Originally Posted by
jamar
The short list of devices is primarily due to something weird b-mobile does with their data-only SIMs; they remove the voice component entirely, which a lot of phones don't expect, thus you might get odd errors or don't see any signal when there should be if the phone can't handle this. You don't see this in data SIMs from other countries because the voice component is still there, even if it redirects everything to a "you can't make calls from this device" prompt or something similar.
IIJmio offer docomo MVNO LTE contract sims with SMS now. I believe it is supposed to fix the "no signal" on non-voice sims.
https://www.iijmio.jp/info/iij/20130925-1.html
I believe there's also a newcomer U*Mobile sim with SMS?
http://mobile.unext.co.jp/umobiled/
Both probably aren't for the casual one-off visitor as they're contract related but might suit frequent visitors. IIJmio also offers a prepaid 500MB/3 month sim non-sms activated via phone (no mention of mobile only). The IIJmio contract sim seems to have an up to two month minimum and activation via web.
I'd have to agree that I'm leaning towards T-mobile for roaming purposes with light google maps & browsing use, especially in Japan. It isn't as if b-mobile speeds are that quick anyhow and the visitor sims are priced for a hostage market. $
20-50 for T-mobile including roaming in many other countries (helpful for layovers or multi-stop trips) vs $30-48+ for B-mobile or econnect... I might just live with the slower roaming speeds and sign up for wi2/sign up for 7spot/combini/starbucks wifi.
There's some talk that Tokyo police might require ID verification for data only sims, too.
http://www.japanmobiletech.com/2013/...ation-for.html The MVNO's (and major carriers) should really start thinking about tourism sims for their upcoming Olympics. They'd lose out on a lot of sales if data sims were also restricted to Japanese ID verification.