The cellular spectrum

[azurite]

I never realized until today just how many cellular retailers there are in the Northridge Fashion Center. I knew of 2 immediately-- one that I thought was Cingular was actually ANOTHER T-Mobile (I already knew about one of the downstairs T-Mobile kiosks); there were no less than 6 that we saw total (for both T-Mobile and Cingular) on both floors of the mall. That's not including Verizon and Sprint/Nextel, neither of whom are an option for Japan.

The spectrum seemed to be crappy toward the back of the mall (dodgy service, stupid representatives), with the cool guys in the middle (though the end-middle guys were desperate, to the point of trying too hard), and the geeky freakazoids (tried to hit on me, thinks he's being original with a "^_^" signature) in the front.

Still, the guys Dad and I spoke to for nearly a half hour from T-Mobile have practically sold me on the silver Motorola RAZR V3. T-Mobile's BEEN an international company, and they just recently came stateside, so they're already well-established with partners in other countries like Japan. I checked their maps, and indeed-- they have high coverage right in Mito, partnered with --yes!-- DoCoMo.

The question then is, is the RAZR V3 a 3G phone, which is required by DoCoMo?

The guys at the T-Mobile booth seemed to insist I would *HAVE* to get a SIM Card in Japan (even though the RAZR already comes with one) and get some sort of a pre-paid plan, but then what I read on some forums, you CAN'T rent a SIM card in Japan-- they don't even use SIM, they use USIM or something like that. And if T-Mobile's got such great international coverage (and the RAZR is a quad-band phone anyway... though I don't know the first thing about how frequency/bandwidth works for phones, let alone internationally), why do I have to get a new SIM card at all?

On the DoCoMo website, it says that any 3GPP (3G Partnership Project) compliant phone will work with them, and I can even keep my own phone number. I'd rather not rent a handset, because it'll be so damn expensive. But then, I don't want to pay exorbitant amounts for roaming if it's not part of my (temporary) plan. I couldn't find anything on their site about renting a SIM card, and while I think they have some sort of pre-paid plan, I'm not sure whether you need to sign up for anything if you already have a roaming-capable phone.

Is there a phone expert in the house, because I am TOTALLY lost here. I'm also a total sucker for salespeople, so I'd like an objective opinion of someone who knows when they're being bullshitted or not. Dad was a good companion to have when I went shopping, as he asked a lot of tough questions, but I really wanna make sure I don't get scammed with all this sweet talk. If it's possible to just have ONE plan, ONE PLACE TO PAY, and ONE PHONE NUMBER, I will be ecstatic. If that's not possible, fine, but I only want to deal with ONE PHONE, period.

The nutshell:
* ONE PHONE for both Japan and USA
* Preferably ONE PLACE to pay (i.e. ONE BILL) for both domestic and international roaming (if not possible, do I need to rent a SIM card? Can't I just buy a compatible-with-the-network phone, select DoCoMo, and pay international roaming? Or do I need to talk to the DoCoMo people first?)
* Coverage in Mito, Japan from DoCoMo (requires a 3G-compatible handset) - partnership with T-Mobile (the DoCoMo website says T-Mobile's only 2G, but who knows how dated that list of partners and confirmed phones is?)
* I'd like a phone that I can download BEJEWELED (the game from PopCap Games) on
* It'd be a bonus if I could get a JAPANESE <-> ENGLISH dictionary (WAP? If I use DoCoMo as my network, does that mean I can download things from DoCoMo, or would I need a Japanese phone with iMode, etc? I don't want such a phone, because it wouldn't be backwards-compatible with the USA networks/features)
* If I can customize the ringer and/or wallpaper, that'd be super-cool
* I want to be able to KEEP my current mobile phone number and phone numbers

Is this possible?

Comments

[starrienite.livejournal.com]

Well, as you probably already know, the whole cell phone system in Japan is totally different to the rest of the world. As far as i saw when i was there, they've only really just started with *some* makes of phone being sim card capable. As for having the same number...i think its going to be pretty much impossible unless you want to pay a whoooole lot of money for it and then a whoooole lot more for the monthly bills. I think the best thing is to get a new one. Im pretty sure vodafone do some good 3G sim phones (which i think you can use when you get home). Best thing to do is to go to some english friendly shops when you get there (or if you have one, a Japanese friend is just as good). The shops where you usually find they have english speaking staff are mostly in the big cities (im not quite sure where you're going...) If you're going to Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya and i think Akiba are known for them. Also the businessy areas have english speakers due to...well...ya know, the businessy english folk (there was one right next to my work!) How long are you going to be in Japan for? Cause, if you are going to be there for a year, buying a phone there is uber cheap. I got mine for....1yen? and mine was a fancy pantsy does everything phone (however, not 3G...argh!) and i paid like, 6000yen a month. Even if you're only going to be there for say...3-6 months, its worth going on a plan. From what i remember, the contracts for phones usually go for a year and if you cancel before that year is up you pay around 4000-5000 yen for the cancellation fee (you dont pay anything if you cancel a year to the month when you bought it). Most phones in Japan (unless they're a gazillion years old) can be customised in every shape/size/ringtone/form. I had mine in pink ^__^v. You can dl ringtones, stick on little glittery things (phone decoration is BIG there man...some of the jewels i saw on some of the phones..O.O) I think you can also dl japanese to english and vice versa dictionaries to your phone. I know a friend of mine did that (she was on vodafone) and it was pretty good as it was always being updated with new words/slang etc (very useful when she was trying to chat up cute j-boys...lol) You can also arrange it so that your bill can come off either a) your credit card or b) you can get it sent to your address and then you can go to a convenience store and pay for it (most convini's do it)
Ok, i hope i've helped...or made some kind of sense...or something heh! If i havent, sorry for wasting reading time @_@. If you want to ask anything feel free and i'll see if i remember any other phone info ^_^

[azurite]

@_@ Wow, that's a lot to take in.
I'll be in Mito, about 2 hrs. (by train/bus, from what I've heard) NE of Tokyo.

I'm leaning toward DoCoMo for service, and it seems like T-Mobile does have international roaming where I'll be. Since the Japanese phones don't use SIM cards, I won't be renting one; I'll probably either have to get a phone card or just pay the T-Mobile roaming rates. I want to get the Motorola RAZR V3x, which customer service just told me *is* 3G.

>_> My only cell-phone bling is my Siamese kitten on a surfboard chain, which I got from Hawaii. ^^;

I didn't want to get a J-phone because it would have a ton of cool features that I couldn't have when I got back to the States, assuming I actually found a phone that worked in both places. I want as little hassle as possible, so I didn't want a new ph# or multiple plans, etc. Hopefully this thing with T-Mobile will work out~

[baine.livejournal.com]

As I told you before, T-Mobile is what I had in the States and they told me that it WOULDN'T work well if I brought it to Japan.

I do hear that DoCoMo or..something with a V...Voda, maybe? I forget...one of those two plans should be what you get while here. I've also heard that with..I think DoCoMo, you can bring the phone back to the States and have it work here, but that might be like what T-Mobile is telling you now and there isn't any truth in it. I wouldn't try getting a phone in the States b/c if it doesn't work, you'll have to break contract and it will wind up costing so much more money! Plus, here, a lot of people have phones that come with email and they also text a lot--in hiragana/katakana/etc.

So, like I said before..I would really wait. Ask someone on one of the forums I gave you, though--www.ithinkimlost.com and www.bigdaikon.com They're all in Japan now, so they may know!

[azurite]

When my dad and I did mall-trolling and we asked all four of the separate retailers, they all gave us different answers, as did the Cingular guys. I don't think half of them know what they're talking about, but the guys I spoke to did, much as I'd like to be the skeptic and think they're just trying to make a fast sell.

I did a ton of independent research (admittedly, some sources include the DoCoMo website and the T-Mobile International website), and found that if I get a 3G compatible Tri-band phone (e.x. the Motorola RAZR V3x), I will be able to tap into the DoCoMo partner network with great reception (or so their maps say). DoCoMo has wider coverage than Vodafone.

I didn't want to buy or rent a Japanese phone because I'd have a whole new phone number; I didn't want 2 separate phones because it's a hassle (if I got a phone with a SIM card), and the renting is expensive as all hell.

My plan is to get the RAZR V3x with 3G, make as few international calls (to the U.S.) on the phone as possible, and instead use Skype credits from my laptop. When people can call me though, it's not a problem.

I didn't want to get a J-phone because there are so many things I couldn't take advantage of if I took the phone back home; no Osafu-keitai, no infrared, etc. Someday the U.S. will catch up to Asia in terms of phones; until then, I hope I'm doing the right thing.