So I know a few of you have iPhones here, and I was wondering what kind of plan you have and how much it runs you a month? I'm thinking about getting one when I go back to Japan so I was checking out the Softbank site, but tbh there are so much different plans I have no idea which one is ripping me off the least. I'd just be going for a one year contract but I don't mind paying the ~Â¥25.000 after a year to pay off the phone, mostly wondering about the monthly costs I can expect for average internet use and not that much calling (mostly texting).
OK, I have an iPhone 3Gs with the following SoftBank plan. 2 year contract so I can't upgrade until February 2012 without paying a whopping cancellation fee. Tsukaihoudai (unlimited use) of the internet, Emails, App Store access, streaming and so on. Basically an unlimited data package and unlike those in the west, it really is unlimited. Phone calls to other SoftBank users are free, calls to other mobiles are standard rate until 7pm. Mails / txt to other phones are free. Free home WiFi router. Total monthly cost INCLUDING the phone price which I pay each month over 2 years - 5800 odd yen. I think this is a fantastic plan because I have a phone / games machine / unlimited internet and a WiFi router for my laptop thanks to the Jailbreak software, MyWi which uses the 3G network (normally around 580kbps here) to connect laptops to the net. The thing with phone plans in Japan, they're so complicated that unless you know your stuff you'll just get shafted. My plan also consists of the white plan and student plan. You won't be able to use the white plan but you maybe able to get money off with a student plan IF they are still offering it. Yakumo
Cheers Yakumo, some helpful stuff there. Yeah I know that a lot of foreign people get screwed over because once you get to one of the softbank stores and the salespeople are rambling on in Japanese it's hard to see the bigger picture. I do speak enough Japanese but even in my home country phone contracts are complicated as fuck so no harm in getting some info in advance. On the Softbank site they still list the white plan and I should be able to get the student plan (I'm gonna be on a student visa). From what I could gather it's ~¥2000 a month to pay off the phone, and then 3500-4500 for all the things like internet and mail except for calling. Do you know how much calling is gonna run? It must be cheaper than my prepaid phone, which is 10¥ per six seconds.. Only thing is that I want a one year contract, and I wonder how much I'm gonna have to pay extra to pay off the last year. If it's just the ¥2000 a month to pay off the handset no problem, if they want a ton of money on top for the contract that might be a dealbreaker though. But given the utter lack of WiFi spots in Japan(free ones, atleast) tethering to my laptop is also quite useful.
Sorry, everyone I know uses SoftBank so I've never actually called a DoCoMo or AU phone before. I can't see it being as much as a prepaid phone though. I'm also not sure if you could get a 1 year contract. I'm pretty sure the shortest is 2 years if you want all the cheap deals like unlimited data and so on. It doesn't hurt to ask though. But if you do get one I can tell you now that the tethering is a God send, it really is. I use tethering almost every day for a good few hours at a time. Sure, I don't download torrent files (that would be silly) but I still get through an awful lot of data. Actually, when you get your phone bill, SoftBank will list the amount of data you used and how much you should pay for it. My last bill would have been a killer if it wasn't for the unlimited data package.
The standard rate for calling outside one's network was 42 Yen/min the last time I checked. Just somewhat cheaper than the Prepaid rate.
I call outside the network regularly. I'm running somewhere around 10,000 yen a month now that I'm only paying on a single phone. The packet houdai will run you about 4000 yen a month if memory serves. Then like 1000-2000 yen for your monthly plan (just get the White plan...seems to make the mot sense). If you only call other Softbank phones, you're golden. I don't have a phone in my office so I call land lines somewhat regularly. I don't know if they charge for texts or not but I use a lot of them. You probably know already, but a Brastel account is a must for calling abroad.
Iphone 4 for 2 years unlimited data paid for calls I am averaging between 6000-10000 a month Is a Brastel account better than a SKYPE account? also who did you guys get credit cards with? im going to try my back SMBC again but they rejected me before
Cheers for the info guys. Martin, I know there's no 1 year account but the amount to buy it off after a year wasn't too bad with most of my friends before. However, they all had regular phones. It might be a different story with the iPhone.. I'll have to look into that, being able to use it when I go home again might make it worth it.
If you have a jailbroken iPhone with 3G Unlimited, then Skype is a million times better. I call my family in the UK from my iPhone while driving for FREE. Skype thinks it's on WiFi you see so it will allow the call. Hmm, I have a JAL card with the MasterCard logo on it. It came from DC card. The reason I got a JAL card was for the airmails. Paid off too. We're all going back to the Uk for 2 weeks this August but my wife flies for free. I've also flew to Tokyo twice for free. Yakumo
How the hell do you get miles on a Japanese card? I use my American one where I can charge it to the max then instantly pay it off then run it up again. I charged up my Japanese card and called them and told them I wanted to make a payment and they wouldn't let me pay it off....I had to wait until the designated date that they take it out of my postal account. That means the most miles I can get in any month is my credit limit. Oh, and you don't automatically get miles...like when you use it to buy from the internet. But back to the topic at hand... You should call the English customer service numbers for the phone companies. They have people who understand the plans and they speak English well enough to understand complex questions and answer them. And have the number handy when you go to get your phone. If you have any problems at all just call it while you're sitting in front of the person at the store and the lady on the phone will translate everything for you. You can find the numbers on their English page websites. I looked into both Docomo and Softbank and the difference was how many calls you actually make. I pay more a month for Docomo but I'm mostly protected in case I have to make a lot of calls. Softbank gives you the max internet but they charge you an arm and a leg if you have to use your phone a lot, especially to non-Softbank callers. So if you don't make many calls or stick mostly to Softbank users then Softbank will be cheaper. I'm not sure how they will look at your visa but when I went in to get an iPhone (but didn't) they said I needed 26 months left on my visa for them to give you the installment package. That's where you make a payment of about 2,000 yen a month for the phone instead of paying for the total cost up front. Since I didn't have 26 months on my visa they said I couldn't get the installment plan and I had to purchase a phone. Maybe they handle student visas differently. In the end you'll get your money back but it's nice to not have to shell out $500 on the spot, especially if your visa expires in August like mine does...heh. You might also want to check out the other phones from Softbank like the Galapagos and the HTC. I went in there thinking the iPhone was the way to go but I checked out the other smart phones they had and decided that if I ever do go with Softbank I'll probably get the Sharp Galapagos. Really nice design.
You get what you pay for. Brastel quality is about as good as a land line call. It's somewhat expensive from mobiles, but I think for 5000 yen I get like 160 minutes on my mobile and like 600+ minutes from my land line. That's calling the US. Europe is of course more. Skype is hit & miss (almost always miss over 3G), and I use it a lot for work.
Yeah, skype can be a bit crap over 3G in some areas. Luckily for me I live in a good reception area (up to 580kbps over 3G!). Japan-Games.com, I don't know about your American card but the Japanese JAL card awards point for every 1000 yen you spend. These points can be used for gifts from their catalogue or exchanged for airmails. the points do have a limit though so it's best to use them whenever you can. I even exchanged some for this pre-paid card type thing that I can use in many convenient stores. Pretty good deal. I use my JAL card for buying everything online and pretty much every time I eat in a restaurant or buy anything over 3000 yen. The only crapper is Japanese credit cards can only be paid at the end of each month or end of the billing cycle. They're not at all flexible. Yakumo
You can break the payments up when you buy the item though. But yeah, it's kinda stupid. The miles come in handy though. I'm going to attempt to go to your backwards country on miles this summer!
Yeah, I hardly ever break up payments though because then they sting you with added charges Backwards? We invented hooligans :nod:
I've never done anything more than the 1 time charge. I talked to a Japanese friend about the miles system and she was saying the credit cards don't allow early payments on purpose because it acts like a limit to the miles you can get. It was strange calling them and trying to get them to take my money but they refused...heh. Next month I'll pay for my yearly health insurance on my US credit card then pay it off the next day, then I'm free to rack up more miles.
Yeah, not being allowed to pay your credit card bill when you want to is a right pain in the arse because by the end of the month you're faced with a whopping big bill! This months bill was 579'761 yen :drool: Why so big? Well, new alloy wheels for my car, plane tickets to the UK for my wife and son (only I could travel free), insurance and other crap. It seems all the bills come at once.
Just have them up the limit. .. but it's backfired. I've gotten a few doozies before... it's sobering.
