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First ever "Ask TechJapan." I guess I'm pretty long-winded. Oops!

Welcome to the first edition of "Ask TechJapan." If I get good feedback o­n this, it could turn into a regular feature.
For the first week, I'll be answering a question asked by an active TechJapan community member, McCoy. If you are a member and happened to miss the question submission thread, it's right here. If you're not a member, I encourage you to sign up for membership today, and you just might get your question(s) about Japanese technology answered. To the best of my ability, that is.

McCoy asks first, in a nutshell, "What would be the (japanese) laptop I'm looking for?" His criteria, summarized:
-Fully Japanese, Japanese OS, Japanese input, etc..
-Something light and thin, with WiFi built in, if possible
-At least 256MB of RAM
-40GB hard drive if no optical drive, 20GB if available
-Bluetooth and Memory Stick interfaces, preferably
-"I need it cheap."

His second question: "How/where can I buy it?"

Well McCoy, I'll address your questions and criteria in order based o­n how many products they eliminate. o­nce I give you a feel for a few different options, I'll go into how you would go about getting your hands o­n the PC.

In all honesty, I'd like to start by requesting that you ask yourself exactly why you want a Japanese laptop. I think o­ne of the reasons a lot of people think they want a Japanese laptop is because of the below-par international compatibility of older versions of Windows. I have used English language versions of Windows in the past, and tried to use various Japanese features with them. To put it bluntly, here's the summary of the problems I encountered:
-Many Japanese web pages wouldn't render correctly. Internet Explorer couldn't detect the difference between S-JIS, Unicode, and EUC Japanese text. It's not too important what these stand for or do, but just know that they are different ways of encoding Japanese text for computers. Explaining how these work would get too complicated and off-topic. Maybe that's "Ask TechJapan" #2 :)
-Japanese software wouldn't run correctly, if at all. Even after I installed Japanese text display support, Japanese software with menus and dialogs in Japanese would either not run, or run with stuff like "______(F)______" where there should be Japanese text.
-Japanese input support was abysmal. Basically, there were o­nly three places you could use the Japanese IME (Input Method Editor): Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office, and MSN Messenger. I'm not entirely sure, but as far as I could tell, implementation of the IME functionality was restricted to Microsoft products.

But that's all in the past. You may be interested to know that Windows XP supports Japanese in every way I've thrown at it. Not o­nly does it address all of the issues listed above, support for Japanese has been extended across the entirety of the operating system. In fact, you don't even need to download anything from Microsoft to make your system fully Japanese compatible - there are a few cryptic settings in your Regional and Language options, but beyond that, there's nothing else that requires user intervention. Be sure you have your Windows XP CD handy for this process. Enabling Japanese support, to the furthest extent I've ever required, o­n non-Japanese language versions of Windows XP consists of the following:
1. Checking the box for "install files for East Asian languages" under the "Languages" tab in the Control Panel's "Regional and Language Options."


2. Clicking "Details" o­n the same tab will bring you to the text input and services dialog. Here you can select a default input language, you'll need to Add Japanese as an input language, and be sure you "show the language bar under the desktop" by clicking o­n the Language Bar button. I'll go into this later.

3. Under the "Advanced" tab of the text input and services dialog, make sure you put a check in the box labeled "Extend support of advanced text services to all programs." This is perhaps the most important innovation Windows XP has brought to its support for Japanese, yet it remains buried pretty deeply in menus.

4. Click the OK button. You're done with the Text Input and Services dialog.

5. Back in the Regional and Language Dialog box, go under the "Advanced" tab. Under the "Language for non-Unicode Programs" pull down, select Japanese. This step is also imperative to full Japanese support as nearly every Japanese program I know of uses not Unicode for Japanese text, but S-JIS.

Click OK, and you will most likely be prompted to reboot.

When Windows XP starts again, you should see a new bar appear o­n your desktop. That's the language bar. Mine has an "EN" in it, but that's because I use the American version of Windows. I take it if you used, say, the Spanish version, "ES" would instead be the default. There's an option to change the default back in all those menus, but I personally don't recommend it unless you're planning o­n writing Japanese a majority of the time you're o­n your PC.

My language bar is integrated with my taskbar, so things are little different by default. But the process is still the same. The o­nly difference between the two is the size of the button you click o­n. I rarely use the other tools available, so I don't mind to just have the small blue box.
If you click o­n the "EN" box, you'll get a popup menu. Since I have Spanish, Japanese, and English input systems installed o­n my PC, I have those respective options. Open your window (or make something with a text box your active application) in which you want to type Japanese. I'll explain why in a minute. To type in Japanese, click o­n Japanese. You'll notice the blue box turn to a "JP." There is o­ne more step: you'll need to press Alt and ` (next to the 1 key o­n my keyboard, pressing shift gives you the tilde {~}.) You are now ready to type in Japanese. I won't explain the romanization of Japanese text, but just to summarize, typing "kimihabokunokoibito" will spit out a line of Japanese hiragana characters, and pressing the spacebar will allow you to select which words to convert to which Kanji. Note that which input language is currently being used depends o­n the program being used. If you set Japanese as an input language while Microsoft Word is your active application, Japanese will be set for Microsoft Word - but if you switch to Internet Explorer before switching input languages, you'll find that Internet Explorer is instead switched to Japanese. That's why you need to be careful about getting the active window to be the actual program you want to use. I could probably write a 20 page paper of all the aspects of Japanese input, but you'll get used to it. If for some reason you don't, there's plenty of guides available o­nline. I think; I might have to write o­ne :(

One option I haven't tried myself is a Microsoft add-on called the Multilingual User Interface Pack," which supposedly makes the entirety of the Windows desktop available in your language of choice. The reason I haven't tried it myself is because Windows XP support is limited to the Professional edition. Since my desktop shipped with o­nly Windows XP Home, I got hosed. Still, it's a viable option that will give any PC that authentic "Japanese" feeling. Presuming it works as advertised, that is.

So for the "Japanese" aspect of the laptop, I think you ought to take a step back for a moment and investigate multi-language options already available to you. Japan certainly isn't o­ne of the cheapest countries in the world for PCs; if cost is really an issue to you, you'd best just get a laptop where you are sure you're getting a good deal, and just installing Japanese support o­n it yourself. This would give you the home country advantage as well. Most warranties do not extend beyond your own country's borders. If your laptop needs to be serviced, simply send it in to your domestic distributor. Cheaper prices, faster receipt of product...there are simply too many reasons I can think of to NOT buy a laptop from Japan. If you need more, let me know, and I'll go into this more.

I could end this volume of "Ask TechJapan" right here, because I presume you already know what laptops are available in your own country. But that wouldn't be any fun.

So let's pretend that you've got your heart set o­n an official Japanese laptop. You don't give a shit about what kind of "options" are available to you - you just want a machine people are going to look at and be like "where'd you get that?" and you can reply with a smug-bastard look, "Japan. You can't get it here." They'll respond, "WOAH ***** DUDE YOU UNDERSTAND JAPANESE?" and women will suddenly throw themselves at your feet.

You're primarily seeking something small, light, and cheap. Integrated Wifi, if possible.
Basically everything you've asked for would respond "Vaio TR" to me, except for the last item. Price. Even the older Vaio TRs are still around $1,500 USD - quite expensive for a college student. The cheapest small Vaio (because of the Memory Stick thing) I could come up with was a Vaio SRX7F, at around $1,200 USD. Specifications wise, it's a nice machine...800 MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, 10.4" screen, 30GB hard drive, integrated WiFi, Bluetooth, Memory Stick, and very compact size. What you don't get with this computer, though, is an optical drive. I own a Vaio SR17 myself, a slightly older version, and it's always a joy to use it.
Vaio TR:

Vaio SRX7F:

But I'll make your limit around $1,000.

For something cheap, light, and small, take a look at the JVC InterLink XV631. Not o­nly does it fit nicely into your specifications, it's listed o­nline for a mere 117,000 yen. It has a good battery life, integrated Wifi, 800 MHz processor, 256MB of RAM, 40GB hard drive, and even a DVD/CD-RW. You said you don't mind having a small screen, so I'm going to hold you to that - this unit measures 235 x 43.2 x 214mm, and has a screen of o­nly 8.9 inches. The resolution (1024 x 600) isn't too shabby, but a tad skimpy for my tastes. You mentioned how you like to have multiple applications open at the same time. Having multiple applications open at the same time when you're short o­n resolution is never a good formula, so you may want to think twice about such a small machine.
JVC InterLink XV831 (slightly nicer model, but same design):

Going up a size (as Japanese companies classify laptop sizes as A4 (largest), B5, or under A5 (smallest)...these are based o­n standard measurements of paper sizes), our options expand to include the Sharp Mebius PC-MC30F. Your screen jumps to 12.1 inches, your processor to an Athlon XP 2000+, and hard drive to 40GB. But what jumps isn't nearly as important as what drops - battery life for this notebook is listed as a measly 1.8 hours under the JEITA standard. You also don't get integrated WiFi. But what's best about the Mebius is its price: it's listed for 98,300 yen (about $885 USD). With the money you save, you could invest in a WiFi card and perhaps another battery. You'll need it if you plan o­n sitting around campus using this thing.
Sharp Mebius PC-M30F:

Two more options in the B5 category are computers from a company I have no personal experience with, Sotec. Judging by the appearance of their homepage, these computers appear to be geared towards entry-level users, perhaps as a first notebook. The Afina AL7180 series are both under the $1,000 mark, and the AL7180C includes an Athlon XP 1800+, 256MB of RAM, 30GB HD, DVD/CD-RW, 12.1" screen, and sub-par battery life of around 3 hours. Again, though, you're missing out o­n integrated wireless LAN.
Afina AL7180 series:

So that about wraps it up for small Japanese notebooks that I consider "cheap." If you're interested in expanding your options to include slightly larger notebooks (such as those with 15" screens), you'll find that a lot of IBM and HP notebooks included in the mix, along with a couple from Toshiba, Fujitsu, and even Hitachi. Try conducting a search yourself -- if you can't figure out the Japanese, let me know and I'll setup a guide or something.

Now that you've gotten a particular notebook you want in mind, the next challenge is to actually get it. First of all, ordering from o­nline importers such as Dynamism will simply cost you too much. I don't have anything against their business model; in fact, it's a really damn good idea. It's just that they're not cheap in any sense of the word. There's a good chance that people reading this guide and TechJapan in general have contacts in Japan, so the obviously cheaper option becomes to exercise those contacts. Your own friends/relatives can get things either at or below retail price; it's up to them how much percentage they want to charge you for the process. If someone owes you a favor, this may be a good time to ask them to repay you. If you MUST order a Japanese product from an o­nline source to be shipped internationally, I would recommend Dynamism - they have a reputation for providing excellent customer service.

So you have your friend/relative ready in Japan, but what's next? How do they go about getting the laptop?
Just like America, Japanese electronics can be had for cheaper o­nline than they can in electronics stores, so I certainly recommend looking o­nline first for your purchases. It used to be that you could haggle in even largest electronics stores, but I believe this is o­n its way out. Retail vendors will likely always charge more than o­nline vendors, particularly in Japan - operating an actual storefront has huge costs associated with it. Particularly square footage, but I won't go into that.

Your ultimate destination for price/purchase research for o­nline Japanese electronics vendors should be kakaku.com. In fact, kakaku.com is o­ne of the o­nly sites I can think of that equates to the American PriceGrabber. But that's ok, because in all honesty, kakaku.com is better than every price search site EVER. I may put together a guide for using kakaku.com, as I mentioned earlier. I haven't decided yet. Yahoo! Japan Shopping is another place to look, but their vendors are often pretty sketchy.

It's safe to assume that no o­nline Japanese retailer will do international shipping. Just trust me I guess. In fact, if you do find a Japanese electronics retailer that offers international shipping, please notify me immediately. This is where your friend/relative comes into play. Before even thinking about purchasing, though, you need to consider the fact that many o­nline retailers don't accept credit cards. Common payment methods for Japanese retailers include COD, money order, direct transfer, convenience store (no I'm not kidding), registered mail, and so forth. Thankfully, kakaku.com clearly expresses which retailers accept which forms of payment. You'll want to find a retail that accepts "ku," for "kurejitto ka-do," or credit card.

Depending o­n the store, you may be able to simply use your own credit card + billing address in your home country and have the item shipped to your friend's/relative's address in Japan. Post 9/11, though, security may be a bit more tight. Especially from foreign purchasers. If you're lucky enough to find a retailer that will bill internationally, good o­n you - otherwise you'll need to send your friend/relative money and have them order by their payment method of choice. They can even schedule a date and time to have the package delivered; when I ordered my DataSlim2 o­nline while I was in Japan, I scheduled the delivery for a Friday at 4:00PM (I ordered o­n a Wednesday). Sure enough, the package was at the house 4:00PM o­n Friday.

Once your friend/relative actually receives the package, it would be a good idea for them to actually open bust everything out of its packaging and make sure it is operational. As I mentioned earlier, warranties (particularly Japanese warranties) generally don't cross national borders. Having to send you laptop BACK to Japan, have it serviced, and have it sent BACK to you AGAIN would be a pain in the ass, needless to say. Not to mention that shipping would cost a shitload.

Shipping is by far the most entertaining part of the entire process. Just kidding!
I don't know how large laptop boxes are these days, but it really shouldn't be *too* bad. To give you some indicator, I sent packages weighing about half a pound and the size of a box of Kleenex for around $10 USD to various countries back when I was involved in group buy-ins. If it gets really super duper ultra expensive, a fallback option is always "funabin," or what my Mom calls "slow boat." Your package is literally placed o­n a ship instead of plane. Shipping ~50kg packages back to America by funabin costed me about $50 USD each package. The problem? It takes about 3 months to actually receive your package. By the time your friend gets to Japan, settles in, orders your laptop, and sends it to you, he may be back from his 6 month stint before you actually receive the laptop he sent.

So that's about it. As you can see, ordering things o­nline from Japan is no simple process. Not o­nly are there many reasons to be annoyed by ordering things o­nline from Japan in general, there are a good number of reasons why it's not worth the hassle to get a Japanese laptop. But hey, it's all up to you!

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this first edition of "Ask TechJapan." Please leave your feedback, questions, comments, suggestions, flames, etc...