Confused Blackberry user

[Kim Hortons]

Hi i'm SO confused.

I'm going to Japan for the first time for 1-2months. I want to bring my blackberry there, but I don't know what carrier to use. All I need is calling/text/data within Japan and to Canada.

Thanks!!

[twelvedown]

Bringing an alien phone into this country tends to end in tears.....
Can you get global roaming or something from your home country?
I'm sure someone more useful will come along soon but from what I know no Japanese carrier will want to sign you up for 2 months.

[evilone]

Hi i'm SO confused.

I'm going to Japan for the first time for 1-2months. I want to bring my blackberry there, but I don't know what carrier to use. All I need is calling/text/data within Japan and to Canada.

Thanks!!

I'm assuming you're currently on a GSM/WCDMA carrier (i.e. Rogers), ignore all of this if you're on a cdma2000 based one (i.e. Bell Mobility) in which case you're unlikely to be able to use your current handset.

You basically have 4 options:

1. Roam with your existing carrier and accept the (high) charges
2. Prepaid voice/texting, data not available (Softbank)
3. Prepaid data, voice/texting not available (bmobile)
4. Voice/text/data, requires a non-tourist status and a minimum 1 year contractual commitment (bmobile has the shortest commitments at 1y, Softbank or Docomo require 2y)

Option #2 plus a subscription to one of the popular wifi services may be the most viable option. Depending on what your costs are with your current carrier for incoming calls/texts while roaming #1 combined with use of subscription wifi may not be as expensive as you think either. I maintain an overseas sim on a second phone that's used exclusively for texting. Incoming I have free texts on roaming and I use an IP SMS service that lets me spoof my phone as the from address and only costs me 1.5 yen/text to almost anywhere in the world.

[Kim Hortons]

I'm assuming you're currently on a GSM/WCDMA carrier (i.e. Rogers), ignore all of this if you're on a cdma2000 based one (i.e. Bell Mobility) in which case you're unlikely to be able to use your current handset.

You basically have 4 options:

1. Roam with your existing carrier and accept the (high) charges
2. Prepaid voice/texting, data not available (Softbank)
3. Prepaid data, voice/texting not available (bmobile)
4. Voice/text/data, requires a non-tourist status and a minimum 1 year contractual commitment (bmobile has the shortest commitments at 1y, Softbank or Docomo require 2y)

Option #2 plus a subscription to one of the popular wifi services may be the most viable option. Depending on what your costs are with your current carrier for incoming calls/texts while roaming #1 combined with use of subscription wifi may not be as expensive as you think either. I maintain an overseas sim on a second phone that's used exclusively for texting. Incoming I have free texts on roaming and I use an IP SMS service that lets me spoof my phone as the from address and only costs me 1.5 yen/text to almost anywhere in the world.

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply!
What do you think of calling cards? Would it be cheaper if I used it in Japan to call locally?
How did you do the ip sms service thing?

[evilone]

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply!
What do you think of calling cards? Would it be cheaper if I used it in Japan to call locally?
How did you do the ip sms service thing?

I kind of doubt you will be happy with calling cards for local calls.

The IP SMS service I use is fishtext.com, although there are many others. There's a very good android app for using their service, but I think bb is stuck with a java app that's pretty primitive.