The iPad Gray Market Just Got A Bump Up: Locked iPad to Japan

[Chupa Chupa]

9to5Mac is reporting that Apple will be selling the iPad SIM Locked in Japan. Seems kind of pointless since unlocked iPads will be available worldwide. Gray Market importers must be licking their chops. Kinda ironic to think of Gray Market goods going into Japan. Seems like a redux of the Wi-Fi less iPhones China gets, and no one wants.

 

[sactownbwoy]

This sucks, glad I am military and can get mine from the states. I see an opportunity $$$ If it was locked to Docomo maybe it wouldn't be so bad but Softbanks' network is crap.

 

[Battlestar]

What other 3G providers in Japan are there to use it on?

 

[windowpain]

Seems kind of pointless since unlocked iPads will be available worldwide. Gray Market importers must be licking their chops.

The problem is though getting a sim card to work in it.
Softbank won't be selling just the sims..(and I don't think the other carriers are either.)

I've been following the developments on the very appropriately named blog softbanksucks

I was really hoping just to buy the 3g version and get a docomo sim..but its not looking promising.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

What other 3G providers in Japan are there to use it on?

I'm not really familiar w/ the Japanese market, but if Softbank is the only GSM guy in town, then what is the point of demanding it be locked? ATT is essentially the only U.S. network the iPad works on (unless you want to use TMobs EDGE, but you'd have to be a glutton for punishment to do that).

The problem is though getting a sim card to work in it.
Softbank won't be selling just the sims..(and I don't think the other carriers are either.)

I've been following the developments on the very appropriately named blog softbanksucks

I was really hoping just to buy the 3g version and get a docomo sim..but its not looking promising.

Why would getting a SIM card be hard? MiniSIMs can be cut down to Micro very easily. But if its locked then that won't do you any good.

 

[TheMacBookPro]

SoftBank is not GSM. There are no 2G networks in Japan as of March 2010 (their PDC network was just discontinued).

SoftBank and NTT docomo are the only 3G WCDMA networks in Japan. AU by KDDI, Willcom and E-Mobile use CDMA networks, not unlike VZW.

At the end of the day though there's really no difference- the Japanese market is very competitive and the unlimited data plans on both SB and DCM are 4410yen per month. Coverage is excellent for both networks (in rural areas docomo is slightly better though but in the cities it's pretty much the same) so it's not like ATT vs VZW or anything (is ATT really that bad?)

 

[ChristianVirtual]

Locked device

Yes; that was really disappointing when I learned today about the lock; even not possible to get a 3G model w/o a contract. The prices are ok; but SB ??
So we have to continue being "offline" may times ... because the signal bar goes deep diving.