I'm heading to Japan soon, I was wondering what I need to look for in a phone that will work in North American and what phones do you recommend I purchase?

Also if it is worth it to purchase a phone in japan?

Thanks for all the help and if you could post any links for more information on any of the topics that be awesome

There are practically no phones that are worth buying over there that will work here. Getting Japanese phones here would be less of a hassle as they'll be unlocked and you wouldn't have to deal with the Japanese carrier.

There are a few Japanified versions of some phones we get here (e.g. LG Shine, HTC TyTN) and it's probably not worth it to get those as they're not really "Japanese".

Regardless, you can check out www.gsmarena.com while you're there and you can check if any of the phones you see in Japan can be used here. If they aren't on GSMarena...then they don't have support for GSM and you won't be able to use them here.

^couldnt put it in a better way if i wanted to..
damn North America! :(

not just NA, they probably wouldnt work in europe either. its damn japan for making its exclusive super phones.

If you want something slick for texting get the 6500 slide
The keypad on that was pretty comfy and had good feedback when the buttons were pressed.

Not to mentioned the brushed metal look :D

- how much do you want to spend?
320-390 with taxes

- what do you want to use it for?
Music, Texting & Camera

- what form factor do you like?
Candy Bars and maybe slider

- is there a certain brand you like?
Sony Ericsson w610i

Nokia 6120 has already been suggested to me elsewhere but I've read reviews that the camera is mediocre so.. The looks department is not too important but it's always nice to have a good looking phone. Also, I've tried the k550i and I'm not to fond of it so that's out of the question. Need as much suggestions by end of the month!

se k810i?
nokia n73?

if you used the k550 you wont like w610... they are the same phone.

Why not?
I've already tested it, it's pretty good but I want your explanation.

They are literally the same phone, only difference is some cosmetic changes and the firmware (W610 has Walkman softare, K550 has Cybershot software). And they're also very very cheap, no where near $390. For that price you could get a higher end Nokia or Sony Ericsson. I'm assuming you like the latter brand better?

Yeah, latter would be the correct meaning lol. Oh in that case, can you recommend me an SE or Nokia phone around $390? I might be willing to spend a little bit more since I just got a good deal on a Sim Card. Thanks.

EDIT: w910 is out of the question since I'm pretty sure I have to get my parents an anniversary present lol -_-

get a k790/800, it has a good camera, candybar, and it also has mp3 capabilities. if you dont like that everyone has it, get k810 or maybe even a w850 if you like music more than pictures.

k, i need help deciding on my next phone.. I will be giving my iphone away to someone soon and will need another phone. any suggestion will be good since i am not too familar with phones ..

1. Must have over 2GB of storage for MP3.
2. Slider or flip-phone
3. Would be nice to have wifi internet feature, but not mandatory
4. 2.0+ mp camera
5. Under 300 dollars used...

thanks.

does it have to be internal memory or memory card is ok?

s500/w580 is good for that, minus the wifi.
or maybe w850 if you can find one, i preer that over the w580 any day,

Aren't those phones (excluding k810 & w580) a little outdated? I actually considered getting w580 but Rogers has them so...

s500i is out of my book. a lot of my friends have it, and a lot of them have the issue of broken keypad since the s500 quality is very shitty...

doesnt matter if it is external or internal.. but aren't most external memory phones limited to 2gb max?

2GB external or internal? or both?

masterwoo39 already said, w850 isnt a bad choice
and nah, its not that outdated imo, still good :p

neither are true
ex-->iphone and the new nokia 8gb's
--> SD Slots for w810i (and many se phones) could go up to 4gb

actually memory cards go up to about 8gb in sony ericssons now. pro duo and m2.

i dont believe that k800 is outdated. it is still a very good phone. sure i may have used it a year ago but it still performs great. im actually thinking about modding k790 to a k810. w850 isnt dated either. i think its superior to the w580 by far.

if you guys want something more exclusive i suggest you put out more money to get higher end models or just get what you are looking for in a phone.


if you dont like w580 i suggest u600 e840 both by samsung. unless they are both too old or too common for you guys.

I don't get why SE & other phone companies that the max supported is 2GB etc. etc o.O

o0o0o thanks, ill definitely consider the u600. By the way, where can you get a 4GB m2?

heh i wanted to do that a while back, but the housings were rare back then :p
and yeah, true..all of the above mentioned phones can top w580 imo

SE decided to skip the 4gb and go straight to 8gb.

there is currently:
512, 1gb, 2gb, 8gb m2 cards

oh and btw u600 is kind of lacking on the music side. its alright for pictures.

The U600 is really slow with anything that requires the microSD card. Both music and pictures are terribly slow, and the camera lag is just frighteningly bad. However, the camera quality is really, really good. Music sounds fine with the awesome Bang & Olafsen amp, but it eats the battery.

good thing i have 2 batteries with mine :)