Hello all! You may recall that last month I posted a message with a list of Gatchaman-related items that were happening in Japan. In that message, I mentioned that SoftBank was going to be releasing Gatchaman-themed cell phones. Well, they finally have images of what the line will look like. If you want to see them, they can be found at either: http://mb.softbank.jp/mb/special/815T/fan/gatchaman/index.html or http://www.tatsunoko.co.jp/keitai/gatchaman/index.html Being a die-hard collector, I do want to get the phones, but what I really want is the limited edition set of Gallactor soldiers! They're the perfect thing to go with the Ken action figure Banpresto released in 1997! But, darn it, they're available only to people who buy the phones...! I haven't seen anything regarding the price of the phones yet, but they will apparently be released in November. James

D'oh! I want some tiny goons too!

Those are so neat...I'd have trouble deciding...but I like the one with them on their vehicles alot.

Tempting...I wish there was one more Condor oriented. Now all you'd need is the "Dare da" ring tone downloaded onto it.

OMG... I want the goons too!!!! So, how do we go about getting these, James? I want the scoop!!!!

Well, the figures will be bundled along with the cell phones, so at first the only way to get them will be to buy one of the phones. SoftBank probably will only sell them in Japan, so you may either have to find someone in Japan to purchase a phone for you or wait until someone sells either the phone and figure bundle or just the figures on the aftermarket (Yahoo! Japan Auctions and the like). Since the phones aren't even being sold yet, it's hard at this point to tell exactly what we'll need to do to get them. But I waaaaant them! James

Totemo sugoi ne! Very cool! As far as I can tell, they go on sale in November. Just in time for my birthday. *grin* I'll have to buy one so I can get the goon toys as well (I'll take advantage of the stronger Canadian dollar against the Yen).

Did my eye play a trick on me or I just saw a Katze cell-phone sticker! I WANNA ONE!

Originally posted by tatsunokofan Well, the figures will be bundled along with the cell phones, so at first the only way to get them will be to buy one of the phones. SoftBank probably will only sell them in Japan, so you may either have to find someone in Japan to purchase a phone for you or wait until someone sells either the phone and figure bundle or just the figures on the aftermarket (Yahoo! Japan Auctions and the like). Since the phones aren't even being sold yet, it's hard at this point to tell exactly what we'll need to do to get them. But I waaaaant them!

Me too! I got my G1 shirt through Celga from the Tatsunoko store. If you figure out how they're being sold, maybe we can do a combined order to save on shipping and fees.

Those are sooooo cool! I doubt I'd use it, but I'd love to have the Katse phone as a collectible! I already made a custom goon figure, but I'd love to have an "official" one as well. If anyone gets a set of the goons and wants to sell one of the 3, I'm definitely interested! Just name your price. -Tony

These are so amazing. I hope whoever sells them is willing to ship so we can get some!

Hi all! Well, I've done a little more looking, and it appears that the only way to get the Gatchaman cell phone package from SoftBank is to agree to sign up for their cell phone plan and pay for the thing over a period of either 14 or 26 months. Either way you go, your total bill for the cell phone (With all five changable covers, the Firebird interior images, Gatchaman-related features on the phone itself, and the Gallactor soldier figures) and their service is a whopping 81,120 yen, which at current exchange rates is just a hair over $700.00. In a word, "Ouch." That might make it a little difficult to get one right away. And spending roughly $30.00 a month (For 24 months) for a cell phone service that I couldn't use doesn't thrill me either. Of course, this doesn't mean someone won't decide to sell theirs once they're done using it, or decide to help pay for their phone by selling the Gallactor figures separately, but I think we'll have to wait and see how that goes. James

Thanks for the scoop, James! *Camps out on ebay to wait for a goon figure to show up*

Ugh... How unfair!!!!!

Don't suppose there is anyway to persuade them to bring them across the pond is there?

Don't suppose there is anyway to persuade them to bring them across the pond is there?

I doubt it, since their license for the phones is unlikely to extend beyond the borders of Japan. And, unless they have ties to an American counterpart company, they would lack the infrastructure to offer cell phone service outside Japan anyway. James

Do phones in Japan use the same band thingy as US phones, or are they compatible with the other main system instead?

I'm honestly not familiar enough with Japanese cell phones to know whether they can reprogrammed to work in other parts of the world or if there are compatability issues that make this impossible. James

DH works in the cell phone industry (his company writes software to allow users to watch television on their phones). I just asked him as an 'expert' and he said that you could use the Japanese phone IF: It is a GSM phone. This is a protocol for how the phone operates. AND It is UNLOCKED. This means that even though you buy it from the Japanese provider, you CAN use it with other providers. According to my DH, if you buy the phone 'locked' it means that you cannot use it with other providers at all and there is no way (well, possibly there is a way but it would be very unlikely) to unlock it. IF it meets these criteria, then here's what you can do. Buy the phone, and get another phone (and mobile contract) in the US with AT&T. AT&T phones have SIM chips which identify you. You will be able to pull the SIM chip from your AT&T phone and use it in the Gatchaman phone. So, a lot of ifs here...

oh well

[i]you could use the Japanese phone IF:... It is UNLOCKED. ... if you buy the phone 'locked' it means that you cannot use it with other providers at all and there is no way (well, possibly there is a way but it would be very unlikely) to unlock it. blah blah... buy a phone for the Sim Card etc.

I had a phone locked to optus, however my sim card expired due to lack of use - I bought myself a sim card (you can buy them VERY CHEAPLY without phones. I'm talking $2 here.) from a different company, and just looked up the unlock instructions and code for my model of phone via google. Took around 1/2 an hour to find a code because my phone wasn't particularly popular, but I found it. I figure, look up the phone model to get the unlock code before you buy it. If you can't find it, don't bother buying. Well, unless it's only for collection. It is however technically illegal to unlock a locked phone yourself because it's a breach in the contract you agreed to by purchasing the phone or something. You can however take the phone to the company and pay them a fee (usually around $30-$60) to legally unlock the phone. Anyway, sounds like a whole lot of work, probably easier and far far cheaper in the long run to buy one of those customisable cases... they're clear and have a paper pattern for you to put your image on and then insert into the case... you could put whatever image you liked on it.