Importing a Japanese mobile phone
Vodafone 903SH
If you have been reading my blog since the b2 days, you would know that I own a Vodafone 903SH (the SH is for Sharp). At the time I got it, the phone was the latest 3G offering from Vodafone Japan and it’s equipped with a 3.2mp camera and all that jazz. I had to send mine to Japan for repairs some time ago and now I finally got it back today! Joy~~ I feel complete as a person once more. :P
Anyway, some people have been wondering about how to import Japanese phones for use in their own countries. Here are some things you should know first…
Japanese phones are dirt cheap. But only if you are living in Japan. Just take a look at Vodafone’s online store and you will see that most of their latest 3G offerings sell for less than 100 USD, with cameras ranging from ~2mp to 3.2mp. The most expensive phone available is 905SH, which is selling for ￥22,800 (about 200 USD), but that’s because it has a built-in TV tuner…
Cheap as they may be, if you going to import the phones, prepare to pay for 4 to 6 times the list price. Here’s why…
Firstly, Japanese phones are all SIM locked to their service providers. Their telecommunication laws are pretty strict about this. As Japanese firmwares are not designed to be unlockable, unlocking generally means that you have to get someone to reflash it with a hacked firmware or an unlocked firmware for that model from a different region. Very few phones are unlockable thus they are in great demand.
Secondly, most Japanese phones do not support GSM. They just have something against GSM. Don’t even try getting Japanese 2G phones because none of them can be used outside of Japan even if you somehow trick them into accepting a foreign SIM card (assuming they have a SIM card slot in the first place!) For 3G, Japan uses the W-CDMA standard, which is compatible with the UMTS 3G network used in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, UK and a whole bunch of other places. Good stuff. Some 3G phones also support GSM so that Japanese who travel can roam in foreign countries.
Thirdly, the only way to get a phone in Japan is to sign up for a new line. There is no retail market for mobile phones in Japan because they are all locked to providers anyway. Breaking a contract in order to keep the phone incurs fees, paperwork and sometimes getting blacklisted by the provider.
Fourthly, there are usually at least two to three middlemen when you import a phone, perhaps more. The person in Japan who obtained the locked phone from Vodafone, the person who imported it to your country and perhaps another person who did the firmware hacking. They all want to make money off this.
Lastly, a lot of people want those phones. Consistent demand keeps prices sky-high because the supply is very limited.
So…
What do you get for all that trouble and money spent?
Well, for one thing, you get a damn COOL phone. Japanese phones all have beautiful exterior designs that make foreigners green with envy. You also get Japanese input and display support. They also come with very nice cameras and have some of the most amazingly clear and bright LCD displays ever used in mobile phones.
You can also scan and decode QR codes, which is quite useful if you often read Japanese websites and magazines. :P Here’s my URL encoded in QR code:
An example of QR code
Despite the numerous fees required, an unlocked Japanese phone is usually still cheaper than a locally-sold phone of similar capabilities (normal retail price and not contract price). Not to mention the fact that there are often no phones of similar capabilities available locally.
Unlocked Japanese phones also have very high resale values because of high demand and low supply. My 903SH actually resells for more than when I first purchased it, something which is unheard of for locally-purchased sets. This is because Japanese providers are constantly introducing new measures to prevent their phones from being exported and unlocked, thus limiting the supply.
On the flipside, you lose T9 input for English unless you flash the phone to UK or HK firmware (if available). Japanese firmwares are also laden with DRM protection for MP3 files and generally have very, very soft ringtones (which is fine for Japanese subway trains where no one talks aloud but probably not enough for less civilized environments). Hacks used to unlock the firmware may also introduce new bugs or result in unstable software behaviours. All in all, you need to make various compromises and be somewhat tech-savvy (with regards to DRM protections, video encoding and GPRS/WAP configuration) if you want to use your import phone to its fullest potential.
Generally, I notice three common reasons for getting a Japanese phone: the camera, the superior LCD screen and the Japanese input/display support. If none of those categories apply for you, you should probably avoid the trouble…
Where to start
Once you’ve decided that you want a Japanese phone, it’s time to decide which one. Not that there’s much of a choice since most Japanese phones cannot be unlocked. Forget DoCoMo (including the FOMA P900iV that Cloud used in Advent Children), forget KDDI. Only some Vodafone 3G models are unlockable.
Vodafone is your only choice. The ones by Sharp are mostly all unlockable; some of the Toshiba ones are too. Just look for the models that end with SH or T on Vodafone Japan.
902SH, 903SH and 904SH are some popular choices. BTW Sousuke used a black 902SH in Second Raid (my old 902SH pictured on the right :P).
In order to make your decision, you need to do some research. Most of the information related to import phones can only be found in online forums. The best forum for Singaporeans is the mobile phone section of Hardware Zone. And even if you’re not in Singapore, it’s still a great source of information. (Just ignore the idiots) You need to read up on the pros and cons of the various firmwares and the various models. For example, hacked Japanese firmware for 903SH is quite unstable and cannot receive MMS. Hong Kong firmware has Chinese and English T9 but loses Japanese display support. Etc etc.
Choosing the right importer is VERY important. If something goes wrong with your phone, Vodafone isn’t going to help you. You need to make sure the person you are buying from is reliable. Ebay and online retailers are generally overpriced. The best bet is to visit your local tech/mobile phone forums and look for a reputable private dealer. For Singaporeans, look for “kuro” on HWZ forums. He’s pretty much the person to go to for import phones.
The payoff
This is what I got for all my troubles…
Vodafone 903SH
Vodafone 903SH
“Camera” mode
Standby screen
My current ringtone
Gmail in Opera Mini
Wikipedia in Opera Mini
This blog in Opera Mini
Refer to my old post for picture quality. It’s pretty good for a 3.2mp phone, but certainly not as good as a 3mp digicam. :P
I am using the UK firmware now, which is actually pretty good except for the lack of Japanese input. That said, I’m planning to switch back to Japanese once a more stable version of the hacked firmware is released. After living without English T9 input for so long, I realized that I am not used to it any more… lol.
September 24th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
Whats a good site for the US for reputable importers who can help with unlocking??? And for the phone you have DarkMirage, what type of price US are we looking at?
September 24th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
Not to be pedantic (I am, but that aside…)
The phones are artificially “cheap” because of the inflated price of the cell phone plans that subsidize them. The industry regulations that make it so hard to change providers only serve to lessen competition between them, which keeps overall prices higher (plans and phone, since you’re really paying for both).
In many other regions, as phone unlocking becomes more common, both phone and plan prices go down, while providers’ backend services become more standardized, because the companies are having to work harder to compete for service.
The higher phone prices in other markets are simply due to non-Japanese buying habits and non-Japanese business practices. Gradually, both sides are starting to pick up on the lessons of the other. But if the businesses desires are codified into law, the consumer is practically guaranteed to have the short end of the stick.
September 24th, 2006 at 3:28 pm
Exactly, they are heavily subsidized therefore they are not designed to be unlockable. A free market will force the industry to remove the subsidies, which means they have to charge more for the phone itself. Since Japanese generally don’t want to use foreign phones anyway, their providers have no reason to do so.
Tim: I really have no idea, but Howard forums is a good place to start looking. I paid about 500 USD for my 903SH when it first came out. Quite steep, but the resale price is about the same so it’s actually worth a lot more than normal trade-in value when I want to change to another phone.
September 25th, 2006 at 3:10 am
Well, part of what I was saying is that phones are also subsidized by plans in free markets where unlocking is common (even if not supported).
It’s the contract that retains the customer for that period, rather than the locking.
September 25th, 2006 at 10:37 am
I checked Howrds forums, seems to be the best bet :) Thanks!!! Also DarkMirage, how did you become part of the Seed Fan Club? I read all about it in Newtype, but never found out how to be apart!
October 4th, 2006 at 9:08 pm
hi, check with you does the white set gets dirty easily?
October 4th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
Nope, not as far as I can tell. In fact it has the added advantage that scratches on the top glossy surface are unnoticeable unlike the black set.
October 4th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
ok thanks, what about the possibility of non-glossy part turning yellowish?
October 7th, 2006 at 8:55 am
why do the japanese need to be so difficult (>_
October 14th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
I clicked on your contact tab and it did not provide me with an email address. Well, I think you have mine so please email me so I may contact you.
October 14th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
I can’t really tell if it turned yellow since I have nothing to compare it with, but it looks about the same as the glossy part.
October 15th, 2006 at 12:18 am
Hello again DarkMirage: If I plan on importing a Japanese Cell Phone, that’s unlocked, how can I find out if my carieer can be used with that phone??? I have Sprint.
October 15th, 2006 at 12:19 am
You have to ask your carrier or consult a forum… I have no idea about American carriers.
November 29th, 2006 at 3:37 am
Yea… Nokia N73 is a very very viable choice over the Sharp 903SH. It has everything the Vodafone 903SH have. 905SH is amazing, but it is not unlockable. 903SH is on ebay most of the time for about ~$500, make sure you get a stable firmware. N73 also suports 3G (complete with video calling), which means you could use it in Japan’s 3G network. It’s weird that phones outside Japan works in Japan, but not outside.. also, if you live in Europe, you could also get the phones to work, since Vodafone do operate in European countries. Even australia, and new zealand! America totally sucks when it comes to phones… we are still on EDGE… how sad is that??
November 29th, 2006 at 3:45 am
Sprint doesn’t work with SIMs. Cingular and Tmobile is the best to use with unlockable Japanese phones. Cingular also offer limited 3G service in limited metropolitan area (new york, Los Angelas, san francisco). America is getting there, but still long way to go. One thing that’s a huge obstacle for transforming America’s network to Japan’s is because the land mass the carrier have to cover. Japan is like the size of California so yea… filling up California with 3G is easy, but try doing that for like 50 states. Howard Forum is very informative. Also, Nokia is a much better choice, and Sony Ericsson are much better choice if you just don’t like to be everybody else. Nokia’s high profile series, and Sony Ericsson’s W series are good choice. I own the Vodafone 802SE (Sony ericsson’s phone) yea I imported that one, worked for 3 years, a solid phone. I just go NOkia’s n73, a very good phone, but audio quality isn’t as good as sony’s. I also have a Samsung E870, which i use for calling. If you are looking for a rich function phone, Nokia’s upcoming N95 is a very solid choice. I think it’s about 600-700 dollars. It has 5MP camera, along with all the Symbian OS function, and even GPS, and 3G. So yea. Toshiba are also known to make “cool” japanese phones like the T series (Vodafone 904T etc). Though they look good, they really arn’t that great. The only Japanese phone worth getting is Sharp as they make very good camera and display, but yea that’s about it.