Japanese cellphone in Korea???

[Bremen]

jpatlokal, I think you were right out of order in your response to Bremen and Plavt.

No, no, it's alright. After all, if the great lord jpatokal is displeased with the fact that we were trying to help to the best of our knowledge (and "Best to call your japanese telco and ask them if they have roaming in Korea" obviously must be a "blatantly incorrect answer") then there's nothing we can do but "STFU" since this obviously isn't a public forum, but a Chinese state-owned media outlet with censorship and where "capitalist propaganda in the form of incorrect forum answers" is obviously forbidden.

So terribly sorry, I thought this thread was about trying to help Emiko get some advice on whether her phone may or may not work in Korea. I did not know that it was actually a technical discussion on the interoperability of the various cellular technologies used between Korea and Japan. I also did not know that jpatokal also obviously knows what cellular system Emiko is on. Oh please forgive us our tresspasses, we'll go STFU now and only give answers that match your own unequalled technical brilliance.

[madwolfie]

Thoughts that flashed across my mind suddenly... Japan, Hiroshima, Atomic Bomb!

[Quasimodo]

Thoughts that flashed across my mind suddenly... Japan, Hiroshima, Atomic Bomb!

Wlofie, you're sweet, but weird . . .

[Baron Greenback]

STFU is short for "Shut the Friendly Up"

I thought the F in STFU was a bit more obscene than "friendly" and not the sort of acronym that should be used by anyone on this forum least of all a mod. WTF is this place coming to?

[Vaucluse]

STFU is short for "Shut the Friendly Up"

I thought the F in STFU was a bit more obscene than "friendly" and not the sort of acronym that should be used by anyone on this forum least of all a mod. WTF is this place coming to?

Especially as both were being very courteous and helpful.

[madwolfie]

Thoughts that flashed across my mind suddenly... Japan, Hiroshima, Atomic Bomb!

Wlofie, you're sweet, but weird . . .

I AM wierd but not psycho! I have to make up for not being smart enough

[madwolfie]

Which makes a very good pet!

[Bremen]

Especially as both were being very courteous and helpful.

Yup! Here I was, contentedly sipping the happy juice, being friendly... And then I get told to STFU.

Ah well. Time to put the happy juice away.

[Plavt]

When I looked up abbreviations on the web STFU was shown as 'SHUT THE F*** (not friendly) UP'. I believe that was what JPatokal of what he claims now. One would hope a moderator could be a bit more cordial in his response since mistakes and misunderstandings occur in all walks of life.


Plavt.

[jpatokal]

When I looked up abbreviations on the web STFU was shown as 'SHUT THE F*** (not friendly) UP'. I believe that was what JPatokal of what he claims now. One would hope a moderator could be a bit more cordial in his response since mistakes and misunderstandings occur in all walks of life.

No worries, I accept your apology.

More seriously, it's my turn to apologize, as it wasn't my intention to cause offense. But I have a low tolerance for bullshit and I dislike blowing sunshine up people's asses, so I reserve the right to call a spade a spade -- and likewise, all my readers are courteously invited to say "nyah nyah nyah" and call me names if you catch me bullshitting.

And please ignore the moderator tag there: it means I get to clean up Singaporeexpats' clogged toilets sometimes, but my postings here are posted in my personal capacity, not as an agent of the "Chinese state-owned media outlet with censorship".

Now let's see if Emiko actually tells us what Japanese phone she has, so we can finally solve this little mystery...

[Bremen]

More seriously, it's my turn to apologize, as it wasn't my intention to cause offense. But I have a low tolerance for bullshit and I dislike blowing sunshine up people's asses, so I reserve the right to call a spade a spade -- and likewise, all my readers are courteously invited to say "nyah nyah nyah" and call me names if you catch me bullshitting.

So where was the bullshit?

[jpatokal]

So where was the bullshit?

"Japan uses DoCoMo and iMode."

NTT DoCoMo is an operator, iMode is DoCoMo's packet data system, neither is relevant to whether a phone will work there -- it's like saying "Singapore uses M1 and Starhub." The standards Japan uses are PDC, PHS, W-CDMA and CDMA2000.

"Korea uses CDMA."

Correct. However, it's not just plain CDMA (IS95A), they also use the 3G standards CDMA2000 and W-CDMA, which are compatible with Japanese ones.

"I would have guessed yes if it can be unlocked."

Unlocking is a GSM (SIM card) concept, which isn't applicable here.

"Yup, competing 3G standards." -- referring to DoCoMO/iMode/CDMA in the previous post

None of the three are 3G standards.

"Japan seems to have a unique cellphone network"

True only for PDC.

"(like its electricity system)"

The Japanese electric system is plug- and voltage-compatible with the American system, except the frequency thing in some parts of the country, which doesn't matter for most devices.

" foreign cellphones won't work in Japan since there are few or now agreements with other countries for whatever the reason."

The reason that foreign cellphones -- that is, GSM phones -- don't work is that they're technologically incompatible, it's not a matter of agreements.

[Plavt]

The reason that foreign cellphones -- that is, GSM phones -- don't work is that they're technologically incompatible, it's not a matter of agreements.

Then please remember that was the information I got from O2's customer service in my native country. It comes as no surprise that it is incorrect since apart from poor customer service, they themselves probably haven't been told that.


Plavt.

[Plavt]

More information to supplement the above post since I have again contacted O2 my service provider on this issue. This time I somehow got somebody who knew what he was talking about. Apparently they will rent out a few handsets that work on the Japanese network; Nokia 6630, 6650,6680, 7600, Sony-Erickson Z800, Motorola; A 1000, A835, C975/980, V975/980.

Just some useful information I hope.

Plavt.

[emiko08]

NTT DoCoMo is an operator, iMode is DoCoMo's packet data system, neither is relevant to whether a phone will work there -- it's like saying "Singapore uses M1 and Starhub." The standards Japan uses are PDC, PHS, W-CDMA and CDMA2000.

"Korea uses CDMA."

Correct. However, it's not just plain CDMA (IS95A), they also use the 3G standards CDMA2000 and W-CDMA, which are compatible with Japanese ones.

"I would have guessed yes if it can be unlocked."

Unlocking is a GSM (SIM card) concept, which isn't applicable here.

"Yup, competing 3G standards." -- referring to DoCoMO/iMode/CDMA in the previous post

None of the three are 3G standards.

"Japan seems to have a unique cellphone network"

True only for PDC.

"(like its electricity system)"

The Japanese electric system is plug- and voltage-compatible with the American system, except the frequency thing in some parts of the country, which doesn't matter for most devices.

" foreign cellphones won't work in Japan since there are few or now agreements with other countries for whatever the reason."

The reason that foreign cellphones -- that is, GSM phones -- don't work is that they're technologically incompatible, it's not a matter of agreements.

so so sorry for the late reply. hadn't been logging in here that often.
i have a au(kddi) cellphone, and a 3g vodafone.
would be hoping my kddi phone could be used in korea though cause
my 3g cellphone is a normal simcard and not a usim card.