Comments on: iPad 3G and Pocket WiFi alternatives in Japan

By: EPA

EPA — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 21:31:03 +0000

Thanks for a clear (and much needed) comparison!
Do you know if either Softbank or Emobile will do a package without including the iPad? (I already have a 32GB iPad1)

By: Pablo

Pablo — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:52:15 +0000

@yvan.

It would work, I’ve tried months ago, but it is unuseful if you navigate or check emails often. Time is money, man. After one week I left my pocket wifi at home. With iPad could be different.

By: Yvan

Yvan — Tue, 10 May 2011 02:47:04 +0000

Hello,
Very interesting calculation. I have a slightly different question. I got an Iphone and an Ipad2 Wifi only. For the iphone I have a plan that cost me around ¥6500 each month. I am thinking of getting a pocket wifi, for the actual ¥3980 a month, and getting the lowest plan from Softbank for the iPhone (I think around ¥1000/month). In the end, I am wondering if I could keep my phone+wifi bill under ¥6500 per month, carrying my Pocket wifi at all time (and turning it on and off when using it to cope with the 4 hours battery limit…)
Anyone has that experience?
Yvan.

By: A US iPhone 4 In Japan | Dreaming Of Beetles

A US iPhone 4 In Japan | Dreaming Of Beetles — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 05:25:50 +0000

[...] WiFi for various prices. Instead of sending you off to various pages in Japanese, take a look at w00kie’s iPad 3G and Pocket WiFi alternatives in Japan. There are even pricing [...]

By: James Annan

James Annan — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 01:34:12 +0000

Thanks for the info and tables which I found very useful. I’ve done some more investigation and have a few more details that people might be interested in.

I am assured that you can freely swap between plans for the emobile device. That means you can get it for ¥1 on the unlimited data plan (¥4980 per month discounted to ¥3980 for the first 13 months) and then quickly switch down to a cheaper limited plan, saving most of the ¥5980 purchase price. This also means if you go away or otherwise don’t use it for a time you can pay as little as ¥1400 per month (which is also the penalty for early cancellation of the contract). However there is also an initial ~¥2800 set-up fee you’ve not mentioned.

Conversely, the forthcoming ¥1510/100MB softbank plan seems a good deal. It includes free wifi at softbank spots (mobilepoint) so might well be enough for many users. But there is also a monthly ¥315 internet usage fee for softbank, on top of any data contract.

Of course the emobile device works for many computers, and can be shared. For me (and my wife), that’s a big advantage.

By: w00kie

w00kie — Wed, 12 May 2010 06:27:49 +0000

I have looked into Softbank’s Pocket WiFi webpage quite extensively and have found no mention of paying for the actual device anywhere
of course, I could be wrong…

By: JD

JD — Wed, 12 May 2010 01:31:59 +0000

I notice that for the softbank dataplan you put of the 5000 yen a month cost, does that include rental of the pocket wifi device? I have been trying to find out if the cost of the device is included in the data plan fee.