send and receive sms? I've always just heard about sending and receiving mails whenever I watch dramas or anime.

Last but not least... I would love to hear your opinion on this matter! Is it doable? Or I should just stick with changing my handphone for free when my contract is over?

Much thanks to anyone who bothers reading all these and replying!

[Sangetsu]

Some phones sold in Japan can be unlocked and used with a different sim card, but there aren't many of them. None of Docomo's phones can be unlocked, and just a few from the other carriers are unlockable.

Japanese phones also work on a 3G system, and not the GSM or GPRS systems which are common in other parts of the world.

Japanese phones do have lots of features, but those features do not work outside Japan.

If you want a good phone which can be used anywhere (including Japan), look at HTC models.

[midnightspiral]

Thanks for your reply!

I had been wanting a NTT DoCoMO phone ):

[discoiskinky]

simply googling your question would result in all the information you need.