Japanese cell phones

[Shampoo]

Hey gang!

I'll be heading to Japan in a few months and have been extensively researching
what japanese cell phones can be purchased over there and then modded
to work in the U.S.
So far I've gotten every response from "NO WAY NO HOW!!" to "yes" to "but you have
to replace the SIM card, only go thru this carrier but at long distance rates"

My brain hurts from the contradictory articles on the web
because I know for sure it is possible.

One of my good friends from H.S. went there and bought a cell that was
3 yrs ahead of our technology and uses it.
*grumbles* lucky dude

Unfortunately I lost touch w/ him or else I would just ask him directly.

SOOOOOooo.. my question to you tech geeks or maybe even testimonial witness is:

which phones can you buy that work here? And what provider will
let you hook up service with the phone?

[rallihir]

I looked into this extensively this summer. Apparent Japan runs in the 2100 band for cell phones, so you would need at least a quad band phone. I use Cingular and there were two phones that would work on the Cingular network that are compatible with their Japanese partner DoCoMo. These were the Treo 750 and the Cingular 8525. I was able to confirm with the Cingular World network representative that these phones would work if you active the world traveler plan. There is an additional cost to this plan vs. conventional US plans, and it is substantial (I think at least 70 cents/min). Perhaps the least confusing and most economical way may be to just rent a phone at Narita with a set # of minutes. Alternately, I have a friend with a smart phone who uses Skype and just makes calls when he is in an Wi-Fi zone. Hope this helps some.

[klet]

Hmmm . . . rallihir, it seems like your information is about getting an American phone to work in Japan, whereas I think that 'Poo is asking about getting a Japanese phone to work in America.

I know that in Europe, the cell phones are designed so that you can switch out the sim card when you travel to another country. So, if you travel internationally and want to make local calls in the foreign country you're in, you buy a prepaid card that comes with a sim card, switch out your sim card, and activate the phone. Then, you have a set amount of minutes you can use. The US doesn't really have anything like this, though . . .

Due to the nature of his job, kymaera might know something about this. Possibly. Maybe. No guarentees. But you can try pming him.

[Cloud]

What are the odds?