Japanese Cell Phones

[Barone1551]

Thanks for the replies everyone!! They have been very helpful. I am just going over all of the posts and links now. I will try to figure out which i need. I will have a someone helping me with the fine print.

Thanks again!

[blimp]

i would recommend you to sign up with a proper plan, not a pre-paid. makes it cheaper to actually use.

although i wouldn't go as far as nyororin, I too stay away from softbank, since it is more difficult to calculate how much you will end up paying at the end of the month compared to the other carriers. on the other hand it is difficult to disregard from the low monthly cost of an iphone, especially if you don't call too much, or only call other softbank phone

if you want something really cheap perhaps you should look at Willcom (phs). Only time I used it was over 15 years ago so my knowledge is a bit outdated but it is said that the quality is not very good. you get what you pay for.

[WingsToDiscovery]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I think that the staff spoke English is a major key. You could get fine details, etc.

I don't know though...I really didn't ask any questions and I didn't do any kind of negotiating. I simply asked them for the most basic plan, plus a data package. This is something any Japanese person could do just as easily. There wasn't anything they told me that if they didn't speak any English that I couldn't infer myself if I spoke no Japanese either. Maybe unless the Japanese are screwing their own people over, which I don't think is the case. I don't know why your friends have had such outrageous bills.

[samokan]

I am a softbank user for the past 7 years. The only problem I had with them was when they started with iphone and somewhere their system got screwed. My cousin sent me a picture from her iphone to my normal phone and that image kept coming back till my bill went up to 30,000yen.

When I called the Softbank support center and even went to their office , their Services SUCKS!! nobody know shit.. My cousins husband call their office directly and was able to get hold of someone who knows what they were talking about and not reading from some manuals. Fortunately, all the bills were erased and I was charged with my normal bills which is around 3K.

But i stayed with softbank not because I like them but because its too troublesome to change numbers and I still prefer the SMS service over email. I don't surf the net with my fone or take picture with it .. so I am paying only the very basic.

So unless u really have too, don't get softbank.

Right now, AU has the widest coverage all over Japan. Then next is Docomo.
If you use your phone mostly for business purposes, I think Docomo is your best choice.

When it comes to customer support and services I think Docomo and AU are on the same level.

If you ever go with softbank because of Iphone or Ipad, be sure to read the billing details in their english website. Everything is there except they are written in really small letters

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by blimp

if you want something really cheap perhaps you should look at Willcom (phs). Only time I used it was over 15 years ago so my knowledge is a bit outdated but it is said that the quality is not very good. you get what you pay for.

We used Willcom (back when it was H") before changing over to Docomo when they stopped catering all that much to normal customers and switched almost entirely to business oriented stuff... When we were going to change phones, they had no normal phones. The Air H" phones were amazing for their day - you could use straight midi as a ring tone, and it was rendered beautifully (in the day when other phones were still beeping)...

They were great while we used them though! Back in the days before packet plans and when a single photo sent to/from a phone could cost 3000+yen, you could get online, send tons between other people on the same service, etc, and still not have your bill go over 2000/month.

Enough reminiscing though...

The big problem with PHS though is that the system is a lot more touchy than the cell system. Wonderfully cheap, great for data, high sound quality... But the signal area for each antenna is smaller, they tend to drop calls when you`re moving (like in a car), and they have lower building penetration ability. And as it`s a smaller company, they tend to have a smaller coverage area.

You can use them while in the hospital or sensitive environments, though - it`s the same type of phone that doctors use. It doesn`t interfere with equipment.
They`re incredibly popular with businesses because it`s almost impossible to rack up a high bill no matter what you do on them. As employee phones, I have heard of 600yen a month per person as calls between Willcom phones are free.

If you`re only going to be making phone calls and using it as a mobile modem (ie. not getting online via the phone itself), aren`t picky with the model of phone, and will be in cities for the majority of your time, I`d consider them a totally valid option. If you are going to be travelling a lot or living in the countryside, I`d stay away as they are pretty useless once away from cities and major tourist areas.

[Barone1551]

Thanks for the further help. This is really helping me out. I went to some stores today to look and got some good options.

About Willcom: I dont know if I am considered "countryside" where I am lol. Many of my Japanese friends say its the countryside, but where Im from it wouldnt be country side. I live in kakogawa, about 20 east of himeji.

[siokan]

Originally Posted by Barone1551

I live in kakogawa, about 20 east of himeji.

I do not think that there is a big difference if it is a city.
It is at the place that a big difference is where population are fewer than Kakogawa.

The reason for the point where Docomo is dominant is that it is state enterprises that originally monopolize the communication business.
The company that enters later hard fights because it inherited huge infrastructure.

[blimp]

aaa, the mobile phones of yesterday.
you could even make your own ring tones, don't think anyone does that any longer. i remember i had a black panasonic with tsu-ka which was pretty big in kansai. it had a jog dial on the side which i really really liked, much better than having it just on top of the key pad.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by blimp

aaa, the mobile phones of yesterday.
you could even make your own ring tones, don't think anyone does that any longer. i remember i had a black panasonic with tsu-ka which was pretty big in kansai. it had a jog dial on the side which i really really liked, much better than having it just on top of the key pad.

I make my own ringtones even now. :P
You can do it, it`s just a pain as they want you to pay for all of them... However I certainly don`t feel the urge to pay 500 yen for a 30 second clip of a song I actually own the CD of. There are some free programs out there that will let you convert music into a ringtone that you can send to your phone.

Back before I had an H", I had a J-Phone. Some of my friends had Tsu-ka. My very very first phone wasn`t even in color, and you had to pay extra if you wanted to use an email service (and it was expensive too. Cost too much for me.)

Crazy person I am, I keep all my old phones so if I were to hunt around my house I could find all of them and line them up.

[termogard]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

We used Willcom (back when it was H") before changing over to Docomo when they stopped catering all that much to normal customers and switched almost entirely to business oriented stuff... When we were going to change phones, they had no normal phones. The Air H" phones were amazing for their day - you could use straight midi as a ring tone, and it was rendered beautifully (in the day when other phones were still beeping)...

Thank you for the good information about PHS in Japan. I did not know that japanese engineers improved technology of cordless phones to PHS networks!