Phones for Japan/Korea

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Sun, 15 Apr 2007 6:57 am

I want to buy a quad band phone that also operates in Japan and Korea (CDMA network).

So far I've only found the Nokia N80, which I do not like and a Motorola model which is quite clunky.

Any recommendations?

The stupid mobile phone websites seem to think the only thing a person could be interested in would be multi-media.

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:00 pm

I'm in Korea right now and my standard 3G phone is working fine.

It might be the same in Japan as well but i will admit to not having tried.

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Sun, 15 Apr 2007 10:40 pm

ScoobyDoes wrote:I'm in Korea right now and my standard 3G phone is working fine.

It might be the same in Japan as well but i will admit to not having tried.

What is your phone brand and model, please?

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Mon, 16 Apr 2007 3:09 pm

It's a Samsung Ultra 13.8, otherwise called a ZGH-720 i think.

My colleague was here with me a year ago though with a Sony Ericsson something-or-other and it worked as well. The fact mine is Korean is not the issue i think, the fact it is 3G spec is.

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Mon, 16 Apr 2007 8:13 pm

ScoobyDoes wrote:It's a Samsung Ultra 13.8, otherwise called a ZGH-720 i think.

My colleague was here with me a year ago though with a Sony Ericsson something-or-other and it worked as well. The fact mine is Korean is not the issue i think, the fact it is 3G spec is.

The fact that it is Korean makes all the difference in the world. It means that it operates on UMTS/WCDMA 2100, completely different from the 'normal' GSM phones sold in Singapore.

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 8:30 am

As i said, my colleague's Sony Ericsson works here too and that was bought in Singapore, more than a year ago.

It's a 3G thing.

We are not talking GSM, but 3G. Normal GSM phones do not work but 3G is not normal GSM. 3G is catching up with the specifications in Japan and Korea hence works.

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:04 pm

ScoobyDoes wrote:As i said, my colleague's Sony Ericsson works here too and that was bought in Singapore, more than a year ago.

It's a 3G thing.

We are not talking GSM, but 3G. Normal GSM phones do not work but 3G is not normal GSM. 3G is catching up with the specifications in Japan and Korea hence works.

Please see this thread to find out why this phone works.

http://www.singaporeexpats.com/forum/ftopic41120.html

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:42 pm

UMTS is just one of the Third Generation (3G) mobile systems being developed within the ITU's IMT-2000 framework. UMTS is not a replacement of 2nd generation technologies (e.g. GSM, DCS1800, CDMA, DECT etc.), which will continue to evolve to their full potential.

The IMT-2000 family of 3G systems is made up as follows:

- IMT-2000 CDMA Direct Spread, also known as UTRA FDD including WCDMA in Japan, ARIB / DoCoMo recommendation. UMTS is developed by 3GPP.

- IMT-2000 CDMA Multi-carrier, also known as Cdma2000 (3X) developed by 3GPP2. IMT-2000 CDMA2000 includes 1X components, like cdma2000 1X EV-DO.

- IMT-2000 CDMA TDD, also known as UTRA TDD and TD-SCDMA. TD-SCDMA is developed in China and supported by TD-SCDMA Forum

- IMT-2000 TDMA Single Carrier, also known as UWC-136 (Edge) supported by UWCC

- IMT-2000 DECT supported by DECT Forum.

Hence if you have a 3G phone it should work on UMTS, as it has to work on all the above noted family members.

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 6:21 pm

Samsung provides different information than you do. I asked them about phones. They only ones they showed that would work in Korea are all marked UMTS 2100 (see link). They specifically did not include the phones marked only UMTS. UMTS in Singapore (WCDMA) operates on a different frequency.

Cheers.

http://www.herberts.org/miscdocs/koreaphone.htm

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:00 pm

You believe a manufacturer trying to sell phones over me, that's sad. You might want to look through the following about UMTS:

http://www.umtsworld.com/umts/faq.htm

It's funny how on a Samsung phone in the menu under network type, it only mentions UMTS as an option and not a specific frequency of UMTS. Personally i would not believe a company trying to sell you something. I have no interest in what you buy, but if you buy a 3G phone of any sort it will meet all of the family types i mentioned and hence will work.

Post by **Strong Eagle** » Tue, 17 Apr 2007 10:52 pm

I am trying to understand the technology. The phone peddlers sure don't seem to.

If I understand you correctly no matter the GSM frequency of the phone, the UMTS is the 2000-2100 standard?

As far as phones go, I've got a Nokia N80... works everywhere, including Japan and Korea. Also has wifi. It is kind of a brick though and I am really trying to find a quad band phone with the same capabilities (wifi not needed) that is smaller and lighter.

Your pointers are appreciated... and I appreciate you providing some documentation.

Cheers.

ScoobyDoes · Post by **ScoobyDoes** » Wed, 18 Apr 2007 7:57 am

UMTS is the new GSM.

As i understand it, in 3G the GSM standard no longer applies.

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Phones for Japan/Korea

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