Japanese Mobile Phone question

Hi,

I've just been to Japan, and have seen some of their mobile phones.
They are SO cool!

But not easy to get.
Here is some info I have learnt (please correct me if I am wrong)

- There is no GSM in Japan, they use mostly PDC
- There is 3G in Japan
- There are 3 carriers in Japan (Au, NTT DoCoMo, Softbank)
- Phones can only be bought with a contract in Japan, and only by
residents

Helpful Link
http://euc.jp/misc/cellphones.en.html

Soooo, my question is, where can I get a Japanese mobile phone?

I guess it would need to be an unlockable, 3G based mobile.

The closest I have got is this American website, which, confusingly,
offers GSM models:
http://www.plemix.com/selmob-mobile-softbank

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"zeebop" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> I've just been to Japan, and have seen some of their mobile phones.
> They are SO cool!
>
> But not easy to get.
> Here is some info I have learnt (please correct me if I am wrong)
>
> - There is no GSM in Japan, they use mostly PDC
>
>
PDC is pretty minor; it used to be CDMA, but 3G is rapidly taking over.
>
>
> - There is 3G in Japan
> - There are 3 carriers in Japan (Au, NTT DoCoMo, Softbank)
>
>
Yes. NTTDoCoMo and SoftBank use WCDMA (as in UK), while KDDI au use CDMA2000
(as in much of N America).
>
>
> - Phones can only be bought with a contract in Japan, and only by
> residents
>
>
Mostly true. There is no PAYG 3G, and limited PAYG 2G, but it's difficult
for non-residents to activate the service as it requires local ID.
>
>
> Helpful Link
> http://euc.jp/misc/cellphones.en.html
>
> Soooo, my question is, where can I get a Japanese mobile phone?
>
> I guess it would need to be an unlockable, 3G based mobile.
>
> The closest I have got is this American website, which, confusingly,
> offers GSM models:
> http://www.plemix.com/selmob-mobile-softbank
>
>
Your best bet is to source a handset outside of Japan, such as Hong Kong or
Bangkok, where they sell unlocked Japanese 3G phones (mainly WCDMA/UTMS).
Not all functions originally built into the phone are available, because of
differing technology (e.g. digital TV reception) and unavailability of
service (e.g. storing details of train season ticket or stored credit for
payment). Also software/firmware has been reflashed. Unlocking a phone in
Japan has recently been made illegal in Japan, so you don't readily find
unlocked Japanese phones there. You can still find locked 3G phones in
secondhand dealers from people who have upgraded to newer models, and there
are some people who claim to be able to unlock Japanese phones in UK. But as
I've said it's easier to find them outside the country.

Alec