NTT DoCoMo SH-07B, few questions before I buy

[xaxisy]

Hello All!
This is my first post in this forum.
I have read a ton of information about the SH-07b phone, and am highly considering getting it, however, there are a few things that I can't seem to find any info on:
I have read and watched just about every review of the phone (even the ones in Russian, as I am from there :P), and none of them really mentioned anything about this.

I am with Rogers, living in Canada, and I don't use my phone for much aside from calling and sending SMS (no browsing or stuff like that). What bands does this phones use?

Rogers uses GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA(3g) 850 and 1900MHz, what does this phones support?
I also frequently listen to music, does this phone support MP3, or am I limited to WMA and AAC, also, waht about pairing with BT headphones?

Also, anyone know why the certain functions are limited? for example GPS, is it AGPS or an dedicated GPS module?

Lastly, file transfer, is there any USB functionality on this phone?

Thanks!

[cheeseus]

Hm... you didn't read enough.

1. DoCoMo's support 800, 1700, 2100 MHz. Others will help you here.
2. NO mp3.
3. WMA/AAC will ONLY work if you are lucky enough to have the HyperSIM / SIM combination unlock MTP mode. You might want to read through my thread where I struggled to get music to work on the SH-01B (all DoCoMo's are the same in this respect):
4. You shouldn't have any problems pairing BT headphones. BUT you cannot transfer images/audio via Bluetooth.
5. No GPS and NO other internet-related functions.
6. USB works as long as you have the proper USB cable. You don't need a genuine FOMA USB, almost any USB cable that has the Sharp proprietary connector on one side will do the job - I personally use a GX15 cable that also works on the 902SH, 904SH, and I guess tons of other Sharp phones.

[yamanote]

For GPS- it's a dedicated module but for some reason can't pick up coordinates outside Japan. On most phones anyways- I think eddieroolz (or was it someone else?) has a docomo keitai which displays correct coordinates for his location.

Obviously it can't show a map or anything since you have no data connection.

[qwerty1235]

I am with Rogers, living in Canada, and I don't use my phone for much aside from calling and sending SMS (no browsing or stuff like that). What bands does this phones use?

Rogers uses GSM/GPRS/EDGE/UMTS/HSPA(3g) 850 and 1900MHz, what does this phones support?

SH-07B supports 800/850/2100MHz UMTS/3G and 900/1800/1900 GSM. Might be able to use 3G for both incoming and outgoing calls if you can find a compatible 2040 ROGERS SIM card.

I also frequently listen to music, does this phone support MP3, or am I limited to WMA and AAC, also, waht about pairing with BT headphones?

No MP3 support. Only WMA can be played in the MUSIC PLAYER and AAC files can be played though imotion/movie in Data box.

A2DP bluetooth audio works fine, i.e. streaming to bluetooth headphones or compatible A2DP car stereo.

Also, anyone know why the certain functions are limited? for example GPS, is it AGPS or an dedicated GPS module?

GPS app attempts to connect to the network to get faster positioning/load map data thus giving an error message and cannot be used.

Lastly, file transfer, is there any USB functionality on this phone?

Yes. Can be used in communication mode for use with software, mass storage device or a MTP for WMP syncing.

[xaxisy]

Thanks for the quick replies!
cheeseus - Thanks, yes, indeed I did not see any thread about struggling to get WMA playback working, thanks, I will take that into consideration.
Also, does the hypersim lock such things as audio, okay, I phrased that wrong. What I mean is that does picking a wrong hypersim card limit more things than others?

qwerty1235-Thanks for the clarification, it's much appreciated!
I'm glad that the SH-07b supports all the networks, really nice to have that feature in case I travel.
What did you mean thogh, 2040 sim?

AMyamanote-Sad that this is the case, but it's not fatal, I've got a GPS in my car, so looking at a phone while driving would be dangerous :P
Too bad I don't have a firmware update for the phones (or keys to sign it), as I would love to see why/how they have limited to always using AGPS.

Thanks for all the great responses. I have bought the phone off of Keitaiinus for $350, he suggested that I pick a hypersim, unfortunately I haven't the slightest idea of which one, any suggestions? He suggested this one:
http://tinyurl.com/62ml8y5 (ebay link)

The features that I care about are calling, SMS, camera/recording and audio playback.

Also, too bad there is no software unlock (as per US phones, where you enter an unlock code) on the other hand, DoCoMo are providing this for new cellphones.
Too bad it only works on April 2011 models and up.
Thanks!

[qwerty1235]

What did you mean thogh, 2040 sim?

Sorry I mean a 3040 ROGERS SIM, not 2040. It's a SIM that supports 3G incoming/outgoing calls. Just look at your serial number on the back of your SIM to see if it's a 3040 SIM.

[yamanote]

3040 SIM is a(n old) type of Rogers SIM on which it's been confirmed that 3G in/out works fine.

Look at the numbers on your sim card- if one of the rows have '3040' etched on (third row I think?) you should be able to get 3G in/out working fine. Otherwise you're limited to 2G.

If one of the rows say 4000 then you'll need an iNEX hypersim to get in/out working at all. Or at least that's what I heard several months ago... something's probably changed. Yeah Mr SIM is pretty good from what I've read.

EDIT: qwerty1235 beat me to it by literally several seconds

[qwerty1235]

So 4000 also works now? And only with iNEX?

EDIT: qwerty1235 beat me to it by literally several seconds

I also hate that when it happens on Facebook.

[cheeseus]

Also, does the hypersim lock such things as audio, okay, I phrased that wrong. What I mean is that does picking a wrong hypersim card limit more things than others?

If you are lucky, your hypersim / SIM combination will unlock MTP mode for the USB connection. If you get MTP working, you can play WMA files in a "real" player, meaning you can create playlists. Otherwise you are limited to manually playing the next track. If you can't get MTP, you will need to convert your music files to MP4 to play them on the phone and they will be located in Data Box > i-motion/Movie, not as you would expect them to be, in Data Box > Music.

If you get a USB cable (see my previous post) you can download one of two available free applications for transferring files to the phone without the need to rename files (but you will have to rename if you decide to put files on the card by using a card reader). Here's a link to the cable on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Data-Cable-C...item5ae0f9cbe5 Pretty cheap and will also give you USB charging.

[xaxisy]

That's really odd that MTP is locked.
Is there a chance that the camera is locked too?
And I will check to see what I have in terms of SIM card, I seem to have left my phone in the car.

EDIT:
What if I switch to Telus/Koodo mobile, will the phone still work there?

[yamanote]

So 4000 also works now? And only with iNEX?

I thought 4000 series SIMs have always worked with inexes but I could be wrong...
Someone correct me or confirm this please

Camera will never be locked, hell, it works without a sim inserted lol.

Sent from my GT-I9100

[xaxisy]

Camera will never be locked, hell, it works without a sim inserted lol.
Sent from my GT-I9100

That's awesome, however one thing I don't understand. If the camera is not locked, why whould they lock the music player - I mean MTP?

Also, I have both "2040" and "4000" on my sim card.

[yamanote]

You havea 4000 sim so you'll probably need the inexpensive.hypersim, unless something's changed. 2040 means nothing, it's 3040 you want.

MTP isn't locked but for some reason requires auto time correct to be turned on to work. Do a search for more information.

Sent from my GT-I9100

[xaxisy]

Thanks yamanote!
That's good, I bought the Mr Sim from my ebay link. Hopefully that will work with my 4000 SIM. (I just wish that the damn Canada Post strike would be over so I can get my keitai)
Also, I have a friend in Japan that will get me a deactivated DoCoMo SIM card, in case MTP is locked out (as was the case with cheesus), I will have a backup SIM card to transfer music to the phone, since I will have a SIM that is natively recognized by the phone.

I wonder if it is possible to do what I am thinking.
SIMs have a few things that ID them. The ICCID and the Authentication Key. The Auth key is like your "accound number", and the ICCID, which is like your issuer.
If I were to change the ICCID of my Rorgers SIM to be that of the DoCoMo sim, then perhapps it will allow me to use it in the keitai without a hypersim or anything, since the keitai will think that the Rogers SIM is actually an NTT DoCoMo SIM. In theory this could work, but being in Comp sci. I've never dealt with this and have realatively low knowlege of the inner workings of SIM cards.

[cheeseus]

If I were to change the ICCID of my Rorgers SIM to be that of the DoCoMo sim, then perhapps it will allow me to use it in the keitai without a hypersim or anything, since the keitai will think that the Rogers SIM is actually an NTT DoCoMo SIM. In theory this could work, but being in Comp sci. I've never dealt with this and have realatively low knowlege of the inner workings of SIM cards.

Of course this makes sense, but if it were possible, the guys making HyperSIMs wouldn't be writing this ICCID and other data on a small chip that gets attached to the SIM, would they?

If you were to get one of those SIM writers that they have at mobile operators' shops, you wouldn't be able to do more than read/write the contacts data and other user-accessible info.

Getting an original DoCoMo SIM is a great idea. If only I had one... I have a Vodafone Japan/SoftBank SIM that I have used a couple of times with my 904SH and 913SH but it's obviously no good for a DoCoMo keitai