vB Easy Archive - using 903SH in Japan?

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using 903SH in Japan?
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Posted by: davichan

hello,

So I am planning a trip to Japan this spring, and want to know has anyone had any experience using their sharp 903SH over there?

I am currently rocking mine out with the HK firmware, living in NYC, using Cingular, with no problems at all.

From what I know, and read, I will have no problem roaming onto a Japanese network with cingular 3G (UMTS) this is true? $$$$ although.
has anyone had experiance with this?

I was hopping if someone knew if I could purchase a prepaid Japanese sim card (at like am/pm store, or local vodaphone in JP), like I do in HK and still use the 903? with a Japanese number of course?

thanks for any help?
-davichan

Posted by: dimension6

I'll be hopping back to Japan next week (live in Honolulu), and reportedly, the 903SH will work on roaming with T-Mobile (what I use), at a relatively expensive $2/min. The Japanese networks don't use SIM cards (the 903SH only has a SIM card for the global roaming, which is how it works in America; Verizon and Sprint don't use SIM cards either, as their network is more similar to Japan's). You may be able to roam with Cingular (if you want to pay for it). I also have a Vodafone prepaid phone to use while I'm over there (with a Japanese number)...they're pretty cheap, but you have to go through a bit to get one, and it's possible they'll ask for your alien registration card (required for resident foreigners).

Posted by: Pozzy

Quote:

Originally Posted by davichan

So I am planning a trip to Japan this spring

How long will you be in Japan? If it's longer than a month, I would suggest going on a cheap contract with Vodafone as it will be a lot cheaper than using your current provider. If you are in Tokyo, go to the Vodafone Shibuya outlet & talk to Mami. Tell her Poz (Pozzy) sent you and she'll take good care of you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davichan

From what I know, and read, I will have no problem roaming onto a Japanese network with cingular 3G (UMTS) this is true? $$$$ although.
has anyone had experiance with this?

As long as you have a provider in the USA and don't mind paying the HUGE roaming charges for phone calls and data, then you are pretty much set and good to go.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davichan

I was hopping if someone knew if I could purchase a prepaid Japanese sim card (at like am/pm store, or local vodaphone in JP)

Yepper you can, they generally cost about 2000-5000 yen depending on where you buy it from (5000 yen at Vodafone or as low as 2000 at a general keitei shop) but I haven't seen any for sale at AM/PM, 7-11 or Famima (Family Mart)

Posted by: davichan

thank you,
i will be in japan for only around two-three weeks the most.
I think i will most def just go to a cellphone shop and get pre paid sim card then. I am happy to know that works out all good. thank you for the information. good looking out.

best,
-davi

Posted by: phantom45f

Quote:

Originally Posted by davichan

hello,

So I am planning a trip to Japan this spring, and want to know has anyone had any experience using their sharp 903SH over there?

I am currently rocking mine out with the HK firmware, living in NYC, using Cingular, with no problems at all.

From what I know, and read, I will have no problem roaming onto a Japanese network with cingular 3G (UMTS) this is true? $$$$ although.
has anyone had experiance with this?

I was hopping if someone knew if I could purchase a prepaid Japanese sim card (at like am/pm store, or local vodaphone in JP), like I do in HK and still use the 903? with a Japanese number of course?

thanks for any help?
-davichan

You can roam over there using Cingular, but not there 3G (UMTS) service, since they dont have any compatable phones as of yet (plus, the US version of UMTS is not the same as Japan/ROW) You would just be roaming and you would be charged Cingulars roaming rates, which are considerable. I would suggest getting a prepaid vodafone SIM and getting the Internet service activated and then you could use the full potential of the UMTS of the 903. The vodafone prepaid sims are considerably cheaper to make calls from.

Posted by: dimension6

Exactly what are these Vodafone prepaid SIMS that you can buy? I have a prepaid Vodafone JP phone, and it certainly doesn't use a SIM card...I'm not even sure it's possible to sign up for any prepaid service without purchasing a phone.

Posted by: phantom45f

some of the japanese vodafone phones do come with sim cards. The 902 came with one when i got it. It might be the case that you cannot buy a sim and might have to buy a prepaid phone, all the other vodafone countries just have sims, but that is because they are GSM.

Posted by: AL9999

Vodafone in Japan is different to all the other Vodafones in the rest of the world. They run their prepaid service using only 2G PDC phones, which don't use SIM cards. In Japan SIM cards (or USIM cards in this case) are used only for 3G phones, and only on a contract basis.

Posted by: yakuzasentinel

Right, they make you purchase a whole prepaid phone, and they sell refill cards at convenience stores or at the vodafone shops. I also believe they ask for some sort of ID upon purchase to store in their database now to prevent phone fraud..or something like that.

Posted by: Kevbodian

Quote:

Originally Posted by phantom45f

sorry phantom. if he was on cingular, and cingular knew he was going abroad, he MIGHT be able to ROAM. when ROAMING in JAPAN you will be on the 3G/UMTS network.

unfortunately there is NO vodafone prepaid SIM in Japan. Vodafone KK's prepaid system is using older phones that don't take USIMs (SIMs).

Posted by: Kevbodian

dang AL9999 u too fast!

Posted by: dimension6

If you need a phone while you're there, you should just pick up the V102D...

http://www.vodafone.jp/prepaid_en/kisyu/index.html

A number of my friends bought these, and they are really cheap (as little as 2500 yen or something in some stores if I can remember correctly).

Posted by: AL9999

Haha I don't actually check this forum as often as I do the other two, so funny I should be the faster one

Spec wise the V102D is kinda dated, but yes it's a cheap prepaid if you want one. I'd personally prefer the V302SH, which is in fact a GX25 for VF Japan's 2G PDC network (although the prepaid version is an ugly yellow colour). But you need all sorts of ID for prepaid phones in Japan now, and I'm sure if you're a foreigner one of those things is the Alien Registration Card, which only people living there longer than 90 days can get from the JP government.

Posted by: Junglizt1210

If you use Cingular yes you can roam in Japan (contact Cingular just to check, and tell them you have a 3G W-CDMA phone anyways from Japan just so they don't lecture you about it etc) - You will be roaming on a 3G network (There is no GSM there) and the V903SH can use 3G W-CDMA frequcnies.

Posted by: dimension6

The v102D is available in at least 4 colors, and serves well as a basic phone. Vodafone doesn't generally require the alien reg card for prepaid service (I had no problems, but I had to wait around 30 minutes for the activation etc.; though, I was there on business).