Tuesday 2 November 2010

iPhone 4? Hai!

I was really disappointed I missed out on getting that iPhone in Hong Kong.

I had a few choices - 1. Go Back to Hong Kong 2. Buy one in Australia 3. Get one from Softbank, and re-sign for another two long years or, 4. Buy a phone locally or from the auctions.

Yes, number 4!

I came back unexpectedly earlier on Halloween night, and scoured Yahoo Auctions for one. The one I found was still locked to Softbank, but was only 5 days old! The "Buy It Now" price was less than the "sell your soul" contract, and even cheaper than the unlocked phone from Hong Kong.

On Monday I went to do the bank transfer with the details directly from my phone. I usually translate the kanji at home before I came but there was the bank branch I couldn't make out, so I had to ask for a little help. Funnily enough it was 六本木, meaning Roppongi, which is typically a foreigner area of Tokyo.

The guy lived locally and sent it quick so I received it the next day. It was the same Kuroneko delivery guy. He must think I'm rich with all the junk I buy. It looked brand new, still covered in the protective plastic.

Because my SIM is normal size, I had to cut it. I was a little hesistant with the 980 yen MicroSIM cutter I'd bought in Akihabara on Sunday. It didn't have any instructions, nor did it even have a company name on it! There was a slight movement, but I just had a beer and made sure as much of the gold contacts was NOT getting cut. I only had one chance to get it right.

With a count of 1,2,3, I just pushed down swiftly, and was quite surprised how easily it cut. I wasn't game to use the supplied adapters to try it back in my old iPhone so there wasn't really any going back.

Thankfully the cut was perfect and it fit into the iPhone 4's tray exactly. I turned it on and plugged in my laptop. I was holding my breath those few seconds while I waiting for the phone to register on iTunes. YAY, it worked!

So far, so good. I've just about finished "terraforming" it to my liking. All I need is to wait a short time for the carrier unlock which is just around the corner.

Me so happy!

4 comments:

frog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jimmy In Japan said...

I got it from a shop called March Rabbit. You can put this in Google Maps - 東京都千代田区外神田3-11-3.

I found a lot of places that have it. Just go for a wander. Don't look for it. It will find you.

Regza said...

lol just read it the part of where u were dealing with the bank thing and in roppongi. I was into it also last month. It was kinda ironic i should say. The Guard can speak english, neither can the customer service of the bank.

Regza said...

lol just read it the part of where u were dealing with the bank thing and in roppongi. I was into it also last month. It was kinda ironic i should say. The Guard can speak english, neither can the customer service of the bank.