Can I buy a mobile phone in Japan

[Ben G]

Can I buy a mobile phone in Japan, then use it in Australia with a pre paid
card ?
Whats the deal with this, can it be done ?
Thanks for any info. Ben

 

[Eric]

Trouble is it might have Japanese graffiti all over it.

Could be safer, nobody would want to steal it.


"Ben G" <bengee69@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:41c55504@dnews.tpgi.com.au...
Can I buy a mobile phone in Japan, then use it in Australia with a pre paid
card ?
Whats the deal with this, can it be done ?
Thanks for any info. Ben

 

[nick]

depends what you buy is the answer...

If you buy a GSM or CDMA phone meant for an overseas market then maybe yes.
(maybe look in akihabara - electric town)

The domestic market there is dominated by docomo (means: anywhere) which is
owned by NTT (the national carrier). The second biggest carrier is maybe
KDDI.

Both companies generally sell phones on a system based on CDMA 2000 with
alot of little extensions so they can play all the online phone content they
have. As I understand it the Japanese can use their phones out here in some
cases by roaming on the local CDMA network. These phones have all the
gadgets on them eg. cameras, online gaming, automatic bill paying (eg. train
exit gate) etc etc. You will find now many japanese companies have websites
designed especially for phone browsing.

The other standard that was used (still is) is the personal handiphone
system which has been enormously popular but is being overtaken by the CDMA
standards. Traditionally they had problems with it switching between cells
when you are on the train but these problems have mostly been solved. Its a
great system in a way because it is flea power with a cell node located on
top of every phone box. As a result the batteries last a long time. I had
one a few years ago and it had a 3-4 week recharge life with normal use. The
other bonus is of course the small size.

As I understand it GSM is not on the Japanese scene in any meaningful way.

Hope this helps, although basically the answer is no.

Nick




"Ben G" <bengee69@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:41c55504@dnews.tpgi.com.au...

Can I buy a mobile phone in Japan, then use it in Australia with a pre
paid
card ?
Whats the deal with this, can it be done ?
Thanks for any info. Ben