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I'm bringing a Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate) over to Japan with me. I've SIM unlocked it myself so thats not an issue. And I believe it can work in the correct bands to work in Japan. For someone living/working in Japan, I take it Docomo doesn't have an option where you can buy only a SIM card and then add on Data plan + voice, do they? Anyone know if they'd have a fit over me buying their cheapo phones (ones for old people) and drop the cellphone data plan and add the smartphone plan on instead? They'd get a phone sell and I'd get my sim card.
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Jul 19, 2011 06:23
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zzz posted:You can get a SIM-only contract at Docomo. Looks like the Biz-houdai was a limited time thing. Looking at plans, I found this recommended plan for smartphones, http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/charge/packet/pake_hodai_f/index.html . Just to check I understand the wikis right. imode is a completely separate protocol that Docomo made up that's similar in the way that WAP is. Ya? Its like an enclosed net? FOMA on the other hand is straight data in much the same way you'd plug your comp up to the Ethernet in your modem. FOMA would be similar to what I am use to with AT&T and my phone right now. Net, Youtube, radio streaming, blah blah, right? Incidentally I can also tether my laptop up to this kind of connection using rooted droid and use it as a net connection for my PC.
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Jul 19, 2011 11:28
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zmcnulty posted:Just so everyone knows, Japan has finally caught up to the rest of the world and now has intra-carrier SMS: SMS is poo poo though for any double byte language, such as Japanese. Its great for single byte character langauges like western languages though and you can communicate quite a bit, but its extremely limiting in Japanese. I think the only interesting thing about the whole announcement is the 3.15yen apiece thing, where as if you compare that to most US carriers, its more like 11yen (which is a total RIP OFF for only sending like 160bytes of data).
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Jul 29, 2011 03:56
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Ara posted:Wait... what? I always felt SMS was total poo poo in English because you could barely fit a sentence in the thing before you ran out of characters, but in Japanese I use it all the time since you can cram quite a large amount of information into a smaller number of Japanese characters. Unless you type like a retard like "i am gn to the stor do u wnt nethin". Compare the number of characters in "I'm going to the store, want anything?" vs "スパーに行く、何か欲しい？" VVV--Exactly, which is why I think it required a bit of digging to find on the phone I had when I was in Japan last. Kenishi fucked around with this message at 09:11 on Jul 31, 2011 |
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Jul 30, 2011 19:33
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tarepanda posted:Sorry for the double post. Are you a 2ch'er? Lol, there are some useful 2ch browsing apps out there. Thing with input is I don't think theres any way for Android to tell when you would want one keyboard over another. I suppose it may be possible to write a program and set preference, but otherwise you are stuck. I'm actually kind of glad someone on here has a Droid phone from a provider in Japan. For non-JP phones we have to get an app called Simeji in order to get JP input on droid phones. I've been wondering for awhile if Simeji is a rip off of the default JP input system that comes with droid phones in Japan. If you would do me a favor and check out Simeji and let me know, that would be awesome. You may want to check it out anyway since Simeji has a 'sort of' numpad input system that also lets you switch over to a QWERTY keyboard. I recommend checking it out. The input style in Simeji that you might like is known as "Flick." You have all the 'a' vowels, and you press the constant you want and flick in 1 of the 4 cardinal directions to select the other sounds you need (Starting from West and going counter clock its i-u-e-o). How are the Galaxy S2's they look realllly nice. Is the GPS functional on them? Many of the Galaxy S's had disfunctional GPS. Is it easy to root the S2's from Docomo?
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Aug 1, 2011 02:26
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tarepanda posted:It sounds like a ripoff. I couldn't stand flick; it made me really, really slow. I imagine it would be faster once I got used to it, but for now I can tap the keys much faster than I can flick accurately. So the default input method that comes with the phone IS indeed basically Simeji? Just checking, because my Galaxy S is SIM unlocked, and I'm debating using that w/ the SIM card plan instead of getting a new phone. Just wondering if maybe the Japanese phones had a better input system by default. I just hate the size of the predict text selector, its not easy to use if you press it. That was one thing the clamshell button phones have over smartphones in my book. Only way I can conceivably see it gettitng better is if you can integrate the Google IME input prediction system on the PC. The kanji prediction on that is amazing~! If you notice the GPS get finicky though, I'd like to know. My Galaxy S worked great when I first got it, but got worse over time. It took longer to get a satellite lock and would lose it constantly. It become near impossible to use it for directions in the car really, and even when outside running it would struggle to keep a solid lock. A big reason for rooting is flashing new ROMs on that might improve speed. Also for SIM unlocking it once someone figures out how to (if Docomo won't do it). Couple more questions I just though of. Is there a lot of bloatware from Docomo on it? Stuff they preloaded that they want you to pay to use; sucking up memory on the phone. How much is the phone? On the off chance I actually want to get it while I'm there. I'm curious how much I'll have to pay in remainder if I don't stay for a whole 2 year contract.
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Aug 1, 2011 04:33
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tarepanda posted:Some things are necessary, like Docomo's e-mail app for using your @docomo address. BTW, since the Galaxy S2 has no せきがいせん, whats the preferred replacement to easy transferring of profile details? Can you do it via QCode? Also you never clearly answered my question on the input method. Is Simeji there by default? Or is it called something else (which incidentally has the Flick method)? There's also an Amazon app market out there apparently. Either the app to access that is on google market or you need to get on amazon and find it. I haven't checked it out, I just heard about it.
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Aug 1, 2011 04:58
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tarepanda posted:You can do it via QR code, I believe. I haven't tried it for myself yet, but the Docomo rep said that you can generate a QR code which, when read, creates a profile. I've seen it done on the XPeria and it was pretty slick -- much easier than finding IR ports and lining them up and waiting and all that bullshit. So the input methods may actually be better in some respects hmm. Also, now that I think about it. I think you might be right about the US only thing. 
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Aug 1, 2011 05:54
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Since I have a placement now, and my hopes of being able to set up my cellphone in Tokyo have been dashed. Would it still be in my best interest to try to go the nearest densely populated area, which looks like it will be Mito, since I'm in far north Ibaraki, to set up my cellphone instead of doing it in a rural town. Particularly because I'm considering just doing the SIM card only plan with Docomo and adding on a data and voice plan, but I'm just dreading having cellphone salesmen telling "oh no, you can't do that, japanese sim card are different and don't work in US phones (which is BS)."
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Aug 5, 2011 01:57
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tarepanda posted:Softbank doesn't want people sucking up data. I'm still a little mind boggled by the packethoudai and the tethering thing. Unless you are using a specific Docomo based app which will let Docomo know "Hey! I'm tethering here!" I can't see how they would know what you are using the data for that goes through the phone. Tethering data, assuming you have a rooted & reflashed droid, should just look the same as any phone data I think. I still haven't decided on what to do about SIM card only or get a new phone with Docomo though. Interac has told me that apparently the carriers won't let you get a more pricey phone with them because they are afraid you will leave; or something like that. They've also told us/claimed that they can't aid in phone set up because privacy laws in japan forbid them from even assisting in phone set. I find this somewhat amusing since when I was here as a student, the university had student helpers who helped set up our phone accounts. So I'm somewhat wondering if its not just a scheme to get us all to use this third party phone contract set up group, in order to get a phone. Company is called Mcall, or something like that, and they go through softbank. Out of curiosity; are there any third party consumer based cell phone coverage maps for the providers in Japan? I am curious to see how well each company covers my region of Japan.
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Aug 16, 2011 12:24
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tarepanda posted:That's kind of the point. Rooting etc. isn't as big here as it is in America. Most Japanese people aren't going to go root their phone (if they even know it's possible) for free internet. I mean, we're talking about a people who are (generally truthfully) stereotyped as being so addicted to the rules that they queued up after the Tohoku Earthquake. quote:I've never heard of what Interac is telling you. Maybe if you had a tourist or a one-year visa, but even then, I dunno. The whole thing wreaks of a scheme between the 3rd party and maybe this area or whatever. The company charges a 1500yen fee a month on the account for using their service and what not. Also the only phones they offer are 16/32GB Iphone 4s and the really cheap clamshell phones that softbank sells for like 10000yen. I too feel the same way about the foreigner market thing as well. Also the fact that very few Japanese use softbank as well always kind of bugged me. I'm pretty sold on getting Docomo, but I would like to have an English speaking staff member help with account set up and with answering questions. I never checked at the Yodobashi I got my last phone at, to see if they had English staff for Docomo there or not. I just know Softbank had it. Its just loving annoying that the whole dam thing sounds like a loving cop out on Interac's part with "privacy law," especially when they will get my phone number and email anyway, they have seen my passport, and have even helped in setting up a bank account. loving stupid.
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Aug 16, 2011 13:39
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So an update on some of my adventures with getting a sim card. To recap, I brought my Samsung galaxy s (aka captivate at at&t) with me from the states and had it similar unlocked, it was able to see both the softbank and docomo networks when I got here. On wed. I went to a biccamera to see about a similar card for it. I was told that only docomo stores could sell similar cards so I trekked over to one. My first big mistake was never asking if docomo would give me the access point name info so I could connect the data network up. I only discovered this after 3 hours of talking to the rep in training. During this time I went from having packethoudai and spmode to houdai and moperu and finally to just regular old talk on the phone. I got frustrated eventually and just said give me a new phone but they were out and I reserved the white galaxy s 2. Next day I decided having no net for a whole week till the phone came was BS and hopped on the shinkansen and went to Akiba, now I have a nice Black Galaxy S 2 and a form of net. Lesson learned, similar cards only good for talking phone. I suspect if I had tracked down a wifi point I might have been able to get the access point info and simply plugged it in but I don't know. I also learned that store reps know next to nothing when it comes to actual questions. She had to call someone or go in the back every time I asked a question. I'm sure after that ordeal they never want to se a white person come in again. Out of curiosity, does anybody else find that the galaxy s 2 charges reaaaaaally freaking slow if not at all, plugged into the computer? And only a little faster if plugged into the wall. I'm using a AC adapter with a USB port on it to charge my phone via USB and I'm just wondering if the USB to FOMA connectors might be faster or something. Does anybody know if there are any stores that sell something like a skinomi skin protector for the galaxy s 2? Yodobashi surprisingly didn't have anything like it, least what I saw.
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Aug 26, 2011 16:50
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Pompous Rhombus posted:Can you opt out of the contract if they change the terms of it like that? I don't know what contract law is like here in Japan, but in the states they can't force you into new terms on a contract that you already signed. The contract and everything on it are good for the duration of the contract. When AT&T dropped there unlimited plan for example, everyone that already had the data plan on the contract was grandfathered into a special plan where they kept the same price they were originally offered and so long as they didn't cancel the contract and kept resigning every 2 years, they could keep it. I'm not sure how the contracting works with cell phones in Japan since I've yet to actually carry a contract out to completion but if you have to go back in after 2 years and resign again; you may lose the unlimited uncapped plan because they can have you agree to the new system. I'm a little disappointed by this though if this comes out. The way I always saw it in the states is that ISP and cell carriers always implemented these caps and limits because they were greedy and didn't want to improve their infrastructure because it was always easier to just complain about the "top 3% using tons of bandwidth" and then use that as an excuse to cap everything. I guess it will all depend on what the limit is though.
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Sep 16, 2011 14:52
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tyblazitar posted:Speaking of mixi, is there any clever way to bypass the cell phone registration? I use a prepaid phone, so while I receive the confirmation mail, I can't visit the site. Am I going to have to get a proper plan if I want to register? Some people I know claimed that they were able to register without registering cell phones when they used their school e-mail address, but that didn't work for me. Borrow someone's phone and visit the link on that?
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Oct 14, 2011 03:04
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dtb posted:1) Email pushes faster to my iPhone. I can open and read an email on my iPhone before it arrives on the Nexus 1) This could be a network issue but it might also simply be the OS is bogged down and its slow to run. Might also be the mail app doesn't put up a notification till the email has been downloaded fully. 2) There's an app for that. (I don't know what, but I'm sure there is)
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Dec 6, 2011 08:03
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Small note about Docomo tethering if you aren't aware of it. Docomo has 2 types of packethoudai. The first is a flat rate and the second is a variable plan. If you tether on the flat rate, you keep the flat rate. However, if you tether on the teired-variable, it automatically bumps the max it can run you up to about 1man+ where as the flat rate is like 5-6,000 a month. So if you plan to tether a lot, make sure you are on the flat rate.
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Apr 18, 2012 05:29
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I haven't tested with my phone yet since I don't use IRC that much anymore, but I'll try here soon. I rooted and flashed a new ROM onto my phone so I can check tomorrow if the cause is maybe the default ROM you have. My suspicion though might be that its the tower dropping the connection to keep a single caller from hogging a line. There might be some work arounds out there.
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Apr 30, 2012 14:17
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tarepanda posted:a lot of crap wasn't working properly. If you didn't flash a CM9 rom that was built for Docomo/Galaxy S2, you'll need to flash (Using ODIN) the original modem.bin back on to improve your signal. You'll also need to add/update some files to get GPS working again too. And finally, you'll have to use some DeDexer/Dexer programs to put Docomo's WapPush file on so you can receive WAP Push's from Docomo and get informed you have mail on SPMode. Otherwise you'll have to check periodically. Not sure if you can get OneSeg back, but then I never figured out how to use it in the first place so I didn't consider it important.
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Jul 29, 2012 17:49
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Ganguro King posted:Speaking of which, is anyone in here actually using an unlocked phone on Docomo? I'm interested in knowing if and how the docomo.ne.jp email addresses work on a non-Docomo phone. Theoretically you might be able to use Spmode if you already had a smartphone that was signed up for it, but Docomo won't give you the plan otherwise. For SIM card only phones, they'll have you sign up for "moperaU" which gives you an @moperau.jp address or something; not a docomo.ne.jp one. Its also worth noting that even if you succeded in getting on the SPMode network, you would still probably need the SPMode android app to access docomo.ne.jp email.
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Sep 14, 2012 14:41
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Yes. There have been numerous stories talking about how horrible the Apple Map is. The only work around at the moment is to use maps.google.com to get directions and what not. The maps they bought are horrific, apparently from TomTom and of poor quality. If the backlash keeps up, it probably won't last a week before Google Maps is back.
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Sep 21, 2012 01:45
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Original_Z posted:Hahaha, those maps are really bad. The ones of the busy station areas like Shinjuku compared to the old Google maps make the Apple ones look like they were from 50 years ago or something. The Google Maps app can't come soon enough. I wonder if Apple Japan is given a lot of leeway to make the Japan localization how they want. It could explain why the localization has been so slow.
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Sep 21, 2012 05:46
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Zo posted:Is this going to be as difficult as google seems to suggest? If Softbank has S3's though (too lazy to google), then they should just give you a new SIM card when you upgrade.
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Sep 21, 2012 18:19
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You know, in a world with lots of Samsung and Apple, I forget there's HTC. They're hurting recently, Q3 saw a 79% drop in profit. I take it the LTE is only in the metro areas right? Anyone heard if they are rolling out 4G to other areas?
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Oct 17, 2012 14:34
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Not exactly a phone question but it does involve carriers. I had been hoping that Docomo would make a release that it was going to carry the Galaxy Note 10.1 since its something I've been looking at getting, however its been almost 4 months sense the launch of the Note in the US/Europe and not even a hint from Docomo. Anyone think this has something to do with recent bad blood between Korea and Japan? I noticed Docomo has announced it will be working with M$ Japan to carry Win8 tablets and be making a push into the corporate sector.
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Nov 12, 2012 16:28
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Microsoft Japan and DOCOMO to Grow Corporate Market for Tablets — Will create powerful synergy between Windows 8 OS and Xi LTE network —
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Nov 13, 2012 04:33
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Stringent posted:Probably pissing into the wind, but seriously just get an iPhone. I don't own an iPhone, but I was under the impression that stuff like wifi tethering wasn't possible on the iPhone unless you jailbroke it. Its there in the settings menu on Android by default.
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Jan 12, 2013 13:17
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Carfax Report posted:I've got a Nexus that I got from Google as a developer. For unlocked foreign phones, you sign up for the plan at a Docomo shop, but you have to manually change the settings for data as they have no idea how to do it themselves. EDIT: Phones on Docomo SIM-only plans won't have an @docomo.ne.jp email account. Thats restricted to SPモード only and they won't put that on a SIM-only plan, plus you have to use their (piece of poo poo) SPmode android app.
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Jan 16, 2013 07:33
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tarepanda posted:I don't know why everyone maligns the SP-Mode app. I've never had a problem with it.
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Jan 16, 2013 15:42
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So the Samsung Galaxy S4 just got announced and I've been waiting for a new Galaxy to come out. I wonder when/if its coming to Docomo.
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Mar 15, 2013 03:05
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tarepanda posted:I don't see why not... the S2 and S3 were both Docomo. What's wrong with SP-Mode? I rooted my phone and SP-Mode works fine (I installed the WAPPush patch). Kenishi fucked around with this message at 05:55 on Mar 15, 2013 |
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Mar 15, 2013 05:05
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Docomo is lowering smartphone prices The summer launch smartphones, including the Galaxy S4, will see their prices cut by about 1万. Its done to compete with KDDI and the Iphones. This was also an interesting addition, "NTT Docomo said Wednesday it will jointly develop smartphone applications for elderly people with Tokyo-based LINE Corp."
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May 16, 2013 15:07
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Unless the phone guy is knowledgable on phone freq. I recommend searching online at the phones you are interested and checking their bands. I pulled thiss off the Samsung Galaxy S4 wiki page, they have a nice table chart showing some cross info for countries. Docomo 3g: 800Mhz, 2100Mhz UMTS/HSPA+ Docomo 4g/LTE: 800Mhz, 1500MHz, 2100MHz (Cat3) KDDI/au is probably slightly different since they are CDMA. Looks like KDDI might be 3g: CDMA2000 4G LTE: 750, 850, 1500, 2100 I'm too lazy to look up Softbank. Its worth noting that some phones might support these bands, but may have them disabled by default due to law restrictions on the frequencies in your country. I know on the samsung galaxy phones you can put in some special codes and get in to engineering menus to enable the bands, but if its a very new phone you might have some trouble with this. Research your phone thoroughly before you buy.
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May 20, 2013 15:24
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dazjw posted:LINE/FB has pretty much supplanted SMSing for almost everyone i'm in contact with and I think you need a smartphone for that. Having a map is incredibly handy too (so skip Windows Phone, it uses Nokia's HERE maps that look like this for tokyo). Yep and Docomo has started to phase out most of their feature phones and has replaced them with touchscreen/smartphones. You can still get some here and there but overall its smartphone. NeilPerry posted:I'm going to stay in Japan for a year. Should I get a decent smartphone here and do all that sim card poo poo(cutting them out of a cheap cell and inserting it into the smartphone that I brought) someone described to me in this thread some months ago, or should I just get a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 or iPod Touch and use Wi-Fi(and possibly supplement with a cheap rear end phone)? The latter seems cheaper if done in Japan, the former is a lot cheaper if I buy one here and bring it along.
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Jul 21, 2013 22:05
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A cell phone running only the cell radio, is using a lot less battery than a device that has to run a wifi radio and a cell radio. If you're here for a year, it just doesn't make any sense to me to try and use a mifi dongle and a ipad as a primary means of communication.
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Jul 22, 2013 06:19
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You're going to have problems then. If you use the internet like crazy, then you probably are going to want to go with the flat rate data plans which assume you'll be using a lot every month. Those run about 5k-6k at least. Then when you factor in the monthly payment of the smartphone, you'll be looking at a total monthly bill of 7k up to 12k. The monthly cost of the phone depends on whether you buy up front or if you decide to pay it off in 1 year or 2 years. There may be a few extra costs added on too that are like 500yen a month. For instance, I have Docomo and have their Flat Rate LTE plan (whatever its called). Soft cap at 7GB/month. I got a Galaxy S4 and opted to pay it off in 1 year. My monthly bill ranges around 11-12k a month.
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Dec 13, 2013 18:00
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If those wi-fi routers have a drop in for a SIM card, then you can just get a prepaid SIM and use that. But I don't own one nor ever held one so I have no idea. You might be able to google in JP cyperspace and find out though.
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Dec 19, 2013 01:42
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The thing to remember is that the main thing you need to worry about on the contracts is that if your phone isn't paid off by the time you leave, you'll be paying it off when you cancel the contract. I know that Docomo will let you get a contract and pay the phone off in a year (I'm doing it). There will likely be a minor cancellation fee too, about 60-90USD as well. You can probably get contracts else where too. Just don't tell them you'll be leaving in a year. I would definitely try and get a plane of some sort though. Wifi isn't everywhere and it'll be annoying to try and contact people with a wifi-only device.
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Feb 10, 2014 01:41
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Its worth noting that Docomo Unlocks are software based. If you ever do a factory reset you'll have to get it unlocked again at a Docomo store, its free once you do it once but if you are in Australia then you can't do it. Its really stupid.
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Feb 14, 2014 00:43
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Will the Samsung support centre unlock phones from other carriers though? Or will they get the phone, see the "NTT Docomo" brand on it and go "Sorry, we can't unlock other carrier's phones."
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Feb 16, 2014 06:39
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If your income allows it, why not just find out if you can't put the phone on a "pay off in a year" plan. Docomo let me do that no problem.
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Apr 1, 2015 11:43
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