I plan to visit Italy in mid-November (Rome, and a few other places I haven't decided on), so I just thought I might use that trip to get myself an 800. So I would appreciate if our Italian fellow XDAers or people who know could answer a few questions about shopping for phones in Italy.
First of all, are there multibrand phone stores that sell unbranded SIM-free phones? If yes, what are they called?
If not, do operators sell SIM-free phones like in some other countries?
Are there chains like MediaMarkt or BestBuy? Are they good for phone shopping?
Molte grazie!
vangrieg said:
I plan to visit Italy in mid-November (Rome, and a few other places I haven't decided on), so I just thought I might use that trip to get myself an 800. So I would appreciate if our Italian fellow XDAers or people who know could answer a few questions about shopping for phones in Italy.
First of all, are there multibrand phone stores that sell unbranded SIM-free phones? If yes, what are they called?
If not, do operators sell SIM-free phones like in some other countries?
Are there chains like MediaMarkt or BestBuy? Are they good for phone shopping?
Molte grazie!
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Hi vangrieg, in Italy most of stores sell a lot of unbranded phones and smartphones. The only problem seems that, at the moment, Nokia Lumia 800 is not present in many stores.
In fact some stores accept Lumia 800 preorders, but the release date is set for 20 November.
There are lot of chains. I am not from Rome but they are more or less the same in all country: Mediaworld, Euronics, Trony, Unieuro are just some good known.
e.g. Euronics (Lumia preorder)
Enjoy your visit to Rome!
n1ghtm4r said:
Hi vangrieg, in Italy most of stores sell a lot of unbranded phones and smartphones. The only problem seems that, at the moment, Nokia Lumia 800 is not present in many stores.
In fact some stores accept Lumia 800 preorders, but the release date is set for 20 November.
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Ouch, I plan to leave on 19th. Is that date certain?
n1ghtm4r said:
There are lot of chains. I am not from Rome but they are more or less the same in all country: Mediaworld, Euronics, Trony, Unieuro are just some good known.
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Thanks for the names! I've seen their websites but wasn't sure if they had brick and mortar stores, most seem like online only. Will check these out.
n1ghtm4r said:
Enjoy your visit to Rome!
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I'm sure I will. Not yet decided whether to go up North to Firenze/Venezia/Genova/Milano or South to Napoli/Palermo. The North has more familiar names, the South is warmer. Tough choice!
Related
I live in the uk and am eagerly anticipating the release of the motorola Atrix. However, I don't really want to wait ages for an orange release and would prefer an unlocked phone anyway (no contracts and the like). What should I do? I know there's expansys etc. but I am concerned about a warranty. Should I be? I am really just looking for some helpful advice.
i heard you can send it to any motorola services centre for the warranty no?
CajunChicken said:
I live in the uk and am eagerly anticipating the release of the motorola Atrix. However, I don't really want to wait ages for an orange release and would prefer an unlocked phone anyway (no contracts and the like). What should I do? I know there's expansys etc. but I am concerned about a warranty. Should I be? I am really just looking for some helpful advice.
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Doesn't mater where you buy it from, you will have a warranty with the manufacturer. I have had to send stuff back to Expansys before and had no problems
Thanks! i was just a bit worried i would lose out on something. now all i have to do is wait for an unlocked version to be released, or even announced :/
Any news on UK release dates yet?
It's slated for a Q2 release in the UK (Most likely to be around mid May), I'll try find the source I got it from.
This is unconfirmed though.
Any ideas on what the price might be for it? BTW this is for the regular Atrix and not the 4G
I'm from Israel and we use 3G bands similar to Europe, the Artix 4G supports HSDPA at the 2100 MHZ band and so do some European carriers (including mine). Does that mean I can just order the U.S version and it will work ok? if so, no need to wait for UK dates or any other European release
CajunChicken said:
I live in the uk and am eagerly anticipating the release of the motorola Atrix. However, I don't really want to wait ages for an orange release and would prefer an unlocked phone anyway (no contracts and the like). What should I do? I know there's expansys etc. but I am concerned about a warranty. Should I be? I am really just looking for some helpful advice.
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It seems you'd better ask a friend of yours in US to bring it over. That's what I'm going to do. USD399 is way better than GBP399 (surely it's going to be more than that).
Atrix 4g and atrix is the same phone. In america they have verizon lte 4g so t-mobile and att started calling their hsdpa+ 4g which is nonsense. You'd need to check the bands to ensure it works. Should be ok as im sure moto support most. You'll need to wait for an unlock in anycase as only on at&t i think if coming from america. I would buy from expansys although they can be expensive. If you import you need to add the vat which you'll get billed for 2 weeks after purchase by the courier.
I can't wait to get mine!
Btw. I bought a droid pro from usa and it worked fine.
Sent from my MB525 using XDA App
According to this it will be released in May 2011 in the UK, and exclusive to Orange.
The difference between atrix 4g and atrix for europe could be regarding frequencies: 4g shold be 3g on frequencies 850/1900/2100 while european version 850/900/1900/2100. This should be not a problem because almost in all europe 3g works on 2100 Mhz frequency. What do you think about it?
I'm a UK user too.
I'm torn between this and the Samsung Galaxy S II.
I hear the Atrix is gonna be Orange exclusive which is crappy.
No news on the sammy yet though... :S
Mid July according Expansys
BUt Expansys have changed there site to show a price of £474.99 SIM free, which seems very reasonable, really. But no release date, now
I'm sure my old Touch Pro 2 was around the £600 mark when it first came out
Another pending UK user here too..
Lurking here in the meantime.
I've seen July mentioned by Expansys. Have also signed up for notifications from Play.com on their product placeholder page.
Galaxy S II looks like an early March release according to various gadget sites.
- -
Monkey see, monkey do.
stunno said:
BUt Expansys have changed there site to show a price of £474.99 SIM free, which seems very reasonable, really. But no release date, now
I'm sure my old Touch Pro 2 was around the £600 mark when it first came out
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I quote you, it's a good price 475£ seeing that expansys usually is very expensive, and 475£ become for me using my valid italian vat number 395£ (460 euros about) which is a great price. I don't think release date to uk is july, july would be too late. At this point I will buy it from USA the same day it will be available sim free ( I think mid or late march).
Hi guys,This is my first post here, this is an excellent forum, keep up the good work2! I am living in the UAE where it looks like the SGS2 wont see the light of day till Q3 2011, I cant wait till then so I am looking at my options. I am not very comfortable with ordering it online from sites like Expansys or Handtec, so would prefer getting it from a physical store.
I will be visiting South Korea very soon and have heard that the SGS2 is already on sale there. My questions are:
1) Are the Korean models (sold exclusively through the carriers I hear) fully unlocked?
2) I will be going to study in Manchester for the next two years, so would like to use the SGS2 there. Seeing that S Korea, UK (and the UAE) use the same GSM and 3G bands - 900/1800 and 3G 2100, I understand its possible but are there any other problems that could crop up? I cant find any specs online for the Korean SGS2.
Thank you!
[EDIT]
Guess noone knows or must be thinking that I didnt search before starting a new thread. Thanks to those who did help! Found the answer from a variety of sources, just listing here in case anyone needs it:
The Korean SGS2 are not quad-band, and are physically thicker due to the inclusion of NFC and a TV tuner. Some carriers have different (non global) MMS standards as well. I have been informed that they are probably locked as well and available on contract to locals only. Also the Indian SGS2 has NFC and costs just 675$ to 700$, guess I will just get it from India!
I will tell you what i know.(it is not 100 sure.)
You are correct that there are three different models of SGS2 in korea.
If you want to use the phone in UK,
You should buy SHW-250K( from KT, one of the service provider)
it meets the mms standard of other countries.
Once again this information is not sure.
I need someone's confirmation for this.
Thanks.
If you're going in on a standard tourist visa then you will NOT be able to buy a phone, even outright. Phones are only available to locals and people on long term visas.
Yeah, get it from India.
Has any one ordered from Amazon UK recently? I want to know what region they are getting. Is it the Generic EU (XEU?) version or something else. I've read that retailers are sourcing stock from all over the place to meet demand and that some sold in the UK have CSC codes from different regions, e.g someone buying from Handtec got a one with a Portuguese CSC code.
sunseaker said:
Has any one ordered from Amazon UK recently? I want to know what region they are getting. Is it the Generic EU (XEU?) version or something else. I've read that retailers are sourcing stock from all over the place to meet demand and that some sold in the UK have CSC codes from different regions, e.g someone buying from Handtec got a one with a Portuguese CSC code.
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Where did you hear that nonsense from? Amazon UK would be the Generic EU/UK, they won't risk getting them from other sources besides Samsung themselves. Unless you are buying from Amazon's third-party marketplace of course, frankly speaking, they are unreliable for buying an expensive and faulty prone item like this.
Thanks, I assume you mean the Amazon 3rd party sellers are not reliable for such an expensive item or did you mean Amazon themselves?
It was actually someone on this forum that mentioned that they had bought a SGs2 from Handtec and that the CSC code was for Portugal and not the Generic UK one. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1102438
Like you say, the GS2 seems quite fault prone so I'm looking for an online retailer that's going to give me the best service when it comes to returns. I don't live in the UK so cannot walk into a store to check one over the counter before I buy and there is no mention of a release date here yet.
sunseaker said:
It was actually someone on this forum that mentioned that they had bought a SGs2 from Handtec and that the CSC code was for Portugal and not the Generic UK one. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1102438
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yes i'm the one who got a Portuguese S 2 from handtec, would you please guys reply to my thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1102438
Hey guys. After researching many possible smartphones in the market right now, I am going to go with my first smartphone ever and possibly the best one right now (in my opinion): the Samsung Galaxy S2.
However, I live in the U.S. in which I do not think the SIM-capable unnerfed galaxy S2 will ever be coming out here.
Anyhow, I was hoping people who have bought the unlocked version of the S2 would be able to help me. My questions are as follows:
1) Which online vendor is the best place to buy an unlocked version of the S2? I have been researching many possible sites for the past few months. It seems NewEgg.com, Amazon.com, and Expansys-usa.com are most mentioned contenders. The question then becomes… which one to buy from? Who to trust? Anyone have experience in this arena?
2) From several reviews online, it seems people worldwide have been getting unlocked S2s with different starting languages/manuals. Are they all the same? Are there any fundamental differences in hardware or settings? If so, which one is best? It seems there are different versions with various configurations, such as with/without NFC. Hmm...
3) My main carrier in the U.S. is AT&T. What would I need to do to experience compatibility with this network? I would like to get HSPA+ (~ 4G speeds as claimed by AT&T, so to speak). Is there a special SIM from AT&T or tweaking within the phone I need to do to achieve this? Do I have to tell notify AT&T as well? What do I need to do to ensure compatibility with that network & the speeds I would like to achieve?
Phew. That is all. Thank you!!!!
As far as I know, the international version of i9100 is quad-brand 3G which matches AT&T. You can get 1 on amazon for around $700 USD
OR
you can get a LOCKED i9100m from Bell or Virgin Canada, then unlock it. This phone is 599.99 in Canada.
Isn't the Bell version CDMA-only? Does it offer SIM?
Anyhow, I'll try my hands on an international unlocked version. Now, the question still remains... which one to buy from? Amazon.com has many resellers. NewEgg and Expansys-USA are single resellers, but I would probably have to ask where they get theirs from.
Are there any differences in getting it via from the UK, Korea, India, etc? I would also need an adapter that can be plugged in the US.
Ok there lots of information if you used search feature
Cheapest place to buy currently is www.expansys-usa.com, you get it for 658.99 and you get additional $10 off with lsjuly10 voucher.
You get hspa+ speeds with att and you can also use $15 unlimited non smartphone plan with sgs2.
Search around and you can find lots of info on this. Hope this helps
Edit : just to answer your other question, you get us adapter along with the phone from expansys, amazon. You might mostly get a phone with uk firmware but it shouldn't really matter. Once you get the phone you can flash whatever firmware you want thru odin.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Thank you very much for the coupon!!!
Searching around, it seems like Expansys-USA might be the best bang for the buck to purchase the unlocked version.
I also tried e-mailing NewEgg.com and some Amazon.com vendors. NewEgg.com said their S2 was "made in China." Hmm. I am unsure if it means it is a Chinese version. One vendor from Amazon.com said it was "unsure of where the device came from."
I'm assuming since there's an Expansys-UK, the Expansys-USA may be coming from UK. Is the UK version good? I guess UK (since it's in English) would be best for me...
I've also heard some versions do not have NFC. Does the UK version have NFC or working NFC in the states?
Just get the bell one from canada and save yourself some money, its full hspa+ , meaning it will work with att 3g in the states. If you buy the european ones you'll likely pay upwards of 800$ I'm thinking...
Are the Bell ones unlocked? Where would I be able to find one? Any online resellers that are selling them? I thought the Bell ones were CDMA-only? Or do they also have SIM-card capabilities?
Driving up to Canada and purchasing one is not too feasible for me.
Alazarin said:
Are the Bell ones unlocked? Where would I be able to find one? Any online resellers that are selling them? I thought the Bell ones were CDMA-only? Or do they also have SIM-card capabilities?
Driving up to Canada and purchasing one is not too feasible for me.
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The bell ones are locked. Can be easly unlocked. They are sim ones. I using the one i bought with bell on telus
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Alazarin said:
Are the Bell ones unlocked? Where would I be able to find one? Any online resellers that are selling them? I thought the Bell ones were CDMA-only? Or do they also have SIM-card capabilities?
Driving up to Canada and purchasing one is not too feasible for me.
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Nope, bell has been ditching its CDMA network for well over a year... All their new phones are gsm. Well not just driving up I'm saying ordering online from canada would probably even be cheaper than buying a european phone, and they are the same phone, no nfc, same model.
I`m living in UK and I bought my SGS2 1 month ago from ebay. was sealed and is factory unlocked. It`s 100% original, not a fake. As far as I now if is factory unlocked it`s working in USA on At&t H+ speed, and you don`t need to unlock. If you want you can order from UK or wait when will be release in USA. Hope this help. Good luck!
unleashed12 said:
Nope, bell has been ditching its CDMA network for well over a year... All their new phones are gsm. Well not just driving up I'm saying ordering online from canada would probably even be cheaper than buying a european phone, and they are the same phone, no nfc, same model.
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Do you have any recommendations to reliable online Canadian resellers?
The hard part is that I'm still deciding whether to buy from Expansys-USA (cheaper), Clove (great reviews + most reliable), or from an online Canadian reseller (could be even cheaper + more reliable since I live in the U.S.?). My main criteria is that:
I would like to buy the phone that was made in Korea, but for the UK/CA market (thus, factory sealed) and comes with a US adapter (not add-on). That seems to be the best one, but I am unsure which one would provide that.
I'm very excited about buy a Gear S and see some for sale on ebay from South Korea for around £220, much less than what is expected to retail for in the UK. What could I expect the difference to be in the model compared with the UK one or what problems could I face. (I am happy to trust the retailer) My question is about the watch functionality.
Neil Bennsion said:
I'm very excited about buy a Gear S and see some for sale on ebay from South Korea for around £220, much less than what is expected to retail for in the UK. What could I expect the difference to be in the model compared with the UK one or what problems could I face. (I am happy to trust the retailer) My question is about the watch functionality.
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I am hazarding a guess you might not get OTA updates and there's the obvious warranty issue. But the cellular bands are the same and the internal specs are the same. Language is determined by your phone on pairing so as long as you don't need warranty service you should be ok.
Bear in mind you could be stung for import duty if it's picked out by HM Customs
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Sent from my SM-T705 using Tapatalk
OTA might not be the issue at all. South Korea doesn't have GSM carriers (CDMA exclusively). They do have 3G UMTS/HSPA and LTE from some carriers but not sure which frequency bands they use. Besides, they also probably come with Korea Language UI only on the watch.
I'm not sure I'm prepared to take the risks on lack of updates potentially and Korean language interface. £220 down the drain if it is unusable.
Have a read here first, i am telling you cause i have the japanes versión
http://forum.xda-developers.com/gear-s/help/applications-t2925095