Can I use....

[naruto1532]

Well I just ended my cell phone service with sprint(they are horrible) and I am very interested in the high tech japanese phones such as foma, docomo, and j-phone. Well since I do live in the USA and dont visit Japan I was wondering if there is anyway I can get one of these phones to work here and with a service? I am a newb to this so can someone help and explain how I can get this to work. :doh

[ECA]

you REALLY want to know??

NOT a chance.

NOw for the fun news.
YOU MIGHT be able to get the PHONE part working, but not the rest.
Japans system is abit more advanced then the US version. And from what I understand CHEAPER. but Japans version is spreading...I wish it was faster tho.

[dang]

You can get them unlocked. Check out Howard Forums (http://www.howardforums.com). they might be able to refer a reputable online store to be able to purchase an unlocked phone.

As long as the phone supports GSM, and you get a provider that supports GSM, you should be good to go.

However, if the phones menus are in Japanese, and you can't set it to english, then I hope you can read Japanese. :)

[naruto1532]

WHat does "unlocked" mean? What services supports GSM? Can you explain steps to getting a japanese phone like Foma (the one I am most interested in... .well basically the one i only want) to work here? And that howard forums doesnt have any sections for japanese phone sections.

[ECA]

Unlocked, is when one company sells you the phone, and you wish to goto another company. Its like a password.

[dang]

The retailers here "Lock" the phones they sell (AT&T/Cingular, Voice Stream, etc) so that you can use the phone only on their networks. An "unlocked" phone allows you to use the phone on whatever network you choose, so long as you have the information needed to setup the phone.

GSM means Global System for Mobile Communications. It's what most carriers are now offering here. You'll hear things like "Tri-band GSM" for a description of the phone. Old descriptions would be "Analog" or "Digital".

People in Howard Forums are very knowledgable on Cell Phones and where to purchase. They wont have a forum labeled "Japanese Phones". Howard's forums isn't a US only site, there are many people form Europe and Japan that participate. I'd post in the Other Manufacturers forum there and just ask.