Japanese Android phones

[Aleksandr]

Understand the LTE radio cannot work outside of Japan, so if that is the case what sort of internet speeds can we achieve with the phones? HSPDA or 3G only?

 

[omelet]

So far on my docomo aquos phone zeta sh-06e, it can only achieve up to HSPA, not even HSPA+ on M1 network. However, upcoming phone seems to have new LTE bands, 1700MHz/1800MHz...so it might or might not work...

 

[Aleksandr]

Aiming Softbank Sharp 302SH, from specs looks like has 1800Mhz. Hopefully it can work, too spoiled by LTE already dunno if can go back to HSPDA.

 

[Skyline R34]

Aiming Softbank Sharp 302SH, from specs looks like has 1800Mhz. Hopefully it can work, too spoiled by LTE already dunno if can go back to HSPDA.

Based on the 302SH Spec Sheet, the 1800MHz is for GSM, LTE bands for the 302SH are still 1.7GHz and 2.1GHz.

 

[Blitzy]

Is there any reasons for owning a keitai nowadays btw?

 

[Skyline R34]

Aiming Softbank Sharp 302SH, from specs looks like has 1800Mhz. Hopefully it can work, too spoiled by LTE already dunno if can go back to HSPDA.

Based on the 302SH Spec Sheet, the 1800MHz is for GSM, LTE bands for the 302SH are still 1.7GHz and 2.1GHz.

I went looking at Japanese phones and found that the SH-01F has got LTE 1800Mhz.

According to pdadb.net though, the 302SH supports LTE 1800Mhz but its not the official source and the Sharp website doesn't show it supports LTE 1800Mhz.

Was thinking since the SH-01F has got 1800Mhz, the 302SH probably should too though, but not too sure now.

Is there any reasons for owning a keitai nowadays btw?

Uniqueness is one, unlikely you'll find someone else on the street using the same phone as well, a nice break from the usual iPhones or Samsung Galaxy series and friends. And in a way its limited edition, since these phones aren't really sold in big numbers and are sold for a rather limited time compared to mainstream phones.

Technology is another. Now and then they still make interesting and innovative products, like the 007SH flip Android or the N-05E dual-screen Android.

Other than these extremes, the other Japanese phone also usually perform well compared to mainstream phones in the display and camera departments. My F-06E definitely trumps my Galaxy S3 camera anytime. And they are putting more emphasis on battery life, which is a plus. My F-06E can easily last 2 days on medium-usage.

And finally, quality. The Japanese phones are usually well made and can last long. My SH-12C is still running well despite it having celebrated its 2nd birthday and its 3rd isn't too far away.

I also have a friend with butter fingers, dropped her F-06E at least 5 times from a height and its still running well.

There also downsides of course, lack of rooting and custom firmware support and official updates.

The official update is the one that breaks the deal for me, since I've found my F-06E to be not fully software-optimized yet and I'm guessing it has got updates released for it already to fix some issues but I can't check and download even if there is.

In comparison, my Korean Vega No.6 has been at least OTA updated 3times with new features added each time. I actually updated my Vega No.6 more than my officially imported S3, which I only updated once and even so, it was forced updated and not OTA.

Personally I'm leaning towards the Pantech as my main phone. But I'll come back to the Japanese phones anytime something interesting comes along. I'm still looking at the N-05E.

 

[Blitzy]

Thanks for the very detailed summary skyline!

 

[Aleksandr]

Yeah thanks Skyline - are you able to get LTE on any Japanese phones? Any tips to share?

How do you like the Fujitsu F-06E? Cannot get Softbank to unlock 302SH so sadly will have to consider another model, thinking about the Fujitsu and also maybe Sharp SH-01F.

 

[Skyline R34]

Thanks for the very detailed summary skyline!

You're welcome Blitzy!

Yeah thanks Skyline - are you able to get LTE on any Japanese phones? Any tips to share?

How do you like the Fujitsu F-06E? Cannot get Softbank to unlock 302SH so sadly will have to consider another model, thinking about the Fujitsu and also maybe Sharp SH-01F.

You're welcome Aleksandr!

Nope, the only LTE Japanese phone I have is the F-06E and it does not support Singapore's LTE band.

This was taken from my reply on another thread

Battery life is good, but the hardware and software are not fully optimized. Despite its newer hardware, the F-06E loses in gaming performance compared to the Vega No.6.

The screen quality is more or less about average, nothing special. Camera is good. Able to focus and capture quick enough and the quality is good as well.

And the 64GB is plentiful. (Usable is ~52GB)

Add on some stuff I thought of since then, the F-06E has the "Human-centric engine" or something that customizes the phone to suit your personal taste.

It takes into account your age group and stuff, and one of the noticeable thing (or perhaps only thing since I didn't notice anything else) it does is to change the color shades of the screen to one that your age group usually prefer. However, I found my age settings too yellowish for me and turn everything off and got the screen to display colors that I like.

Others flaws it has also include weaker WiFi, losing connection the fastest among my other devices.

The fingerprint sensor also does not work when your hands are wet and sometimes can't identify correctly. It also complains quite often about "swiping too fast" and occasionally doesn't show that it reads your fingerprint while you continuously swipe, waiting for it to read, only to then have it lock you out for 30secs for too many wrong tries. A reboot fixes this problem though. Overall, the fingerprint sensor works, maybe requiring an additional swipe, and less so, a reboot. Though it didn't performed as well as the one I have on my SH-03A or F-06B from a couple years back, so I was kinda expecting more.

And strangely, the white feels lighter than the black. And it turns yellowish, as it usually is with white phones.

Overall, if you intend to play games on the phone, then I won't recommend the F-06E. It lagged on Minion Rush, and was much worse on Real Racing 3. Those 2 games performed well on my S3 and Vega No.6, despite their older hardware compared to the F-06E. Its most probably a software problem, but there's no way to update it unless you happen to be in Japan, and on DoCoMo, so just have to take it as it is.

Though, if you are using for communication and movies, then its still good. The good battery life added with the 52GB usable memory means lots of movies can be stored and watched.

If I could choose again though, I'll have the N-05E. It'll probably have crappier performance, but hey, dual screens! And not too much of performance handicap since the F-06E isn't doing particularly well. Still waiting for a price drop, but the N-05E prices seem to defy gravity, it even went up on some sites.

The SH-01F is also tempting, the camera is of particular interest to me, having a F1.9 Lens and loads of other stuff, like NightCatch for better night time performance and multi-point focus.

Between the F-06E and the SH-01F, I will pick the Sharp. The hardware is newer and if you were getting it locally, it seems it only cost $51 more though you'll have to ask the seller about the confirmed prices.

 

[Aleksandr]

Thanks again Skyline. Looks like Sharp is the way to go right now, though Fujitsu does seem to have a newer model F-01F with similar specs to the SH-01F. I don't really play action or graphically intensive games so I should be fine.

 

[Blitzy]

Skyline, do you have any experience with SH-06E AQUOS PHONE ZETA?

Saw that the price is quite ok but performance wise seems like lose out to the recently released phones?

 

[Skyline R34]

Thanks again Skyline. Looks like Sharp is the way to go right now, though Fujitsu does seem to have a newer model F-01F with similar specs to the SH-01F. I don't really play action or graphically intensive games so I should be fine.

You're welcome!

Yup, on paper both of them are rather similar. It will be more of a personal preference between the both, with both having their own sets of features (the F-01F has fingerprint recognition, the SH-01F has some "grip sensors" on its sides).

I think that the SH-01F might perform better in the camera department, but that's just my feeling

If performance isn't the main issue, then either phones shouldn't let you down. Its down to which combination of features appeal more to you.

Skyline, do you have any experience with SH-06E AQUOS PHONE ZETA?

Saw that the price is quite ok but performance wise seems like lose out to the recently released phones?

Nope, never used one before.

The SH-06E runs on the Snapdragon 600 family chipset, which also powers the HTC One and certain variants of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (and the F-06E). As such, you don't have to worry too much about the performance lost compared to the newer chipset such as the Snapdragon 800.

Also, for comparison purposes, my Vega No.6 runs on the Snapdragon S4 Pro, which precedes the Snapdragon 600, and it is still able to run smoothly.

For normal usage, the SH-06E will not be left far behind. For more intense usage, it should be able to perform well unless they messed up with the software like Fujitsu did with the F-06E.

Overall, the SH-06E should perform well and perhaps even outperform its international rivals like the S4 in certain areas, such as camera quality

 

[Blitzy]

Thanks again for your detailed reply! You really know keitai very well!

 

[Skyline R34]

Thanks again for your detailed reply! You really know keitai very well!

You're welcome!

Nah, just very interested in them. A bit too interested, haha!

 

[Hello_Kitty]

i used to be a keitai fan , owning phone like Sharp. But after using Z1, i think Sony is good and unique enough in singapore since most people here are Apple or Samsung users.

hardly find a lot of z1 users here....think HTC might have more users than z1

 

[darkchamber]

I'm using the SHARP AQUOS SH-06E, a downgrade for me since I was previously using the Note 2 (with its bigger screen and battery life LOL) but I really wanted to get rid of the Note 2 for various reasons and this was the phone that I had been interested in for a while. I somehow managed to get two of my other friends to get this model as well, I don't know how I did it, but I did lmao.

Anyway, mine is a bit 'faulty' because it was already in-stock for a while, while my friends' were all fresh imports so they generally do not have the problems I have with the battery. From my experience with the phone, it was a half-half happy / not very happy, but over time I got used to it so here goes (might seem a bit biased so don't take my word for it).

I will be making some comparisons here and there with my previous phone which is the Note 2.

- Battery life: I can't actually say much because I charge TWICE a day for my Note 2 despite its 3100mAh (did I get it right?) battery after the first 3 months of usage. For this phone, I rarely had to do that, but then again, I had to do a factory reset, change my connecting cable, change adapter and everything just to get the battery to work properly. Apparently from what I have personally observed and experimented - the longer it takes to charge your phone the faster the battery will drain. I have been trying to charge it with my note 2 adapter (2.1A output) and it was horrible. It can literally take forever to charge till 100% (i.e. > 6 hours??) and the battery would have just drained out before I end work without doing anything major. I'm quite the heavy mobile user so this stressed me out. The recommended output is 1.0A (not sure if same as 1A) so I have been charging with my battery pack since then. Was troublesome but better than the horrible battery drain. I also caved in and got the wireless battery charger that was specifically made for this model. I didn't get it at first because I thought I could do without it -_- So I got my battery issues sorted out without the need to send it back to Japan for repairs which is a relief. The seller was helpful too so the experience wasn't very bad.

On another note, I read somewhere that this phone is comparable to the S4. Due to my job, I get to use the S4 occasionally and the battery life is horrible. It died within 4-6 hours of usage, and the SH-06E was able to last for at least 12 hours! The longest I had it running was 56 Hours with minimal usage. But I generally do not buy the whole "it can last 50 hours with the ablhblhlh technology" because it can vary from user to user depends on mobile usage.

- Camera: One of the core reasons why I hated my Note 2 so much was because of that crappy ass of a camera. Anti-shake - photos still end up blur, resolution gets dumb down when it goes to instagram, and many other issues. Oh, who can forget the noise levels? The SH-06E's camera is splendid, although lacking options to adjust much. I'm not complaining though. The one thing I wasn't aware of when I got the phone was the shutter sound. It was really loud, and no way to turn it off. So if you want to try to do some paparazzi shooting in some awfully quiet environment, might want to consider getting some Silent camera app on Google Play instead. Otherwise, the default camera app delivers pretty decent quality photos.

- Storage: Well holy crap, it has 32GB of space! Was fooled for a while, thinking that I have all 32GB for apps... most of the installs go to System, and it only has like 5.76GB, while the remaining storage are for media stuff mainly. I don't carry music or videos so it's a bummer not being able to fully utilize the remaining 20.22gb of media space. So probably someone else who has used this model or is currently using can enlighten me?

- This phone may be water-resistant / whatever 'proof' it promises, but it's definitely NOT dust-proof. I have had layers of dust on it every morning (I blame ceiling dust) and I don't really have the habit of cleaning it everyday (because I'm always in the rush for work) so now it is very dusty. I got the Glossy Red one so it's already bad enough with its fingerprint-prone surface. So as per my advice, please get either the BLUE or the WHITE one, both matte. You can save yourself a lot of trouble lol.

- If you're thinking of getting this phone, please consider the possibility of needing to get the screen protector, or even the cover. I had to get mine from Rakuten (same for my friends) and holy crap, the shipping is NOT cheap. I spent 2000 yen on shipping alone just for 990 yen screen protector. Not sure how that came about because my friend was charged the same for shipping and unfortunately for her, she did not manage to get her item because the seller didn't write down her unit number.

- Apps: You have to disable a number of built-in Japanese apps just so they do not drain your battery while running in the background. I think this is universal for all japanese phones lol.

- Mobile network: Mine was already software-unlocked, and I was initially scared of how 'badly' it would be since the only mobile network I could use is 3G (i'm on 4g plan) but it was surprisingly FAST. I bet if it's running on LTE it would be even faster! I had a moment of shock because on my Note 2, the 3G was barely accessible. It's either 4G or nothing at all! Those on 4G plan should know, lol.

- Others: There's some getting used to, if you were previously a Samsung user. The button placement for menu and return is switched. Home button is flat surface like those for the Z1 or most sony phones. I have rather clumsy fingers and always end up tapping on the Home button by accident. The interface is not as fluid then again the note 2 had its own set of problems (lag, freeze) so there's really not much to compare. The sweep up/down under Settings > Display is useful BUT sometimes it can be unresponsive.

I guess that's about it. Like I said, this is purely based on my own experience, so just take it with a pinch of salt.

Wow, I wrote a grandmother story, and look at the time! 0:

 

[lauph]

Why my Fujitsu f -06e battery drain 35-40% when I power off my phone overnight

 

[Skyline R34]

Spoiler

I'm using the SHARP AQUOS SH-06E, a downgrade for me since I was previously using the Note 2 (with its bigger screen and battery life LOL) but I really wanted to get rid of the Note 2 for various reasons and this was the phone that I had been interested in for a while. I somehow managed to get two of my other friends to get this model as well, I don't know how I did it, but I did lmao.

Anyway, mine is a bit 'faulty' because it was already in-stock for a while, while my friends' were all fresh imports so they generally do not have the problems I have with the battery. From my experience with the phone, it was a half-half happy / not very happy, but over time I got used to it so here goes (might seem a bit biased so don't take my word for it).

I will be making some comparisons here and there with my previous phone which is the Note 2.

- Battery life: I can't actually say much because I charge TWICE a day for my Note 2 despite its 3100mAh (did I get it right?) battery after the first 3 months of usage. For this phone, I rarely had to do that, but then again, I had to do a factory reset, change my connecting cable, change adapter and everything just to get the battery to work properly. Apparently from what I have personally observed and experimented - the longer it takes to charge your phone the faster the battery will drain. I have been trying to charge it with my note 2 adapter (2.1A output) and it was horrible. It can literally take forever to charge till 100% (i.e. > 6 hours??) and the battery would have just drained out before I end work without doing anything major. I'm quite the heavy mobile user so this stressed me out. The recommended output is 1.0A (not sure if same as 1A) so I have been charging with my battery pack since then. Was troublesome but better than the horrible battery drain. I also caved in and got the wireless battery charger that was specifically made for this model. I didn't get it at first because I thought I could do without it -_- So I got my battery issues sorted out without the need to send it back to Japan for repairs which is a relief. The seller was helpful too so the experience wasn't very bad.

On another note, I read somewhere that this phone is comparable to the S4. Due to my job, I get to use the S4 occasionally and the battery life is horrible. It died within 4-6 hours of usage, and the SH-06E was able to last for at least 12 hours! The longest I had it running was 56 Hours with minimal usage. But I generally do not buy the whole "it can last 50 hours with the ablhblhlh technology" because it can vary from user to user depends on mobile usage.

- Camera: One of the core reasons why I hated my Note 2 so much was because of that crappy ass of a camera. Anti-shake - photos still end up blur, resolution gets dumb down when it goes to instagram, and many other issues. Oh, who can forget the noise levels? The SH-06E's camera is splendid, although lacking options to adjust much. I'm not complaining though. The one thing I wasn't aware of when I got the phone was the shutter sound. It was really loud, and no way to turn it off. So if you want to try to do some paparazzi shooting in some awfully quiet environment, might want to consider getting some Silent camera app on Google Play instead. Otherwise, the default camera app delivers pretty decent quality photos.

- Storage: Well holy crap, it has 32GB of space! Was fooled for a while, thinking that I have all 32GB for apps... most of the installs go to System, and it only has like 5.76GB, while the remaining storage are for media stuff mainly. I don't carry music or videos so it's a bummer not being able to fully utilize the remaining 20.22gb of media space. So probably someone else who has used this model or is currently using can enlighten me?

- This phone may be water-resistant / whatever 'proof' it promises, but it's definitely NOT dust-proof. I have had layers of dust on it every morning (I blame ceiling dust) and I don't really have the habit of cleaning it everyday (because I'm always in the rush for work) so now it is very dusty. I got the Glossy Red one so it's already bad enough with its fingerprint-prone surface. So as per my advice, please get either the BLUE or the WHITE one, both matte. You can save yourself a lot of trouble lol.

- If you're thinking of getting this phone, please consider the possibility of needing to get the screen protector, or even the cover. I had to get mine from Rakuten (same for my friends) and holy crap, the shipping is NOT cheap. I spent 2000 yen on shipping alone just for 990 yen screen protector. Not sure how that came about because my friend was charged the same for shipping and unfortunately for her, she did not manage to get her item because the seller didn't write down her unit number.

- Apps: You have to disable a number of built-in Japanese apps just so they do not drain your battery while running in the background. I think this is universal for all japanese phones lol.

- Mobile network: Mine was already software-unlocked, and I was initially scared of how 'badly' it would be since the only mobile network I could use is 3G (i'm on 4g plan) but it was surprisingly FAST. I bet if it's running on LTE it would be even faster! I had a moment of shock because on my Note 2, the 3G was barely accessible. It's either 4G or nothing at all! Those on 4G plan should know, lol.

- Others: There's some getting used to, if you were previously a Samsung user. The button placement for menu and return is switched. Home button is flat surface like those for the Z1 or most sony phones. I have rather clumsy fingers and always end up tapping on the Home button by accident. The interface is not as fluid then again the note 2 had its own set of problems (lag, freeze) so there's really not much to compare. The sweep up/down under Settings > Display is useful BUT sometimes it can be unresponsive.

I guess that's about it. Like I said, this is purely based on my own experience, so just take it with a pinch of salt.

Wow, I wrote a grandmother story, and look at the time! 0:

Thanks for the insightful grandmother story!

Battery
For the battery, you might want to check the Samsung adapter voltage. I'm not sure about the Note 2 but my Note 10.1 2014 has a 5.2V adapter compared to 5V for most other chargers. On my F-06E desktop charger, it takes in and puts out at 5V as well.

I'm not an engineer by profession, but reading around the voltages of the phone and the charger must match. There is supposed to be a 10% tolerance +/-, and even a 5V charger may not actually put out 5V, but it's still better to be safe. Too much voltage will damage the phone, and too little or too much will affect the charging.

As for the ampere, it doesn't matter as the phone will take only what it needs. You need to have at least the required ampere for the phone to charge, but more will not affect the charging.

Storage
Where did you get the number from? AFAIK, the whole of the available internal storage can be used to install apps for Android in general.

Proofing
I think you mistook the dust-proof feature. It means that dust will not enter the phone innards and negatively affect the phone. As for the dust and prints on the exterior, you can always dunk the phone in water. There's where the water-resistance comes in useful, did it to my phones a few times.

Accessories
You might want to try Tenso.com for forwarding. I had a good experience with them. Note though if you are paying by card, the store you are purchasing from (eg Qoo10.jp) might ask for proof of verification of your card and home address as the delivery address is different from the card address.

Why my Fujitsu f -06e battery drain 35-40% when I power off my phone overnight

My drops by 3.5-4.0% overnight so not a F-06E in general problem.

If you are not using the charging dock, you might want to check the stats for the charger you are using for the voltage. The recommended charging stats for F-06E is 5V and 1.5A if you don't have the dock with you.

You might also want to fully discharge your phone to 0% and recharge back to 100%. Its supposed to reset the battery or something. There's no concrete evidence it will help, but some strongly believe in it, so no harm trying

You might also want to reset the phone, though since you already turned off the phone, background running apps shouldn't be a problem. But if its not too troublesome, you might still want to try it anyway.

If nothing solves the problem, you can send the phone back for repair since its still under warranty, though you'll incur freight charges.

 

[felfra79]

where do you guys shop for japanese smart phones? shop or on the Internet?

 

[darkchamber]

2 months down the road and I'm back here on HWZ again (for various reasons - not gonna say).

>> felfra79: online retailers. there's hirotokeitai and bennyxhk. i bought from the latter because he has a tiny physical shop at Marina Square.

>> skyline r34:

think over time my battery is slowly 'ageing'. i'm charging it overnight and also another time in office. though on some lucky days, it can last 12 hours with moderate usage (w/o charging in between) but I'm a paranoia. Scare battery will die on me before I leave work.

I will try ur method with the water-dunking.

I gave up on the cover. Only went as far to get the screen protector which is already getting some very visible scratches (from God Knows Where). Lesson learned. Never get glossy again!!

Also my friend recently mentioned how her white SH-06E gets dirty easily ... so i guess if you want the safest.. take the blue next time? this is for any future owner...