[dj_mocok]

I was just wondering, are we able to purchase new, unlocked cell phones from Japan and use it in other country? They have so many nice cellphones there.

If possible I wanna buy one and use it here in Australia.

 

[kydsid]

I don't have experience in Australia but all of the "unlocked" GSM world phones I have bought for use in the US have worked great.

What you need to do is make sure that the frequencies the phone uses are compatible with your carriers frequencies.

A common term for GSM phones is quad band world phone which indicates the phone can access the four most common GSM frequencies in use (800,900,1800,1900).

 

[Nebby]

In a word, no.

To be more specific:

1) Most cellphones in Japan don't have GSM capability, only the ones marketed as "worldwide" phones.

2) The words "new" and "unlocked" pretty much don't belong next to each other in Japan unless you are talking about after-market sellers that buy the phones, crack them, and resell them for $$$.

Of course, if you're buying the cellphone from an after-market seller, all bets are off and you're on your own with that

Also, take note that most Japanese cellphones don't have text assist for the English mode, normally it's only available for texting in Japanese.

 

[dj_mocok]

What a shame. They sure have the most beautiful phones out there. Here in Australia, 90% of the phones look like crap.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

They don't sell phones by themselves there? I never really understood how that worked o.O

Over here you can buy phones by themselves (no line) even from the mobile service providers. Or you could get a line and buy the phone subsidised. Even then the phone is unlocked, so you could subscribe for a line, get the phone, then use another SIM card in it immediately. No need to unlock anything here..

 

[dj_mocok]

You mean here in Australia? Yes they do sell phones outright, but they are nowhere near as pretty as the Japanese phones.

 

[Nebby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmmtn4aj /img/forum/go_quote.gif They don't sell phones by themselves there? I never really understood how that worked o.O Over here you can buy phones by themselves (no line) even from the mobile service providers. Or you could get a line and buy the phone subsidised. Even then the phone is unlocked, so you could subscribe for a line, get the phone, then use another SIM card in it immediately. No need to unlock anything here..

The Provider stores will not sell you the phones without a contract, and they will not unlock the phones for you....period. You can beg and plead, but they do not give unlock codes at all. Third parties do sell the phones separately, but generally the prices are about as much as a phone + 1 year contract would cost. That may have changed though, as I last checked two years ago.

Japanese cellphone companies come up with new designs ridiculously fast. IMO, the only products that update faster would be drinks and snacks at the convenience stores. Those sometimes get changed out in under a week!

In case you were wondering what's available right now:

SoftBank 3G | SoftBank
KDDI au: Product Lineup
NTT DoCoMo: FOMA 705i Gallery

 

[dj_mocok]

And these are the phones offered here in Australia. Woohoo! It's like we're living in a different decade if you compare the phones.

 

[Nebby]

Well, you have a decent looking sony ericson phone

Got a bit of reverse culture shock when I saw that, I'm so used to the Japanese variety they have here. Wonder how the states are doing in terms of phones... (aside from the gee-wiz iPhone...that doesn't count)

 

[doubletaps]

Due to the whole iPhone unlocking business, some of the technology has been ported over for use with Japanese mobile phones.

I understand you can use those hacked SIM cards to unlock the phones thus bringing much more variety then the old-school software unlock.

The phone might not be fully unlocked thou, some functions such as MMS remain locked to Japan only, but the phone is able to send and receive SMS, make calls etc.

Prepare to pay a premium for these phones thou, you are generally looking at around 500USD with unlock.