On Apr 26, 6:01 pm, CL <flot...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> MY GHOD!  IT'S A FREAK!  (Happy?)

Yeah, on the whole I'm a happy freak.

> I procrastinated for many fewer years but, having taken the plunge, I
> opted for one of those Happy, Lucky, Monkey Cute Kitty phones that
> you can buy a prepaid card for and use only as needed.

Oh, one of *those*! (Whisper: what's he talking about?)

>  But, with the Softbank Yen 900 campaign

Oh, *that*! (Whisper...)

> they were offering to charge me less than I was spending

Sounds good.

> so I chose to give up and get a serious handset.

Now I'm really nervous. You already lost me a couple of times *before*
you got serious...

> you are an adult and free to follow any form of mythology your
> heart desires.

It's not me so much; it's more a question of making the odd token
effort to mollify my better half from time to time.

> If you insist on PHS, then your choices are Willcom, Willcom, and ...
> Willcom.  Which isn't necessarily a Bad Thing.

Well, maybe that's the way to go, then. Will they do me a basic no-
frills service?

> Unless you intend to travel abroad and harbor any hope whatsoever of
> using your phone.

Not a problem.

> And if you don't mind portable phone temporary contract sellers in
> London telling jokes about you in Urdu while you stand there.

I've never really felt I needed one while in the UK, or any other
country, for that matter. Just Japan.

> But, if you like internetting from the train

Nope. Give me a good book any day.

> or travel a lot

Yes, I travel a fair bit.

> Willcom contracts can also include one of their AirEdge modems and
> "Tsunagi Houdai" service which is quite convenient

In what way? No, don't answer that! I just want to talk and text-
message. Anything else is superfluous.

> Handsets and service plans are quite separable.

What does it mean when they talk about mobile phones being "locked",
then? I thought that meant that they were tied to a particular
provider.

> Take a look at what you want / need

Basic, no-frills, e-mail and text messaging. If I ever decide I want
an all-singing all-dancing device that'll book my aeroplane tickets,
send photos to Alaska and remind me when my wedding anniversary is
I'll rethink things, but for now getting the hang of the basics is
going to be quite enough.

> Get the service guides for each of the providers and look at what their
> handsets do.

Now you seem to be implying that different providers have different
handsets, but just now you said they were quite separable. Confusing!

> Pick out one that does what you want and wouldn't
> embarrass you to be seen with.

OK. Can I pick up English-language versions of the service guides, or
do I have to labour with a Japanese one? Same goes for the interface;
an English-language interface would make the task of getting used to
the thing easier. (THis shows how much built-in aversion I have to the
whole idea; I've been using Japanese-language Windows on my computer
for the last 15 years, but I'd like to have the keitai in a language I
don't have to think about.)

> The really cheapest plan seems to be Softbank's White Plan at Yen 900
> per month.  But, be careful because that doesn't include the "rental" or
> 24-month payment for your handset.  This will usually put you in the Yen
> 2,400-3,200 per month area when you thought you were only signing up for
> Yen 900; but there are ways around.  Some sellers get rebates and
> kickbacks from the service providers and can get you a new handset free
> of charge, but you will have to shop around.

Well, OK. 3000 yen or so a month isn't going to kill me. Does that
mean I get unlimited phone calls and text messages for that price, or
what?

> The big thing is, phones aren't just for talking in any more.  They're
> not going to let you get off that easily.

Well they're going to have to. I don't want games, cameras, gizmos or
anything.

> There are a couple of things you'll have to think carefully about before
> you jump in as they're mondo convenient ... at least for me they are.
> One is the ability to do Global Roaming and the other is the ability to
> load Suica / Pasmo credit.

Nope! I don't know what these things are, and I don't want to have to
take them on board. All I want's the basic phone!

> Global Roaming is excellent if you travel a lot.  [snip] Not all Japanese
> handsets even offer Global Roaming, so you have to check for the
> capability if you decide it is a feature you need.

I've lived all my life without it, and never heard of it until just
now, so "need" doesn't really come into it.

> The Suica / Pasmo interface is, for me, the greatest invention in
> history.  You don't need to carry a lot of cash, especially change, and
> you can travel a lot of places in Kanto, Kansai, and around Kita Kyushu
> just using the stored credit on your phone.

I can't even begin to imagine how this works, and I'm perfectly happy
with conventional methods of paying for things. Again, I've lived all
these years without even knowing such things exist, and to say I
"need" it at this stage would just be a manufactured craving.

> sometimes I think if I squint just right I can be James Bond for ... oh
> ... ten or fifteen seconds at a time.

Well, *that* might have merit, but I can probably achieve that just by
being my normal urbane yet deadly self.

> Two things I see no use for in Japan -- OneSeg (television) and
> Bluetooth.

Whatever they are, I wouldn't dream of them!

Thanks for all the tips!

John