Cell Phone help

[FG Lurker]

I don't see the point in verifying the local address. You are already paying for the minutes so it's not like the phone company is hurting when you take off with the phone. You get to keep the phone as well, right?

It's not the keitai company that cares... It's the j-gov't / police.

[IkemenTommy]

If the J rental cops REALLY care, then I don't think they would allow the loophole of using someone else's ID when registering to fly. But then by looking at how incompetent they function here, I can kind of see that happening.

[2triky]

I'm asking this question on behalf of a member on another message board because I don't know the answer myself. This student from Chile is going to live with a host family in Hokkaido while attending high school as a foreign exchange student.

The question is how much does a "run of the mill" keitai cost?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[ttjereth]

I'm asking this question on behalf of a member on another message board because I don't know the answer myself. This student from Chile is going to live with a host family in Hokkaido while attending high school as a foreign exchange student.

The question is how much does a "run of the mill" keitai cost?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

He can get an older model for free with a new contract, just don't go to one of the actual provider stores (eg. docomo, softbank) but go to one of the little cellphone boutiques that has phones from all the different providers.

The phones my wife and I currently have we got for 3000 yen each when they were only one model behind the newest releases in their product line (probably closer to 10 models behind now).

[2triky]

He can get an older model for free with a new contract, just don't go to one of the actual provider stores (eg. docomo, softbank) but go to one of the little cellphone boutiques that has phones from all the different providers.

The phones my wife and I currently have we got for 3000 yen each when they were only one model behind the newest releases in their product line (probably closer to 10 models behind now).

Thanks, ttjereth....that provides some clarity re: the whole issue. Wow, that's pretty inexpensive.

[Kuang_Grade]

While the choice of phones can be a bit daunting, it is small beer compared to complexity of trying to figure out which service plan is the best/most cost effective one

[2triky]

While the choice of phones can be a bit daunting, it is small beer compared to complexity of trying to figure out which service plan is the best/most cost effective one

For a ryugakusei wouldn't it be best to perhaps get a cellphone with prepaid minutes? Given the fact they are only going to be studying for in Japan for 6 months or less...it seems to be appropriate.

[Kuang_Grade]

Well, prepaid phones in Japan are more expensive (maybe 8K-13k yen...or that's what they were when I last looked at them two years ago) than contract phones and also prepaid phone generally lack much in the way of features beyond voice and text messaging (ie, no data), as well as often having pretty high per minute rates (90 yen per minute for softbank prepaid).

So while a contract may have more strings attached and also possibly an early termination penalty, it might work out to be cheaper overall if the person actually uses their phone a fair bit...and these youngin's today seem to really use their phones a fair bit. And poking around softbank's english site, it seems they might have some sort of six month contract plan as well..as well as some plans designed for high school students. When the student arrives, s/he might want to talk to current exchange students to see what kind of setup they are using and what kind of packet traffic level they have.

[2triky]

Well, prepaid phones in Japan are more expensive (maybe 8K-13k yen...or that's what they were when I last looked at them two years ago) than contract phones and also prepaid phone generally lack much in the way of features beyond voice and text messaging (ie, no data), as well as often having pretty high per minute rates (90 yen per minute for softbank prepaid).

So while a contract may have more strings attached and also possibly an early termination penalty, it might work out to be cheaper overall if the person actually uses their phone a fair bit...and these youngin's today seem to really use their phones a fair bit. And poking around softbank's english site, it seems they might have some sort of six month contract plan as well..as well as some plans designed for high school students. When the student arrives, s/he might want to talk to current exchange students to see what kind of setup they are using and what kind of packet traffic level they have.

Thanks a lot for your thorough, nuanced answer...I'll be sure to pass along the information.

[Bucky]

Mrs. Bucky will be visiting Japan for two weeks and is trying to figure out what is her best solution for a cell phone for that period? We have a couple of older Vodaphone handsets sitting around. Can we use one of those? Or, should she get a new phone?

If she gets a new one, is getting another vodaphone as is mentioned 'much' earlier in this thread the best idea?

[Kuang_Grade]

Here's the documentation details they now require, so if she can pull this stuff out with no hassle, she's good to go for prepaid...or one could always have a friend/relative do this for her as well.
http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/en/prepaid/3G/steps/contract.html

It MAY be possible that you can buy a new prepaid SIM card and use it in an older phone, but I don't know if this is the case and it may also depend on how old the phone is.

Likewise, softbank also rents out phones/sim cards as well.

http://www.softbank-rental.jp/en/phones/sim3g.php

The per minute rates are much better on prepaid than rental but you are stuck buying the credits in clumps of 3000 or 5000 yen. So if one wasn't going to the use the phone very much and didn't care about all the bells and whistles (and assuming the SIM card worked in the phone) SIM rental might be a easier and cheaper option in some cases, esp during short time frames.