Hi,

My first post's about mobile phones that can be bought in the UK and which will work in S Korea and Japan. Would anyone happen to know from experience which make/models do?

Thanks,

NoBob.

[Fred Smith]

Never seen a S. Korea compatible phone for sale in the UK (that's not so say there aren't any) but you can hire one.

http://www.abroad.vodafone.co.uk/ind...e=a3&nu=1&le=3

Thanks.

I followed that link and found a couple:

There's the Skyphone and

Japan - Panasonic J-P02
Korea - IM-5200

NoBob.

[model500]

Went to S.Korea a couple of months back and found that I needed a Quadband phone. I had a SE K750i with me at the time, which didn't provide the required coverage. I think the same is for Japan.

Don't worry though as you can hire phones at Seoul airport for a very reasonable daily rate. This is what I did, the bonus is that the SIM card can be transferred into this new phone and you can still be contactable on your existing number.

[siany]

I think you'll just need to find an unlocked Quadband phone, they can be used pretty much anywhere in the world.

Someone correct me if im wrong but as far as I know the only place you will be able to find a mobile that will work in Japan is, Japan, although I think CPW hire handsets that work in Japan but as far as i know Japans mobile networks are lightyears ahead of GSM, in fact there networks arent even GSM so your standard tri/quad band fone will not work at all

No idea about S. Korea, I was supposed to go there last year but had to can cel at the last minute

[jian]

Quadband phones wont work in Japan or Korea, unless it has WCDMA.

The only phones that I am ware of that will work there is the phone I am using (nokia e61) and the phone I used to have Vario 2.

Is the N95 WCDMA? or whatever it is?

[siany]

The N95 is an HSDPA (3.5G) device, so it can be about 10 times faster than WCMDA (3G)

I guess what I was asking is would the N95 work in Japan?

http://cpw.adamphones.com/phonehire/Japan.aspx

"The cutting edge Sharp V302SH operates on Japan's unique PDC 1.5 GHz networks, which have no common standards with the rest of the world."

[kiran_mk2]

Japan used to be a complete no-go area for our mobiles (they used PDC instead of GSM and CDMA instead of UMTS), but now UMTS is supported so any 3G phone should work over there provided your operator has a roaming agreement in place. The frequency they use is 2100MHz which is the same as Europe's 3G frequency. Look here for more: http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/index.shtml

[dolcevita]

It is a similar story for South Korea. Although a quadband phone which supports CDMA is best, there is also 3G UMTS coverage in major cities.

A UK 3G phone should work as long as your operator has a roaming agreement set up. It is unlikely to be cheap ...

I must admit that although I could make/receive calls and receive texts, I could not send any texts. I didn't spend much time trying to figure it out.

You will need a quad band phone for Japan. You could choose to rent either the SIM or the SIM and handset from Cellhire (International mobile phones & Mobile Broadband deals - Cellhire). They sort everything out for you and provide you with a local SIM that gives you much cheaper call rates.

The Japanese SIM is here Japan SIM card rental - Cellhire

The South Korea SIM is here Korea mobile phone rental - Cellhire

In both cases incoming calls are free and they'll deliver it to your door.

[GreenBars]

I'm off to Japan to stay with the wife's family at Easter. I've been researching the best way of using my mobile on Japan and think Story Telecom's TravelTalk SIM card is the cheapest.

Just noticed they're out of stock - buggar!

[GreenBars]

Originally Posted by GreenBars

Just noticed they're out of stock - buggar!

Now back in stock and have ordered one.