3G iPhone in Japan?

[RHDJapan]

Sim Card Unlock for sale on yahoo japan

a simple search on yahoo japan auctions will pull up a sim unlock for 5000 yen that says it will let you use your Docomo account with the phone.

Id love to see if it works. Im holding out until I have the choice to not use softbank. Hopefully it wont be a cold day in hell..


Edit..

you can also get the whole phone as an unlocked version there too. Im assuming you just plug your existing sim card in and it works.. a bit pricey i think..

 

[JapanScott]

Softbank email

Has anyone been able to get the Softbank email going yet?

 

[mavis]

Has anyone been able to get the Softbank email going yet?

Yup, I use it as a notification service for one of my non-push email accounts that I don't want to forward to one of my MobileMe accounts. If you actually need to be able to access the SoftBank account, just be sure to disable SSL.

 

[tony-in-japan]

A different question for you who have the iPhone in Japan. Can you sync it to a US iTunes account? Any problems or issues? TIA.

I have not had any issues at all so far. Being able to connect to the US store is one of the best features for me -- I currently have Stephen Kings’ ‘N’ series and Watchmen Series syncing to my iPhone whenever US audiences watch it stateside, and also 3 recent movie releases rented, stored and waiting to play.

 

[sushi]

I have not had any issues at all so far. Being able to connect to the US store is one of the best features for me -- I currently have Stephen Kings’ ‘N’ series and Watchmen Series syncing to my iPhone whenever US audiences watch it stateside, and also 3 recent movie releases rented, stored and waiting to play.

Thanks for the feedback.

This is indeed good news. I do not want to be tied to the Japanese store.

 

[superfly3000]

Another softbank endearing feature

On an unrelated issue -- back to SMS -- does anybody have any idea why I can RECEIVE SMS from of all things an international phone number, and yet not reply to them?

Sorry I don't know why you would not be able to reply to them, but if you ever get it working, I would advise against replying to international SMS messages directly from your iPhone.
You may already know this, but Softbank charges 100 Yen per sms sent to international numbers. Ridiculous I know.

One way around it, (although not practical if you are out and about) is to send international sms messages through Skype. You can set it up so that your phone number appears as the sender of the sms, so that your friends know its you and when they reply it comes to your iPhone.

There was an AOL app that apparently allowed you to send sms through your iPhone but I think it only allows you to send to US phone numbers. Not sure about that , I just remember it didn't work for me.

 

[ajmiyazaki]

Thanks for the feedback.

This is indeed good news. I do not want to be tied to the Japanese store.

I'm also tied to the US store, but I have one concern...:

I haven't purchased AppleCare for my iPhone yet. This is highly recommended due to constant recharging of the phone (we'll probably have to have the battery swapped out within 12-18 months).

If I'm tied to the US store, will Apple give me issues with having purchased my AppleCare in Japan? Also, I accidently registered my phone with my US address during the initial set up. Will I have issues purchasing AppleCare?

 

[keirnna]

I'm also tied to the US store, but I have one concern...:

I haven't purchased AppleCare for my iPhone yet. This is highly recommended due to constant recharging of the phone (we'll probably have to have the battery swapped out within 12-18 months).

If I'm tied to the US store, will Apple give me issues with having purchased my AppleCare in Japan? Also, I accidently registered my phone with my US address during the initial set up. Will I have issues purchasing AppleCare?

You'll be fine. Apple Care is international support.

 

[SaSaSushi]

If I'm tied to the US store, will Apple give me issues with having purchased my AppleCare in Japan? Also, I accidently registered my phone with my US address during the initial set up. Will I have issues purchasing AppleCare?

Shouldn't be a problem at all. I bought the Applecare coverage for my Japan-store bought iMac from L.A. Computer in the states and it works fine.

By the way, thanks to those who confirmed we can also use US iTunes Store accounts in addition to the Japan store on the same device. Indeed, I got myself a US account (using this excellent method) and it syncs fine.

One bad thing though, even though I was subsequently able to download the awesome Pandora app (not available outside the US store) the app itself will not sync to my Pandora account. I just get an error, presumably based upon the IP I am attempting to sync from, although that's just a guess. It just says "failed" and no reason why.

 

[tony-in-japan]

How ironic!

I have not had any issues at all so far. Being able to connect to the US store is one of the best features for me -- I currently have Stephen Kings’ ‘N’ series and Watchmen Series syncing to my iPhone whenever US audiences watch it stateside, and also 3 recent movie releases rented, stored and waiting to play.

Thanks for the feedback.

This is indeed good news. I do not want to be tied to the Japanese store.

Well, talk about having no problems!

Those 3 rented movies that were stored on my iPhone waiting for me to watch have now disappeared! Simply no ‘rented movies’ option in the iPod section which is strange!? Just went poof! And no, I didn’t even start any of the movies. Saying that, I checked my memory bar and there is something stored for over 3GBs which I think is the x3 movies, but no way to connect to them.

I tried downloading another rented movie and that is now stored on my iPhone with no problem and I can watch that, so it is puzzling.

Anyway, I sent an email through my account about the problem so am just waiting for some response.

Tony

 

[sushi]

Well, talk about having no problems!

FWIW, I've had some issues with my Touch were videos and music disappear.

I have many apps loaded so that may have something to do with it. All I know is that I cannot see any video or music, yet it shows the space being used in both my Touch and on the computer.

After a Restore, it works okay.

So you may be experiencing something related to the same problem that I am having with my purchased movies.

 

[ajmiyazaki]

One bad thing though, even though I was subsequently able to download the awesome Pandora app (not available outside the US store) the app itself will not sync to my Pandora account. I just get an error, presumably based upon the IP I am attempting to sync from, although that's just a guess. It just says "failed" and no reason why.

I had the same issues with Pandora... it's really too bad. But LastFM works (most of the time). AOL Radio is working nicely as well. I can actually listen to KROQ in my car through my iPhone... WONDERFUL!

 

[tony-in-japan]

FWIW, I've had some issues with my Touch were videos and music disappear.

I have many apps loaded so that may have something to do with it. All I know is that I cannot see any video or music, yet it shows the space being used in both my Touch and on the computer.

After a Restore, it works okay.

So you may be experiencing something related to the same problem that I am having with my purchased movies.

I just got an email from Apple allowing me to download those movies again.

They said it sometimes happens when upgrading the firmware on my iPhone (or other devices I suppose). I know it definitely isn’t app related as I only use one app on my iPhone, so the upgrading firmware does sound like the likely culprit as I did an update recently.

So my advice to others would be if you have any files that are not backed up in another place, be careful to update your firmware on your iPhone/iPod, especially with rented movies as they are moved from source to device.

 

[sushi]

I just got an email from Apple allowing me to download those movies again.

They said it sometimes happens when upgrading the firmware on my iPhone (or other devices I suppose). I know it definitely isn’t app related as I only use one app on my iPhone, so the upgrading firmware does sound like the likely culprit as I did an update recently.

So my advice to others would be if you have any files that are not backed up in another place, be careful to update your firmware on your iPhone/iPod, especially with rented movies as they are moved from source to device.

Cool. Thanks for the advice/info.

I visited my local SoftBank store this afternoon. I checked availability of 16GB iPhones. They had 1 black one and a bunch of white ones on hand.

It looks like if you pay for the phone up front, it doesn't matter how long you have left in Japan. Either way you will receive the 1,920 discount per month ffor 24 months.

The cost for the 16GB model is 80,640 yen.

The discount totals 46,080 yen (24 x 1,920)

So the 16GB model ends up costing 34,560 yen.

Not too bad.

So phone cost wise you have these two options:

A. Pay 80,640 yen up front, and then receive back 1,920 each month in the form of a discount.

B. Pay 1,440 yen per month (after 1,920 yen discount is applied) for 24 months.

I know this has been discussed before, but just wanted to verify as of today, even my local SoftBank shop had this info were as before they didn't.

Also, they were informed of the new data plan. So that was nice to see.

Anybody have any surprises on their first billing statement?

How do you pay for your phone charge? Bank account? Credit Card?

 

[SaSaSushi]

I visited my local SoftBank store this afternoon. I checked availability of 16GB iPhones. They had 1 black one and a bunch of white ones on hand.

Although I'm not quite ready to switch to the iPhone myself I inquired at the Softbank shop inside an electronic retailer here in town yesterday about stock and was surprised to see they had lots of 8GB in both black and white and many 16GB white iPhones in stock. It seems like Softbank has finally worked out the stock shortage issues and I doubt anyone will have much trouble getting their hands on one from here on out.

 

[sushi]

Although I'm not quite ready to switch to the iPhone myself

I'm on the fence.

My wife can easily get the iPhone since she is Japanese. But I prefer to get it in my name since I am one who is going to use it.

I know others out there that may not have 2 years left on their current Visa or whatever they are using for documentation. So it was nice to see the alternative if you purchase up front, you still get the discount over time. So as long as I am in Japan for 2 years after I purchase the iPhone, then I will get the full discount through the monthly discounts.

Some things I like the Touch over the iPhone is the size. The Touch is really thin. I like that. I also like having 32GB available. Having said that, the iPhone is definitely looking good.

 

[keirnna]

I'm on the fence.

My wife can easily get the iPhone since she is Japanese. But I prefer to get it in my name since I am one who is going to use it.

I know others out there that may not have 2 years left on their current Visa or whatever they are using for documentation. So it was nice to see the alternative if you purchase up front, you still get the discount over time. So as long as I am in Japan for 2 years after I purchase the iPhone, then I will get the full discount through the monthly discounts.

Some things I like the Touch over the iPhone is the size. The Touch is really thin. I like that. I also like having 32GB available. Having said that, the iPhone is definitely looking good.

I never used my touch because the wifi connectivity is very sparse where I live. The biggest thing I like about the iPhone is using the internet anywhere I go.

 

[sushi]

I never used my touch because the wifi connectivity is very sparse where I live. The biggest thing I like about the iPhone is using the internet anywhere I go.

That is the one big advantage of the iPhone for sure.

 

[SaSaSushi]

That is the one big advantage of the iPhone for sure.

3G is absolutely without a doubt the single greatest advantage of the iPhone over the Touch with the camera and phone a distant second in my book.

That said, just be prepared to pay the full 5985 yen/month in data if you intend to use it even lightly. Masayoshi Son knew full well what he was doing when he lowered the ceiling price on the unlimited plan. Considering how easy it is for folks out there to rack up millions of yen in actual usage (before the discount is applied) how hard can it be to go over 1695 yen? lol

 

[sushi]

3G is absolutely without a doubt the single greatest advantage of the iPhone over the Touch with the camera and phone a distant second in my book.

No argument there.

That said, just be prepared to pay the full 5985 yen/month in data if you intend to use it even lightly. Masayoshi Son knew full well what he was doing when he lowered the ceiling price on the unlimited plan. Considering how easy it is for folks out there to rack up millions of yen in actual usage (before the discount is applied) how hard can it be to go over 1695 yen? lol

Good marketing!

 

[tony-in-japan]

Only in Japan *Probably*

Well, I nearly lost my iPhone last night...

I was in PARCO (department store) with my wife and ‘rascal’ daughter who was running around all over the place. As we were leaving a book store a Japanese couple came up to my wife and handed a very familiar brown leathercase to her. GEEZ, IT WAS MY IPHONE!!

Basically, it was on the floor as my belt accidentally unbuckled (probably due to handling my active-kicking daughter) and the leather-case which it was attached to slid off and onto the floor without my awareness whatsoever.

It was a miracle it got handed back to me by an honest couple (only in Japan???)

Anyway, there is a very small scratch mark on the corner of my phone from the drop. Never mind... better to have that mark than NO PHONE at all!!

 

[SaSaSushi]

I was just thinking about the possibility of iPhone theft. I suppose someone could unlock a stolen iPhone but while your SIM is in it I imagine it would be very easily traceable. I know Softbank offers a pay service to locate misplaced phones for a fee. I believe that is even for phone models without GPS chips by cell tower triangulation.

Still, glad to see you got your iPhone back without needing to resort to that hassle.

 

[tony-in-japan]

Actually, this is the second time my keitai has dropped off my belt and been lost. The other time was with a Docomo phone on a train and some other honest person handed it into the lost depart where I picked it up a few days later.

I think I need to change my leathercase as it is the button style. Still awaiting my Vaja iVolution case which is still being made (been over 1 month now) and that should solve the problem.

 

[sushi]

Actually, this is the second time my keitai has dropped off my belt and been lost.

I have a nice belt/waist keitai holder.

It has come off my belt more times than I care to remember. I finally gave up trying to use it. Now I just carry in my pocket or in a shoulder bag.

Glad you got your iPhone back. Only in Japan!

 

[tony-in-japan]

Glad you got your iPhone back. Only in Japan!

The funny thing is my Japanese wife said “normally even a Japanese person would have kept your iPhone since it is still such a techno-lust item!” Not sure if she was joking or being serious though.

I went for a haircut the other day and had to bring out my iPhone to show a photo of myself to explain what kind of haircut I wanted. As soon as it was brought out the hairdresser suddenly knew what it was. “Ahh, an iPhone!” he shouted with excitement (and no doubt a touch of envy)! Even though he is currently on AU, he knew a lot about the iPhone already and said he wanted one too -- if only for superficial reasons rather than necessity!