Is there any way to use my phone as a smartphone (i.e. voice and data) without incurring roaming charges?
If the answer to that is no, word on the street is that I should be able to use my phone in airplane mode but still be able to connect to wifi networks. So, as far as this goes, assuming wifi passwords in Japan will be in Japanese, what’s the best way to activate Japanese input on my phone? Some quick Googling seems to indicate that there’s no native IME, but an app by the name of Simeji will do the trick. Still, I’m open to suggestions.
FWIW, my phone is a G2 running Android version 2.3.4. Thanks!
Assuming your Android is compatible with a Japanese network, you will be charged roaming charges in Japan. If you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can get a Japanese SIM card and prepaid minutes to use it locally. SoftBank offers such a card, and I’m sure others do as well.
Things might have changed in the last couple of years, but I don’t think you’ll find WiFi networks using Japanese characters in passwords or SSIDs. Certainly, I setup numerous commercial PPOE, WiFi and other network services without ever being provided IDs or passwords that used non-Roman characters.
I think you’ll find actual wi-fi access to be a bit disappointing in Japan. For a high tech country wi-fi is rather rare. Almost all their untethered internet access is handled through the cellular networks. Most hotels don’t offer wi-fi, it’s an unusual experience to have to use a lan cable for your laptop.
I’ve never seen Japanese characters required for any computer related set up.
I seem to remember that, too.
FYI, UMTS 2100 is common for Europe, and 1700 is what T-Mobile uses in the US.
If you have a phone that claims either of those, you may be good to go, pending getting the right SIM card or paying roaming charges.
-D/a
That’s because the 3G and now Wimax services are actually good, and unlimited data plans standard. A large proportion of portable and ultraportable computers have Wimax built in, so there is much less need for wifi. In my experience, many hotels do have wifi, though many only offer ethernet.
I am interested in this question and answer because I intend to get a SIM-only package to use my Android phone in Japan. It’s a Samsung Galaxy (unlocked). It will be great if I can get a package that includes mobile internet.
Dang. I saw this article on free-wifi vending machines and got my hopes up. Didn’t realize that it was, by the sounds of it, on rather the bleeding edge of wifi access.
So, bottom line, the following things need to be true:
[ol]
[li]My phone needs to be unlocked.[/li][li]I’d need to get (rent) a SIM card from a Japanese cellular provider.[/li][/ol]
Now, seeing as how #1 is not currently true, is this something that could be solved by A) asking T-mobile nicely, or B) rooting my phone?
I’ve always been able to get T-Mobile to unlock my phones by asking nicely, as long as they aren’t brand-new (I think the last time I asked, the phone had to be at least 3 months old). Why don’t you call them up and ask?
Surprisingly, this worked like a charm. (Surprising, because I am a cynic and I expected to be asked for my first born in exchange for them to unlock my phone.)
As far as SIM card rental goes, is there anything that can be said about JCR vs. SoftBank? You know, one’s network is significantly better or anything like that (and is it just me or is SoftBank offering the unlimited data only on the iPhone SIM cards)?
JCR appears to sell DoCoMo SIM cards. DoCoMo has the best coverage, followed by AU. Softbank inherited Japan’s crappy network from Vodafone. It’s still fairly usable though.