In article <slrnfe37av.a5.dcferguson@akit-ferguson.com>,
Dennis Ferguson <dcferguson@pacbell.net> wrote:

> On 2007-09-07, Mike <mnolan@purdue.edu> wrote:
> > I am going to Japan next month for 10 days. I currently have a quad
> > band phone that does NOT work in Japan (I guess I need a 3g phone to
> > do that). I am not a heavy phone user. I would probably use the
> > phone less than 10 minutes per day and/or send 3-4 text messages per
> > day. I can do most of my business via email and the internet from the
> > hotel. I mostly plan on keeping in touch with the wife and kids. I
> > will spend most of my time in Tokyo proper. I guess I need to either
> > rent a phone and service and/or buy a Japan capable phone and use
> > cingular/ATT's internatonal roaming.
> >
> > Does anyone have a easy and hopefully somewhat inexpensive solution to
> > my problem? I would appreciate any and all suggestions.
>
> If you travel frequently in Europe and Asia, and want a new phone,
> buying a phone that supports 2100 MHz UMTS (i.e. 3G) might be worth
> it. The trouble with this is that there are very few phones which
> support 2100 MHz UMTS which also provide full band coverage in the US,
> and those that exist are expensive. I think the only phone with this
> band AT&T sells is the 8525 smartphone, which is quite expensive.
> I have a Hong Kong V3xx which I've used in Japan; it supports 2100 MHz
> and I paid less than $100 for it, but it lacks 850 MHz support so I can't
> use it in the US. I'm hoping there'll be a better selection of phones
> with full band coverage next year.
>
> Apart from this, you can rent a Japanese phone when you get there. Last
> time I was there I saw a DoCoMo booth at Narita Airport which was renting
> phones. I'm not sure what this costs, though, nor do I have any idea what
> a local prepaid SIM costs if you already have a phone. I travel to Japan
> infrequently, and never more than a couple of days at a time, so I normally
> just grit my teeth and pay roaming rates.
>
> Dennis Ferguson

Renting in Japan is cheap and you can get good rates for overseas,
though when I go, I mainly just use internet.

Those roaming charges must kill you, though!

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