Can I rent a cell phone in Phuket to use while I am on holiday? How
much would it cost?

I live in Japan, and would preferably like to pick up a phone at the
airport, or have it sent to my hotel.

Obviously I'm budget-minded, so I'm not in the market for a sattelite phone.
Also, because I live in Japan, my current phone is not SIM-Card based.
I won't be able to buy a cheap SIM card and plug it into my current
phone.

Thanks.

What is your purpose in having a phone - (a) to be able to make calls
within Thailand? (b) make international calls? (c) receive
international calls?

If (a) and (c) only, the cheapest would be to buy a simple
SIM-compatible phone and SIM card in Thailand... you could probably do
this for about $50-$80 total.

If (b), I know that there are phone rental places in the Bangkok
airport but am not sure about Phuket.

Do you know if they are prepaid phones? Or if they would sell to a non-resident?

Making calls would be nice...

Unfortunately (or fortunately actually) I'm flying directly to Phuket,
so no chance to pick up something in Bangkok on the way through.
Thanks for the comment though. Help is appreciated.

Yes, they are prepaid phones.  You can buy a re-charge card at any
convenience store (e.g. 7-11).  It is no problem to buy a
pay-as-you-go phone, even if you are not from Thailand.

Here is more informtion from
http://www.travelforum.org/thailand/communications.html:

People bringing their mobile phones to Thailand will find roaming is
not a problem, although very expensive when you consider a local call
will cost around 115 baht per minute (a call from a regular phone
costs 3 baht for unlimited time, and around 3 baht per minute from
Thai registered mobile phones). The main cellular phone company in
Thailand is AIS900.

You are able to purchase "pay as you go phones" in Thailand from
around 10,000 baht. (NOTE: I think that this is an old figure. Today
prices are as low as $50.)  The trouble is, they have no voice mail,
forwarding, etc. Unlike some countries, you can go without using them
for long periods (while you are not in Thailand), without the number
being discontinued and the SIM card delisted. But they are not data
enabled. So you can not connect your laptop to them, even if the phone
has a physical connection for this. Also, it is not possible to buy a
regular service activated phone (so that you can connect to the
Internet from your laptop via a mobile), unless you have a work permit
(and show this plus your passport).

An alternative to buying a phone, is to rent it. AIS900 also have this
service available through most larger hotels and also at the MOBILE
FONERENT counters (arrival terminals 1 and 2 of Bangkok International
Airport). A deposit of 30,000 baht for a regular cellular handset or
40,000 baht for a digital, data enabled GSM phone is required. The
rental charge depends on how long you rent for. If you rent 1-2 days,
you will pay 440 baht per day. 3-6 days for 410 baht / day. 7-15 days
for 260 baht a day. And 16 days plus for 150 baht per day. Air time
charges are 10 baht per minute for domestic calls, 10 baht plus
Telephone Organization of Thailand?s rates per minute for long
distance calls, and 15 baht plus Communication Authority of Thailand?s
rates for international


Also, here are the contact details of a phone rental shop in Phuket:

http://www.phuketdir.com/pktrentaphone/


I hope that this helps - let me know if you have further questions.

Wow, you are amazing. I wish you were a Google answerer, so I could
pay you for the info!

Closing down the question as a result of this...

Do you live in Phuket? I'll be there in June!