Hotmail and Sending Japanese text problem...

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I just returned from a study abroad in Japan. I made a couple good friends and one I want to keep in touch with. Problem is her cell phone is the only way to e-mail since she doesn't have a computer, and so far my hotmail account will send Japanese text properly. My regular account won't send readable mail at all. thats why I have been sending hotmail e-mails in roman letters. A friend of mine said it is based upon the browser encoding, if my browser encoding is not correct it will not send properly. Anyone know how to fix this issue?



I am also looking for a e-mail type chat program. In Japan the e-mails are basically like text messages except easy and free. So most people just e-mail back and forth. So I would like a program that I could just e-mail and it constantly checks my e-mails and lets me know when I recieve the reply. right now I just hit refresh or get mail over and over...kind of a hastle. If anyone can help me that would be apprecaited.



Thank you very much

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    chikarachikara Posts: 116member
    if anyone one has any solutions at all invovled with e-mailing Japanese text, please let me know. I have been desperately searching google for answers and ntohing has come up helpful.
  • Reply 2 of 9
    fulmerfulmer Posts: 171member
    Most Japanese cell phones require you to send email messages using Japanese encoding (usually SHIFT_JIS). One way to do this is to open the web page where you type the message, then change the encoding in that page from the menu. After you type the message, it should be sent using the encoding you've selected. Probably the best (easiest) thing to do is to open a Yahoo-Japan email account since it is already set to Japanese encoding. You'll need to be able to read Japanese on your computer to use Yahoo-Japan.



    As for your question about chatting... Cell phones in Japan usually have 2 different types of mail systems. The first is regular email, and the second is called c-mail. Regular email can be sent to or received from any computer. C-Mail is different... It can only be sent to and received from the same service provider that you are using (for example, Vodafone to Vodafone or AU to AU, but not Vodafone to AU or AU to Vodafone). You're out of luck if you want to easily send C-Mail to your friends... There are hackers out there with special programs that send bulk C-Mail/E-Mail to people... But I can't help you with that one
  • Reply 3 of 9
    chikarachikara Posts: 116member
    yes, you are the savior I have been waiting for. Exactly how do I change the settings for the mail going out? do I just type shift_jis or something? that part I do not entirely understand, if worse comes to worse I will sign up for a hotmail.co.jp account, hopefully that would work better.
  • Reply 4 of 9
    fulmerfulmer Posts: 171member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chikara

    Exactly how do I change the settings for the mail going out?



    It really depends on what browser you are using. I'm not on my Mac right now, so I can't tell you off the top of my head how to do it for Safari...



    For Firefox, from the "View" menu, click "Character Encoding" then "More Encodings" then "East Asian" then "Japanese (Shift_JIS)"



    (at least that's the way to do it on my Winbloz machine here at work )



    I'm hoping you're not using IE... but if so, let me know and I'll help you out



    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chikara

    if worse comes to worse I will sign up for a hotmail.co.jp account, hopefully that would work better.



    Hotmail should work for you, but from what I've seen it is not specifically separated for different languages. What I mean is there is only 1 hotmail website (login.passport.net) unlike Yahoo who has different websites for English & another websites for other languages (www.yahoo.com & www.yahoo.co.jp). Languages are setup in Hotmail using the account preferences... it should work out in the end, but might be a little confusing for you.



    Yahoo is separate where Hotmail is combined. The idea of Hotmail being combined is nicer, but might be a little confusing.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    chikarachikara Posts: 116member
    I found that I just change my settings in Hotmail entirely to Japanese settings I am able to send mail in Japanese. So now once I log into hotmail, everything is in Japanese but I can at least sent my messages in Japanese characters



    Thank you very much for all of your help.
  • Reply 6 of 9
    fulmerfulmer Posts: 171member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chikara

    I found that I just change my settings in Hotmail entirely to Japanese settings I am able to send mail in Japanese. So now once I log into hotmail, everything is in Japanese but I can at least sent my messages in Japanese characters



    Thank you very much for all of your help.




    Changing the settings in the Hotmail preferences is the probably the easiest way to do it, so I'm glad that worked out for you!



    BTW, where in Japan have you visited? I live in Hachioji, just outside of Tokyo.
  • Reply 7 of 9
    how do you prepare your emails? do you write it up in a word processor in japanese first? i'd suggest that, and you could log into hotmail and change the encoding manually through the browser if it doesn't work straight away if you want to keep english as the default settings.



    as for c-mail, i don't know what that is to be honest as i live in the uk but i remember using free internet SMS (text) messaging when i didn't have a mobile phone, perhaps you can do it from a website somewhere?



    good luck
  • Reply 8 of 9
    chikarachikara Posts: 116member
    Quote:

    BTW, where in Japan have you visited? I live in Hachioji, just outside of Tokyo. [/B]



    I have friends in the Tokyo area, primarily around Kichijouji, Yokohama, Ibarakiken. Although this past summer I studied in Suita, Osaka for a couple months. I enjoy visiting Tokyo for a weekend or so, but I loved studying in Osaka. Probably gonna try make it a yearly thing to go back there.eeeeeeeeee
  • Reply 9 of 9
    fulmerfulmer Posts: 171member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by sentofuno

    as for c-mail, i don't know what that is to be honest as i live in the uk but i remember using free internet SMS (text) messaging when i didn't have a mobile phone, perhaps you can do it from a website somewhere?



    C-Mail is almost exactly like the instant messenger programs that you used to using on your computer (Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, AIM, iChat, etc...). It is basically a scaled down version for your cell phone (basic chat features only). It works in the same way that your computer based IM program (Yahoo, MSN, AIM, iChat, etc...) works in that you can only chat with friends that use the same brand IM client. You can't use MSN Messenger to chat with your friend that uses Yahoo Messenger. Therefore, if you are using Vodafone, you can only send c-mail messages to other Vodafone users... or AU to AU... or Docomo to Docomo...



    I know, there are apps like Adium that will allow you to use ONE program to connect to all of your IM accounts and chat with your friends, but you're still using your Yahoo account to talk with Yahoo friends... Not your Yahoo account to talk with MSN friends...



    Most cell phones allow you to use smilies and small icons just like the smilies that are included in the computer IM clients. C-Mail is usually limited to 100-200 characters or so (can't remember the exact number off hand).



    Now, e-mail is a different story... It works almost exactly like your e-mail client on your computer. You can send e-mail to anyone that has an e-mail address. It's not restricted to sending e-mail to cell phones. Your cell phone can send/receive e-mail to/from any computer. The only limitation is the length of the e-mail that you send/receive. Most cell phones allow fairly large e-mail's to be sent/received, something like 5000 characters or so. I can't imagine typing an e-mail with more characters then that on my cell phone's keypad. Granted, inputting Japanese is much easier then inputting English, but I'm not writing a novel, it's just an e-mail!
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