Hello Martyn,
Thanks for your comments regarding my questions.
At 6:49 pm +0900 on 20/11/03 Martyn Williams wrote:
> 1) Even Vodafone told me at the beginning of this year that coverage was
> not that great and that I am better off sticking to 2G but I think things
> are changing. They now claim something like 97 percent, which is less than
> the 98 or 99 percent coverage on PDC networks but I guess all that really
> matters is whether there is coverage in the places you want to go to. As I
> rarely travel into the countryside I don't think its too big of a problem
> for me. I'm about to switch so I can let you know!
Like you I hardly venture outside the metropolis and on those rare occasions that I do, I am in no need to be in contact with the world. If I do need to make a call, I can always use a landline.
> 2) The SMS was a problem with the early handsets. The new Sanyo phone has
> conventional Vodafone Live (Sky Mail) service that can be used in both
> Japan and in about 10 countries (You can check the precise list on the
> Vodafone site) and there is also SMS. I think the SMS roaming has been
> extended beyond the UK now. I could also receive SMS in the Netherlands,
> from a Dutch phone, even though I couldn't send it. I think this is
> something that is expanding as the relevant roaming agreements are put into
> place.
Thanks for the update on SMS. The feedback I had heard were from people who had used Vodafone earlier this year. Yes, I agree that as more roaming agreements are signed, the larger the coverage will be.
> 3) Roaming is always going to be more expensive that using a local SIM
> card. In Vodafone's case, they are much cheaper than Au and you've got to
> weigh up the cost savings versus the convenience of using your own phone
> and keeping your own number so anyone can reach you rather than just those
> people to which you give your temporary number. If you are talking about a
> handset rented in Japan, I think they cost between 500 yen and 1,000 yen a
> day to rent so, unless you make a lot of calls, you might save money just
> by avoiding the handset rental charge.
It does come down to the equation of cost v.s. convenience. How much am I willing to pay for that convenience? I'm still debating it. <grin> It's just that the times I've done roaming in North America where called party pays, it was a bit of a shock to see my phone bill some months after I had returned from the trip to see a couple of a hundred dollars in roaming charges. I admit this was some time ago and probably the costs are cheaper. But, this delayed syndrome of billing shock is something I would like to avoid.
Anyway, I'm still investigating for that magical universal number service and if I come up with a solution that fits my needs, I'll pass it on here on keitai mailing list.
> If anyone is interested I can post my opinions of the V801SA as soon as I
> get my hands on one!
Yes, please do post your opinions on the phone. I would like to hear about it when you get one.
cheers,
---eric
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Eric Bossieux eric@tti-jpn.com
Tel/Fax/Voicemail: +81-3-6644-0434
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Received on Tue Nov 25 03:13:50 2003