Re: [tlug] OT: softbank/b-mobile fees

["Nikolay Elenkov" <nick@example.com>]

2010年 6月 9日（水）8:31 am に Darren Cook さんは書きました：
>
>> You get a really cool phone with no upfront payment, but considering
>> that new, nicer phones will be out in less than a year, the lock-in may
>> not be what you want. In that case getting a no-contract phone may be
>> preferable.
>
> I don't see how? The packet fees are a fixed cost whatever phone I have;
> and I assume all providers are roughly the same. So I either pay
> 24x380=9,120 for the phone or I pay 61,920 for the phone. If I switch
> phones early but stay with Softbank I just pay the outstanding
> difference? If I switch both phone and carrier I pay the difference +
> 9,975 yen.

I think it is the outstanding difference. When I got my Docomo phone, they
were handing out nice tables, telling how much you have to pay if you
changed phones in particular month, should be the same for SB. So yes, if
you use it for a while (say a year), you will end up paying some 3 man for
the phone, which is cheaper than a no-contract phone. The main difference
is that the SoftBank phone will probably be locked and it may not be that
easy to sell if afterwards. Not sure about this though.

>
> Looking at the comparison (from the URL you gave) of total cost of
> ownership for b-mobile U300 and the handset vs. softbank:
>  1 year ownership:  91,653 vs.             116,815
>  2 year ownership: 121,453 (24 months) vs. 149,320 (25 months)
>
> Those are interesting numbers, but is that a fair comparison? I get no
> phone number [1] with b-mobile sim and cannot call people. On the other
> hand I believe b-mobile is using Docomo's network; I've heard that means
> it will be equivalent to or better than Softbank's coverage?
>

I don't know if it is fare, but how often do you actually call people :)
There is still no Skype for Android, but I guess there are other VoIP
solutions available, as someone mentioned on the list. And yes, bmobile is
just Docomo's network throttled to 300k, so the coverage should be better
than Softbank.