# electrical goods



## KennyK

Hi guys, i'm moving to Osaka area in Aug and I have a couple of questions about electrical goods that i'd be greatful for someone's help with. 

I need to get a new laptop as i currently use a desktop but obviously can't bring that with me! Is it better / cheaper to get a laptop when i arrive in Japan or is it better to bring one with me from the UK. The UK seems quite cheap for these things at the min but i have no idea what the prices are like in Japan.

The other question i have concerns e-book readers. I was thinking of getting an amazon kindle but again i'm not sure if i should get one before i go or of i should just get one when i'm there. Are foreign books more expensive in if i get a japanese version? Does anyone know if the price for foreign books using a japanese version of the kindle is more or less than the roaming fee's charged for using a UK version?

I'd be greatful for any help or advice that people can offer!


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## Joppa

KennyK said:


> Hi guys, i'm moving to Osaka area in Aug and I have a couple of questions about electrical goods that i'd be greatful for someone's help with.
> 
> I need to get a new laptop as i currently use a desktop but obviously can't bring that with me! Is it better / cheaper to get a laptop when i arrive in Japan or is it better to bring one with me from the UK. The UK seems quite cheap for these things at the min but i have no idea what the prices are like in Japan.
> 
> The other question i have concerns e-book readers. I was thinking of getting an amazon kindle but again i'm not sure if i should get one before i go or of i should just get one when i'm there. Are foreign books more expensive in if i get a japanese version? Does anyone know if the price for foreign books using a japanese version of the kindle is more or less than the roaming fee's charged for using a UK version?
> 
> I'd be greatful for any help or advice that people can offer!


I'm not into e-books so will leave that question to someone else.
As for your laptop, get one in UK. Laptop prices are no cheaper even with Japanese keyboard amd software, and Japanese consumers don't really go for cheaper notebooks but one with all bells and whistles, costing on average 100,000 to 150,000 yen. With English OS and keyboard (US really), it will be much more expensive than in UK. I suggest you stay clear of netbooks as they lack processing power and are tiring to type on small keyboard, but normal 15.6" screen for around £400 to £500 mark. Argos is currently doing a good deal on this HP model for £500 with Intel i3 CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB HD and dedicated ATI Radeon graphics card, so good for modest games too:
Buy HP DV6 Series 500GB 15.6 Inch Laptop at Argos.co.uk - Your Online Shop for Laptops.

Or if you look online, you can find one with faster i5 processor for similar price, like http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/HP_P...i5_Laptop_in_Red_XE009EA/version.asp?PID=1368


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## KennyK

Thanks for the advice Joppa, i thought that Japanese models might have been cheaper in Japan but i'll take your advice and get one before i go! The one from Argos looks like a decent shout as well......


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## Joppa

KennyK said:


> Thanks for the advice Joppa, i thought that Japanese models might have been cheaper in Japan but i'll take your advice and get one before i go! The one from Argos looks like a decent shout as well......


Make sure you try one out at PC World etc, as keyboard has a rather soft feel and not to everyone's taste. I suggest you get i5 model online as you'll notice the speed, esp when playing games or multitasking. It has good Altec Lansing speakers, nearly as good as Dell's JBL I got for my son (but for £100 more). Otherwise it's a good model and performs well. Get a MS Office 2010 Professional for under £40 from Microsoft Office Student Offer 2010 Home Software Download UK | Software4Students.co.uk if you are a student or have someone in your family who is, or is at school (you need to quote uni/college/school name).


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## larabell

KennyK said:


> Is it better / cheaper to get a laptop when i arrive in Japan or is it better to bring one with me from the UK.


Do you intend to sign up for a 3G connectivity plan (ie: one which would allow you to connect from anywhere via the cell phone network)? If so, it might be helpful to note that some netbook and smaller laptop machines are being offered at bargain prices when purchased with a connectivity plan, such as eMobile. I've seen some of the cheaper Eee PCs being offered as low as 100 yen with more capable machines going for a few tens of thousands of yen (around $200~300 US). If you're not planning on using the machine away from home much, the total cost of the plan over the 1st year may not make it worth the discount on the machine, though.



> I was thinking of getting an amazon kindle but again i'm not sure if i should get one before i go or of i should just get one when i'm there.


I don't know much about this, either, but I understand the main method of buying books for the Kindle involves connecting with Amazon via a 3G connection and it's not clear to me that the UK model would be guaranteed to work in Japan. As for price, you can certainly check that out on Amazon -- the amazon.co.jp site can be read in English if you manage to find the right link.


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## Singapore Saint

KennyK said:


> The other question i have concerns e-book readers. I was thinking of getting an amazon kindle but again i'm not sure if i should get one before i go or of i should just get one when i'm there. Are foreign books more expensive in if i get a japanese version? Does anyone know if the price for foreign books using a japanese version of the kindle is more or less than the roaming fee's charged for using a UK version?
> 
> I'd be greatful for any help or advice that people can offer!


For the Kindle, I am moving to Japan in a couple of weeks... I bought mine from Amazon UK while living in Singapore (NB Amazon wouldn't deliver to Singapore, so I had it delivered to family in UK who then brought it out - if you select the country for delivery in the order process it will tell you before you confirm the order if you can have it delivered to Japan.) If not, simply buy it before you go.

3G connectivity is not available in Singapore, but I registered my Kindle with Amazon.co.uk, I buy books from Amazon.co.uk, but just have to order the e-books on my laptop and select to download purchases to the laptop rather than directly to the Kindle. You then simply connect the Kindle to the laptop with USB and drag the file over. Very easy, very simple, no hassle at all.

If you bought in Japan and registered in Japan, I've no idea if foreign e-books would be more expensive, but you might find you have more choice of foreign books if you just get it from and register it to the .co.uk site.


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## KennyK

Thanks for all your help guys, its great that there are people out there who take the time out to give people advice, its greatly appreciated! 

Joppa: I think i'll def be going for an i5 processor and dedicated graphics so it should last a few years before I need to replace it. Thanks for the links, i'll use them as the benchmark for what I should be looking for for the price.

Larabell: I don't think that i'll be doing that much travelling with my laptop but I will need to get a new mobile / cellphone when I get to Japan. Are the 3G connectivity plans bundled in with mobile contracts? If so then that could be worth looking at but I think that otherwise it would work out more cost effective for me to buy one in the UK before I go.

Singapore saint: I had a look on the amazon.co.jp site suggested by larabell and found that when I clicked on the kindle it redirected me to the amazon.com site. I reckon it could be better to get one in the UK and bring it with me rather than have to import one from the US. I'm not sure about the 3G connectivity in Japan but if it's not guaranteed to work I should probably just get the wifi version and not the 3G version to save a few bucks.

Once again guys, thanks for your help!


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## larabell

KennyK said:


> Are the 3G connectivity plans bundled in with mobile contracts?


Sorry for the delay. I've never seen laptops offered in a bundle with a mobile phone contract but that doesn't mean they don't exist -- I already have a phone so I'm not generally shopping in that market. What the shops are pushing is a bundle with eMobile, which is mostly a data connectivity service (I've heard you can buy an eMobile SIM for unlocked cell phones but I have no idea if the bundle would give you that option or not).



> I had a look on the amazon.co.jp site suggested by larabell and found that when I clicked on the kindle it redirected me to the amazon.com site. I reckon it could be better to get one in the UK and bring it with me rather than have to import one from the US.


Hmmm... you might be right. I recall some big announcement a while back about Kindle now being available in Japan because that meant one could use a local 3G connection to shop for books which, if I remember right, you couldn't do with an imported US model (at least not at the time). But I just checked and the official Kindle site seems to be on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.jp doesn't list them. Odd.



> I'm not sure about the 3G connectivity in Japan but if it's not guaranteed to work I should probably just get the wifi version and not the 3G version to save a few bucks.


I'd probably go with the WiFi version anyway -- that way you know you can use it anywhere. WiFi is standard, Japan's cell phone system isn't (DoCoMo's 3G requires a different SIM but I believe most of the other carriers are standard -- but I don't know whether using a UK-based Kindle in Japan would be considered roaming by the carriers here).


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