Japanese cell phone Q's

[kuyu]

I saw the other thread about bluetooth, but I don't want to change its course.

My question: Is it possible to buy a phone from Japan and have an american sim card installed? I found a really tight kyocera, but you can't buy one in the US. If I were to have it shipped here could/would ANY cell carriers allow me to use it.

Thx for the help.

 

[MoparShaha]

First, the phone needs to be able to operate in the 1900 MHz GSM frequency to use it here in the US. Secondly, the phone needs to be unlocked in order to work with a different carrier than it's original. If you get a phone that meets these two criteria, it should work fine with any US GSM carrier.

 

[abhishekit]

well if its a new phone, probably it would be a triband phone. So I guess the only thing you would have to do is get it unlocked.

 

[junior]

Apart from the phones designed to work internationally, my understanding is that you can't use the phones you buy in Japan abroad.

 

[DeepIn2U]

kuyu, junior maybe right in this regard.

Japan especially NTT DoCoMo have WCDMA phones that have support for GPRS/EDGE networks here in North America (AT&T, T-Mobile, Cingular).

Sure if it supports 1900/850Mhz (the latter is AT&T, maybe Cingular, Rogers AT&T Wireless here in Canada) and its unlocked SHOULD work as MoparShaha suggested. But because its WCDMA based (I'm guessing because you mentioned its available in Japan, their so much more advanced) being unlocked and having SIM card capability may NOT be enough. there is a NEW type of SIM card meant specifically for 3G networks (NTT DoCoMo) think its called R-UIM (universal identity module, as opposed to SIM subscriber identity module).

If you can get the manual b4 buying make sure of these points mentioned.
1900 mhz bandwidth minimum.
unlocked (being able to accept SIM/UIM cards from other cellular providers)
make sure the phone supports GPRS/EDGE networks in said bandwidth AND supports SIM cards.

PS can you post a pic or a link??

Cheers

 

[kuyu]

Here's a link to the "revolver" flash page. Hope it works

http://www.kyocera.co.jp/frame/product/telecom/keitai/au/a5305k/index_win.html

 

[imac_japan]

No you can't use Japanese phones outside of Japan

I live in Japan and Japanese phones don't have "Sim" cards like other countries....they are locked.

All the advertisements, sales staff and tech heads (NTT docomo - engineers) that I teach in Japan say NO...

Sorry !

 

[MoparShaha]

First you need to determine what type of network this phone runs on. I just assumed it was a GSM phone because you mentioned a SIM card. SIM cards are only found on GSM networks. If the phone is GSM, it needs to be able to operate on the 1900 MHz frequency to work in the US.

Prom1 brings up a good point though. CDMA is used in many parts of Asia, and some of those phones use a chip which looks like a SIM card, but is actually a RUIM card. A CDMA phone with a RUIM card could be mistaken for a GSM phone with a SIM card. If the phone is CDMA, you're not going to have much luck with it in the US. First, you need to get the MSL code from the original carrier, then you need to activate it on a US CDMA network (Sprint and Verizon being the biggest), which I've heard can be very tricky. And lastly, if you do manage to get the phone working, it will only have voice. I've never heard of anyone activating a non-US phone on a CDMA network, and being able to get data features (text messenging, internet, ect.).

So, in conclusion, if the phone is GSM, you're probably in luck. If it's CDMA, I wouldn't bother.

 

[DeepIn2U]

kuyu,
That is definitely a nice phone. MoparShaha mentioned

CDMA is used in many parts of Asia, and some of those phones use a chip which looks like a SIM card, but is actually a RUIM card. A CDMA phone with a RUIM card could be mistaken for a GSM phone with a SIM card. If the phone is CDMA, you're not going to have much luck with it in the US.

and

st, you need to get the MSL code from the original carrier, then you need to activate it on a US CDMA network

.

Guess that he IS right. Here in Canada TelusMobility and Bell Mobility are the two CDMA networks and NObody has been successful in activating their non-approved ESN number into their network.

SOrry bud. Hey if you really want a revolver phone look at the upcoming GPRS Motorola V80 or V878 model. It does everything that phone does, plus MP3 ringertones like the V600, Bluetooth and color-coded ringer lights and picture messaging.

Cheers