Sony in Japan, what to expect?

So I am in college, currently studying Japanese and looking forward to being a prospective Japan-bound exchange student in the near future. Alongside the studying, I'd like to see if I could pick up a Japanese computer (I'm sure there aren't much different to those here in the US other than the keyboard layout), but I know Akihabara has all sorts of electronic stores (I've been to Akihabara and other places in Japan 3 years ago). So... I was wondering if I were to buy a notebook somewhere in Japan...

Is Sony probably the most popular (and cheapest)? Or would anyone know of any other models that are in Japan that I could look at? I could try using the "what notebook should I buy" topic, but I am not in Japan yet so it might be a little misleading. Thanks for your understanding, and let me know what you can find!

 

i can tell you for a fact that most laptops are overpriced in japan (akihabara at least) compared to their US counterparts with lesser specs (such as less ram and HDD), but you may run into japan-only models there

and with the different keyboard layout plus a japanese windows interface (i can live with it since i can read japanese) personally i would recommend against buying one there

 

Ah great advice. I'll probably buy here then...

ありがとう！　

 

Whew, I'm jealous. I sure wish I knew the language to get my grubby hands on some sweet electronics and visit the country. Just like Muslims are obligated to visit Mecca, Saudi Arabia at least once in their lifetimes, I must do the same for Akihabara!

But I feel very apprehensive to visit there only knowing English and their purported xenophobia towards foreigners, I hear especially towards "brown" people. Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

all electronics are also overpriced there....with the expection of newly-released camera equipment (camcorders, digital cameras etc) which is still pricey but may be worth the extra cost because it takes quite a while for them to be released in the western world usually

if u really really want to get a laptop there and have tons of money to blow, their selection of ultraportabes are worth alook even if you dont plan to buy one. i would also look at other odd japanese brands such as panasonic (and a personal favorite kohjinsha although they stop developing new models recently but you may see them under the onkyo brand) as they are a rarety here in the western world, but thats getting off-topic as this is a sony forum. but nevertheless, be very wary of their prices as they can literally burn your wallet, take the time to go online and compare prices of similar-specd laptops here

as far as sony goes, i personally wouldn't expect any surprises. if anything, you would have read about it in this forum already. in terms of price, i would actually expect the US to be slightly cheaper. your best bet is visit sony's jp website and check on their costs and compare it with the USD counterparts. also, dont expect too much of a discount in stores either; prices are pretty much rock solid just like sony's msrp all across retailers here

 

Agree pretty much everything with waht chroma_cg said.

Almost all the stores in Akihabara selling stuffs through internet and you can always find the best price in kakaku.com. Still, the price is way cheaper in the US I think.
Sometimes I feel furious when seeing the laptop's price here in Japan way more expensive than in US, of course with the same specs haha
At first I always thought Sony is from Japan so it has to be cheaper here

And I think you should check to see if the warranty can be transfer from US to Japan or not, if it is important to you.

 

If you want sony laptop.. There is Sony Showroom building in Ginza. there, you can buy international model laptop that have english keyboard and ofcourse english windows. Tourist visa can also get Vat refund(5%) FYI.

 

As someone who has been there multiple times and doesn't speak a lick of Japanese, I've had zero problems buying in places like Yodobashi. In record stores and electronics stores, it helps if you have the model number you can show them of something you're looking for. For example, when I was looking for the privacy filter for my VGN-G or a specific case for my X1060 walkman. The Japanese, although most don't speak English, will communicate with you with no problems in a way that works for both of you. Trust me.

Be careful with some items. SOme will have Japanese only menus (if that matters to you), so you may need an international (tourist) model, which may NOT have the same specs as the Japanese one. As for laptops, you can get some unique stuff over there. In the Sony Ginza store/showroom, you can also get non-Japanese models and order the SonyStyle exclusive stuff. You can also do that at Yodobashi (at least, last time I was there you could). Getting some of the special spec'd things (like my Panasonic CF-J9 with the Core i7, SSD, and 8GB of memory) isn't always in stores and special order only.

As for the keyboard differences, as I said, I speak no Japanese but have had zero issues using a Japanese keyboard once you figure out the shift of where a few things are. I've had so many Japanese laptops over the years I'm almost more comfortable on a Japanese keyboard than a US one.

 

I bought laptops in Japan too. I preferred (and is till prefer) to have a Japanese OS rather than in my native language (European). This is due to the fact that the menus that are mix of Kanji and Katakana (and the words written in are just the English words written with the Japanese alphabet. e.g. program = プログラム . I prefer using a US or JP OS but both are ok with me.
With windows7 integral, you can change the os language so it does not matter anymore if you do not feel comfortable with JP os.

Moreover, if you have to write in Japanese language, a JP keyboard is definitely better than any other international keyboard (additional language dedicated keys). Or other solution is to buy an external JP keyboard.

Finally, I agree with the others : it depends on the price of the same configuration you can find in JP or in the USA.

 

I remember in 2007-2008 prices in Japan were really cheap for us Europeans, so I bought a maxed-out Vaio TZ there and I still remember that it was considerably cheaper than in the U.S. as well...

However, nowdays Japanese Yen is much stronger (e.g. see: Japanese yen (JPY) vs US Dollar (USD) - 5-years - Currency Chart) so buying electronics in Japan is actually more expensive than both USA and Europe.

If you still want to buy a laptop there just make sure you can get the Windows in your language on it - usually modern versions of Windows OEM installations allow you to set the language on the first boot. Japanese keyboard layout is IMHO easy to use, nothing special there...

 

Better plan a trip to Hong Kong while your in SE Asia. Try mongkok computer centre or any sonystyle in hk.
You can buy cheaper there.

 

New computers are more expensive there. The US is the bargain basement of the world after all. You won't find a new computer there cheaper than here. Used computers are a different story. Japanese used is what we call mint here in the US. I saw a used Sony X last week for 26800 yen, that's $335. I picked up a used camera for about 2/3rds about what the same used camera would cost in the US.

 

actually, most laptops in hongkong are actually more expensive than here in north america, regardless of brand, and many come with lesser config, namely only 2gb of ram instead of the typical 4gb

sony isnt any better either, a base SB model was like 1100USD in hk while you can get one in the US for under 1000USD (950USD if i remember correctly?) and you might be able to get another 5% off and possibly a free sheet battery depending on the current promotion

but that said, there's no sales tax there while there is tax here so YMMV

 

Agreed. I've been to China/HK a few times. The prices there are more than I would pay in the US. Remember, the US is the bargain basement of the world. Once my camera broke in HK. Even though the camera I bought to replace it was made in HK, it was cheaper for me to buy it online back in the US and have them fedex it to me in HK than buy it anywhere in HK.