| Author |
japan mobile thread |
lynn
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: 65
PM |
any news on launch date yet? |
|
|
niji
Joined: Oct 22, 2004
Posts: 61
From: tokyo
PM |
hello lynn,
there is no confirmed date on the launch of 802se.
however, it is listed and shown prominently in the December catalog that was issued on Dec 1. but, it gives no actual launch date. what this means is that a December launch is almost certain, but, there is deifinitely some sort of (1) supply problem, or (2) system/firmware problem.
there is one bit of news, however: the cost to a consumer for the 802se, is set between jpy19,500 and jpy31,000. the lower cost is paid by a new subscriber to vodafone japan switching from another network; the higher cost is paid by a current vodafone japan customer just changing to this handset.
one more bit of news: there are several vodafone retail shop operator's discussion forums in japan, and the general concensus is that the fone to wait for is the 902sh. the 902sh has something like 80% popularity among the seven 3g handsets that vodafone japan will be launching over the next 60 days. the 802se is way down in the popularity rankings, at only 11% (it is number 2 however).
the reason for this is that the se model has virtually none of the standard types of customization options built into japanese cell fone maker's handsets. i agree with this. the 802se has so little ability to customize any of it.
here is a link to a page that shows all 7 fones (in japanese).
http://www.vodafone.jp/japane[....]ucts/domestic_3g.html?cc_2215=
thnx
[ This Message was edited by: niji on 2004-12-10 00:10 ]
[ This Message was edited by: niji on 2004-12-10 00:14 ] |
niji
Joined: Oct 22, 2004
Posts: 61
From: tokyo
PM |
here is a worthwhile page to view.
it shows the winter line up of new 3g fones in japan, from docomo, au, and vodafone.
when you see the fones from au and docomo, you will realize what vodafone is up against in capturing any market share in japan.
http://www.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0412/09/news098_2.html
|
lynn
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: 65
PM |
@ niji
wow...thanks for the update 
edit : perhaps they are launching it during their winter fiesta? ---> http://www.vodafone.jp/v3g_debut/winter.html
[ This Message was edited by: lynn on 2004-12-10 04:43 ] |
niji
Joined: Oct 22, 2004
Posts: 61
From: tokyo
PM |
it looks (still unofficial) that selected tokyo are shops will start to sell the 802se on dec 15. smaller shops and non-tokyo area retailers from dec 18. black and birch white only. copper will still only start to be available in january, however.
|
niji
Joined: Oct 22, 2004
Posts: 61
From: tokyo
PM |
its official.
802se: tokyo launch from dec 15
outside of tokyo from dec 18. |
Wazuki
Joined: Aug 08, 2004
Posts: 280
PM |
Banzai! What the special japan only features it has?
This message was posted from a Nokia |
lynn
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: 65
PM |
it's the 15th!!! who's got it? niji? |
niji
Joined: Oct 22, 2004
Posts: 61
From: tokyo
PM |
im in china right now. i get back to tokyo on the 18th.
cant wait.
|
xiaoka
Joined: Dec 19, 2004
Posts: 11
From: Hong Kong
PM |
I picked one up yesterday at Yodabashi in Fukuoka.
It cost me about 185,000. even though I was a new account they didn't give me a discount (I really should have waited, but I want to use it on an upcoming trip to HK and China and those other world phones Vodafone has are inferior to this one...)
I played around with it last night quite a bit... I got the bluetooth synching with my computer up, etc.
My initial impressions:
pro- T9!!! (I think this might be the only phone available in Japan with T9???? multi-tap was turning me into a cripple....)
pro - bluetooth
pro - stereo headphones.
pro - jave games look nice
con - black shows fingerprints and smudges SUPER easily
con - Digital rights management bullsh!t for playing mp3s. what the hell?!? (anyone know how to get around this? another case of a cell phone provider hobbling the usefulness of a product to try and squeeze money out of you for their services)
con - As we all knew, it is in fact SIM locked. I need to try to figure out a way to unlock this thing so I don't have to pay friggin 115 yen a minute to make a call overseas.
con - reception with Vodafone 3g is apparently pretty bad, I haven't tested it too much, but I have seen it less than full signal around town and inside buildings.
con - I /think/ you may only be able to do skymail via SMS, which means you can only do it to other Vodafone people. to send a message to an email address you have to use MMS and pay by the byte... (I'm not 100% on this, since the english documentation is a bit slim, maybe someone can correct me on this?)
[ This Message was edited by: xiaoka on 2004-12-19 07:44 ] |
Wazuki
Joined: Aug 08, 2004
Posts: 280
PM |
Anyways i like the f900it looks and features more. Hey ppl, does the e mail there work thru i mode?
This message was posted from a Nokia |
niji
Joined: Oct 22, 2004
Posts: 61
From: tokyo
PM |
"xiaoka": you didnt pay 185,000 for this fone. there is no such thing as skymail on this fone. it is ofcourse locked and no overseas (non-japan) unlocking solution would work on this fone so get used to paying vodafone japan rates while roaming. you do not need to send email as mms, you pay for email account sending by packet which is 0.02 jpy per packet (128 bytes is one packet) after you set up yr email account with proper parameters.
wazuki: iMode is the docomo proprietary wap menu. it has nothing to do with vodafone. iMode is not accessable by any carrier other than docomo. au has their version: ezweb; vodafone has live!
update: 802se white birch will go on sale dec 29.
[ This Message was edited by: niji on 2004-12-19 08:32 ] |
Wazuki
Joined: Aug 08, 2004
Posts: 280
PM |
But f900it is docomo. Just could you explain how does that instant email work. Thanks.
This message was posted from a Nokia |
xiaoka
Joined: Dec 19, 2004
Posts: 11
From: Hong Kong
PM |
Quote:
|
On 2004-12-19 09:31:33, niji wrote:
"xiaoka": you didnt pay 185,000 for this fone. there is no such thing as skymail on this fone. it is ofcourse locked and no overseas (non-japan) unlocking solution would work on this fone so get used to paying vodafone japan rates while roaming. you do not need to send email as mms, you pay for email account sending by packet which is 0.02 jpy per packet (128 bytes is one packet) after you set up yr email account with proper parameters.
|
|
yes, of course, I paid 18,500... $185 or so. you know what I mean.
As far as email vs sky-mail, etc: I talked to a couple vodafone people yesterday and this morning to get a more complete picture of how the 802 works with Vodafone's system:
no skymail, just SMS to other vodafone customers. and using MMS - email to anyone.
From the looks of it it is actually CHEAPER to send an MMS than an SMS. according to their documentation there's a charge of 5 yen per SMS (up to 160 characters), whereas MMS (counting as data transmitted) would be 3 yen for a 128 character message, but only 3.4 yen for a 384 character message. (pg 45 of the english vodafone japan catalog).
But since there's no sky mail you can't use it to change your email address (@name) or do other email setting stuff. you have to use Vodafone live (which I imagine will end up costing a lot more then sending one skymail costs).
As far as unlocking goes - I suppose using the V800 unlocking solution wouldn't work then? How do we know this? Isn't it pretty much the same for all SE phones? (its not like the 802 has fundamentally different software on it or anything). |
lynn
Joined: Mar 31, 2004
Posts: 65
PM |
by the way, what's the firmware version on the japanese v802se? |
|
|
Posted: 2004-12-09 11:02
