Japanese mobile phone number portability - have you made the switch?

[GomiGirl]

Now that you can keep your same number but change carriers, are you going to make a change?

If so from what to what?

Why?

[CrankyBastard]

Umm GG,
Now please don't laugh out loud, but I use a TU-KA S.
It really is all I need, and I'm happy with it.

[Big Booger]

No, I am happy with Vodasoft.

[IkemenTommy]

No, sticking with Docomo because most of the kyaba girls use Docomo and they tend to use the emoji characters. -- The lamest reason, I know..

[Blah Pete]

Unless you are in a real expensive plan why switch? It is good they finally changed the rules to switch and keep your number if desired.
I use AU mainly because when I started the service they were the only provider with overseas roaming service which i need for work.

Is SoftBank going to put any money into infrastructure? From what I heard the main problem with Vodaphone was a limited service area. If they don't fix the Vodaphone inheritred problems their service will still suck no matter how cheap it is.

[GomiGirl]

Cool, market research!

Not really - just wondering what the FG population were thinking. Lots of hoopola on the news etc and massive campaigns going on with lots of cool new handsets from all the carriers. Either trying to keep the current users and gain new ones from other carriers.

But the general population are perhaps apathetic....

IMHO Most people are fairly happy with the devil they know and while phone numbers stay the same, email/text addresses will change and that is more important here in the land o' thumbs. The people who seem to be changing are those wanting to get their whole family with the same carrier to get the family discounts that have been around for a while or people who have a particular beef with their carrier or those who like the handsets from a different carrier better.

Again IMHO - once the dust has settled, I think that status quo on market share will stay the same with perhaps KDDI picking up a bit and Bodasoft losing a bit - but time with tell.

[FG Lurker]

Would like to switch cause Vodasoft's service area sucks, especially on 3G. I've been with them since the J-phone days though so I get a decent discount on the bill now. Even though j/voda/soft/whatever is rather expensive, with the discount it is still cheaper than AU.

(Cheap is a relative term of course... 30,000yen in packet fees last month. Gulp.)

[IkemenTommy]

Would like to switch cause Vodasoft's service area sucks, especially on 3G. I've been with them since the J-phone days though so I get a decent discount on the bill now. Even though j/voda/soft/whatever is rather expensive, with the discount it is still cheaper than AU.

(Cheap is a relative term of course... 30,000yen in packet fees last month. Gulp.)

You gotta go with Pake hodai then.
It works like wonder like the nomi-hodai equivalent.

[GomiGirl]

(Cheap is a relative term of course... 30,000yen in packet fees last month. Gulp.)

Just mail or content downloads or porn? (this is market research)

[Taro Toporific]

The poll needs more options...

[FG Lurker]

Just mail or content downloads or porn? (this is market research)

Used for Internet access at the cottage (where I have no landline...)

I knew it was going to be expensive, but I wasn't really expecting 30,000yen. I'm going to have a landline put in next spring before I start going out there often again. Apparently I can even get 8Mb ADSL, but as it is on an island I am not holding my breath. If not ADSL then definitely ISDN. In any case it won't cost 30,000 a month!!

[Addition: Didn't really answer the original question I guess! I use it for email and web access for one of my businesses. Unfortunately being totally out of touch for several days is not an option.]

[FG Lurker]

The poll needs more options...

Agreed! Also need an option "My current carrier sucks ass, but they all suck ass just as bad so there is no point in switching."

[Mulboyne]

There's also no "I don't think I can" option. I use a prepaid when in Tokyo and number portability probably doesn't apply to that service. It used to be that you couldn't even upgrade your handset and may still be that way for all I know.

[flotsam]

i've changed careers a few times but now i'm so fucking old and tired and wouldn't have the energy to learn a new trade. great pole though.

[GomiGirl]

There's also no "I don't think I can" option. I use a prepaid when in Tokyo and number portability probably doesn't apply to that service. It used to be that you couldn't even upgrade your handset and may still be that way for all I know.

Pity you can't get a proper keitai given how much time you spend here. Might be worth asking the question while you are here though as all the carriers are in major deal making mode at the moment.

[oyajikun]

As I have used all of the different carriers in the past, I'll stick with my FOMA handset. Best coverage out of all the carriers from what I can tell.

[Greji]

Pity you can't get a proper keitai given how much time you spend here. Might be worth asking the question while you are here though as all the carriers are in major deal making mode at the moment.

Duck Mulboyne! GG has switched to her "I bet I can sell that turkey one of my keitais" mode!

[canman]

Which k-tei is the most English user friendly? I had a N505IS which was really great. Using it for mail, it would remember frequently used words, and it would read out emails, only in Japanese, but it was a great help for me, since I have trouble with reading, but if I could hear the message I could basically nderstand it. Anyway, being foolish, and thinking most phones were the same, I went out and bought a new Sharp 702IS, and while it is a nice phone and all, it really isn't English user friendly. I'm thinking about biting the bullet and buying a new one, because it really makes a big difference. So that being said, what phones, DOCOMO that is do you recommend that are more English user friendly. Thanks.
And to answer your question GG I would like to switch to AU, but since we are on the family package with DOCOMO, it would be a huge expense for all four of us to switch, so we will stay with them for now.

[GuyJean]

Which k-tei is the most English user friendly?

I believe most phones made by Sony Ericsson are bilingual..

GJ

[Tommybar]

Sticking with my AU phone. Been a member since the IDO days and enjoy the coverage. I am often in locations that the other carriers don't cover. I especially don't like the customer service of DOKOMO. Since I have been with AU so long, I would lose money if I switch.

[canman]

I guess my criteria is a little vague, but having switched from the old N505IS to this new Sharp 702IS, there is a world of difference, and its not good. I guess what I should do is just visit the DOCOMO shop and try each one out until I find one that I like. Last time I went more on looks and price, which was a big mistake.

[GuyJean]

I guess what I should do is just visit the DOCOMO shop and try each one out until I find one that I like.

Yeah, that's what I did the last time I visited the AU shop. My first question was 'Which models are bilingual.'.. Although, I ended up getting one that wasn't..

GJ

[Kuang_Grade]

This might give you a starting point....Docomo phone page
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/english/product/

The 902i/902iS line as well as the 702 lines look to have quite a few bilingual models, although that can always be a somewhat flexible definition, but hands on is always the best bet for a final decision...but this might help pick out your top three or four choices before walking into the store. You can also download the manuals (in English) ahead of time to figure out if that cool feature actually works the way you would expect or if requires you to page through 12 menus levels to activate.

[GomiGirl]

Duck Mulboyne! GG has switched to her "I bet I can sell that turkey one of my keitais" mode!

Oi!! I don't sell keitais and I have no favourite carrier - I work with all of them.

I don't know much about the hardware or the contracts or the costs or anything... I just know the software.

[Greji]

Oi!! I don't sell keitais and I have no favourite carrier - I work with all of them.

I don't know much about the hardware or the contracts or the costs or anything... I just know the software.

Right, just like your reasonably priced, immediately availabe Shinjuku beachfront property! Mulboyne still watch your wallet, she's figuring out how to skin you!

[DrP]

I was talking to a friend the other day who is CEO of one of the content/service providers.. She was lamenting the slow uptake of mnp. On the other hand, she did say it's a bit of a bonus for the CP's since - well, like death, 'you can't take it with you' content! Buy a CD and its yours as long as you can keep the surface clean. Buy a track or game (highest ARPU in Japan) and change your phone.. Guess what ? Buy them all again!!

Yeah baby! The mnp coupled with non-mcp (mobile content portability) equals yet another well devised scam.

My guess is that Au customers will be the least likely to switch and Crapaphone customers the most likely. Regardless of any bizarre (and yes they are bizarre) pricing schemes Son~san pulls out of his ass. Crapaphone should have at least launched the new itunes handsets - hell, they've had them for year - along with the mnp, this might give them a fighting chance. Other than that, who cares? Their service is crap, the coverage is crap, the pricing plans are crap and their affiliate (3rd party reseller plans) are crap.

[Sotei-guy]

Sticking with my AU phone. Been a member since the IDO days and enjoy the coverage. I am often in locations that the other carriers don't cover. I especially don't like the customer service of DOKOMO. Since I have been with AU so long, I would lose money if I switch.

Maybe this is a really dumb questino but doesn't the "orange & blue plan" at vodabank solve this problem by offering you a 210 yen discount to any plan you might have with someone else?

[Captain Japan]

I was one of the 92,600. I thought it was my phone crapping out. Haven't considered switching to somebody else but I might if this garbage keeps up...
NTT DoCoMo 3G network hit by 17-hour trouble in Tokyo
Infoworld

NTT DoCoMo Inc.'s 3G network in part of central Tokyo was hit by trouble on Saturday resulting in problems for tens of thousands of users.

Problems with a switching board at a DoCoMo facility in the capital's Shibuya district caused the disruption, the carried said. Users in Shibuya and the nearby districts of Shinjuku, Okubo and Minami-Aoyama found calls and packet communications problems from 4:34am to 9:29pm local time on Saturday. NTT DoCoMo estimates around 92,600 subscribers were directly hit by the problem.

The areas involved are some of the busiest parts of Tokyo and popular with thousands of shoppers at the weekend.

NTT DoCoMo launched its WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) in 2001 becoming the first carrier in the world to offer commercial service based on the standard, which is now in use in many nations around the world.

[Mulboyne]

It is two years since the introduction of number portability which allows users to switch their mobile phone carrier while retaining their number. The Asahi reports (Japanese) that only a little over 5% of users have taken advantage of the system and suggests that the main barrier to more people choosing to switch is that they cannot also carry over their email address because each carrier operates its own domain. In addition, users say that where friends and family use the same carrier, switching would mean they can't take advantage of the various discount plans available. There are also people who do switch carriers but don't bother keeping their old number because they don't want to pay the transfer fee or else they actively want a new number.