JapanForum.com  


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools
(#1 (permalink))
Old
lxny (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 3
Join Date: Feb 2010
3G SIM card rental / data plan - 02-09-2010, 10:33 AM

Hello,

I'm planning to be in Japan for 10 days, and was looking at renting a SIM card for use with my unlocked U.S. iPhone 3GS.

Softbank could rent a SIM card but the data plans are really expensive. They have a clause states "We cannot rent the 3G SIM card to users of certain handset models or certain smartphones" so I'm not sure I can even obtain one for use with my phone.

This is the ONLY place I can find on the Internets that provides a SIM rental with a data plan (Docomo at $170/week): JCR - Japan SIM rental

Are there other alternatives that may be cheaper?

TIA,
LXNY
Reply With Quote
(#2 (permalink))
Old
MMM's Avatar
MMM (Offline)
JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
02-09-2010, 10:41 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by lxny View Post
Hello,

I'm planning to be in Japan for 10 days, and was looking at renting a SIM card for use with my unlocked U.S. iPhone 3GS.

Softbank could rent a SIM card but the data plans are really expensive. They have a clause states "We cannot rent the 3G SIM card to users of certain handset models or certain smartphones" so I'm not sure I can even obtain one for use with my phone.

This is the ONLY place I can find on the Internets that provides a SIM rental with a data plan (Docomo at $170/week): JCR - Japan SIM rental

Are there other alternatives that may be cheaper?

TIA,
LXNY
This sounds SO sketchy.
Reply With Quote
(#3 (permalink))
Old
lxny (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 3
Join Date: Feb 2010
02-09-2010, 10:59 AM

Hi MMM,

Which part sounds sketchy? The way Softbank does business or the JCR place?

LXNY
Reply With Quote
(#4 (permalink))
Old
MMM's Avatar
MMM (Offline)
JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
02-09-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by lxny View Post
Hi MMM,

Which part sounds sketchy? The way Softbank does business or the JCR place?

LXNY
It is easy to rent cell-phones in Japan...it's not what Soft Bank does that sounds sketchy but your description of unlocking a 3G iPhone sounds sketchy.

There are American phones that work in Japan...you need to talk to your provider about their options.
Reply With Quote
(#5 (permalink))
Old
lxny (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 3
Join Date: Feb 2010
02-09-2010, 11:09 AM

Ahhh, I'm not discussing unlocking of phones... just stating that my phone is not restricted to any one carrier.
Reply With Quote
(#6 (permalink))
Old
MMM's Avatar
MMM (Offline)
JF Ossan
 
Posts: 12,200
Join Date: Jun 2007
02-09-2010, 11:14 AM

Quote:
Originally Posted by lxny View Post
Ahhh, I'm not discussing unlocking of phones... just stating that my phone is not restricted to any one carrier.
Then I do not know. You said "unlocked phone", so that is what I responded to.
Reply With Quote
(#7 (permalink))
Old
godwine's Avatar
godwine (Offline)
自爆十秒前
 
Posts: 1,767
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: ペンギン村
02-09-2010, 12:35 PM

I don't see why the softbank sim will not work, as long as its a standard 3G GSM sim it should work. But the thing is, I didn't even know that Japan support GSM now. I was ther ein October, and back then, its still WCDMA all over. I could be wrong, while I am a gadget geek myself, i don't know much about the Japanese market.
Reply With Quote
(#8 (permalink))
Old
spicytuna (Offline)
JF Old Timer
 
Posts: 667
Join Date: Dec 2008
02-09-2010, 06:26 PM

I believe the iPhone 3G/3GS is the exact same model whether you buy it in Japan or N.America.

I brought my Rogers iphone 3G to Japan and used it seamlessly via a roaming agreement Rogers had with Softbank. (Mind you, it cost around 100 yen/minute but that's a different story.)

If you get an unlocked 3G, I'd imagine you'd have no problems using it with a rental SIMM from Japan.

With that being said, $235/2 weeks is pretty expensive! At least you can use Skype to call if you have an unlocked phone.
Reply With Quote
(#9 (permalink))
Old
akabusi (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 4
Join Date: Feb 2010
02-11-2010, 10:24 AM

Hi lxny

You can rent a SIM for free from the Mobal counter at Narita airport. I am not sure about data on it though, but I do know that they supply Softbank SIM cards.

I will try and do some research and if I find out about their data rates, I will post back here.

K

p.s. their website is here: Japanese Cell Phone Rental from Narita Airport, Tokyo
Reply With Quote
(#10 (permalink))
Old
akabusi (Offline)
New to JF
 
Posts: 4
Join Date: Feb 2010
02-11-2010, 10:28 AM

Just noticed that it looks like I dropped a spammy link. However, I only posted a link to mobalnarita.com, the forum has automatically converted it into 'Japanese Cell Phone Rental from Narita Airport, Tokyo'. Quite weird.
Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




Copyright 2003-2006 Virtual Japan.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.0.0 RC6