Please help!!! Using a mobile phone in Japan...
 

hi... i really hope someone out there can help me. i'm so confused!!!

my son is going to japan from the uk and needs a new phone before he goes. so...... i want to buy him a phone that will be good here in the uk but that will also work in japan.

i've heard that phones only work in japan if they are 3g. no problem the phone i'm thinking of buying is 3g.

but i've also heard that 4 quads don't work in japan.

i can only find a phone that is a suitable price that is 3g and 4quad.

will this phone work?

it's a sony ericsson elm.

here's all the spec.

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsson_elm-3057.php

my plan was to buy the phone here in the uk. buy a uk sim for him to use here and when he first arrives in japan. get the phone unlocked before he goes. let him buy a japanese sim when he gets there but he can use his uk sim in japan until then.

will my plan work with this phone?

many thanks from a very frustrated mother!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Any phone that supports the world 3G standard frequency of 2100 MHz will work in Japan.

I have no idea what a 4 quad is, but I think you mean quad band GSM. That's correct; it won't work there if it's only quad band GSM. But many many phones are quadband GSM and 3G 2100 MHz. As long as the specs say that the phone supports "UMTS 2100" or "WCDMA 2100", you'll be fine. Any 3G phone you buy in the UK will almost certainly be such a one.

Also, make sure whatever SIM you buy allows international roaming in Japan. Many prepaid SIMs don't.

Another wrench. From my understanding, one cannot buy prepaid SIM's in Japan. You'd literally have to buy a Japanese phone (another fiasco right there), throw it away, and keep the SIM. However, a secondary market via Yahoo Marketplace might exist.

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How long will he be there? A rented Japanese phone with free incoming calls may be a better idea due to the lack of prepaid SIMs in Japan

How interesting! Is any flavor of iPhone sold in the USA (both ATT and VZW) usable in Japan?

Agreed that he won't be able to buy a SIM from the information we know. I rent phones from Rentafonejapan when I go. It works out great. There is more information on this topic in the Japan forum at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/japan...one-japan.html

How long will he be there?

What will his status there be? Working? Student? Vacation?

I have used my ATT iPhone in Japan. Cant remember if it was my 3g or 4 (probably the 3g I only upgraded recently).

Yes. the Iphone has the 2100 3G band, in addition to the North/South American 3G bands.

As mentioned previously, the AT&T iPhone will work in just about any country because it is quad band GSM and triband 3G. Well, to be precise, the AT&T iPhone 3G, 3GS, and 4 will work in Japan. The original iPhone will not.

The Verizon iPhone uses Verizon's network technology, which is far less common in the world. It will work in the US, Canada, parts of central/south America, Israel, and parts of China (and a handful of other countries).

As mentioned in previous posts, you cannot easily buy a prepaid phone or SIM in Japan. Prepaid phones are generally available only to residents, though there can be exceptions.

You can rent a SIM from SoftBank for ¥105 per day, plus usage. Incoming calls are free. Outgoing calls are ¥105/minute. Messaging and data charges are additional.

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/phones/sim3g.php

You might be able to find deals on rental phones. Passengers on ANA can reserve a phone with no daily rental fee, just usage charges. I think I've seen similar special deals from some of the mobile rental outlets in the arrival lobby at Narita.

I still find the usage rates for prepaid and rental phones in Japan to be very steep compared to other countries. I carry a prepaid phone primarily so that others in Japan can reach me, but for making calls I'll generally use a land line or pay phone for calls within Japan, and Skype or MagicJack for calls outside of Japan.

I've heard that Verizon CDMA phones may now work in Japan now through a roaming agreement with KDDI, but coverage may be spotty. I believe that Verizon's roaming rate may be over $2/minute.

Yes both Iphones, ATT and VZW will work in Japan. Japan has a lot of CDMA network there too. I was there last month and was jumping from CDMA to GSM on my now returned Droid 2 Global. I had my Droid X with me as well. It was picking up a signal (its only CDMA) I also had forced my Droid 2 to go over to CDMA only and it worked.

Yes, I was there last week with my Droid X (Verizon). It roamed on KDDI. Verizon's roaming rates are very high, though -- $2/minute for voice calls, and an astronomical $20/MB for data. So for example, downloading Kyoto's tourist map (6.8MB) would cost $140.

I left data roaming turned off; I understand it's only 1x (56Kbps) speed anyway. I was able to receive text messages okay (5c each regardless of text plan) but wasn't able to send any.

Data would have been more useful to me than voice; I might consider renting a MiFi hotspot on a future trip.