[gbhgbh]

I've noticed that at Amazon.com they give rebates from both Amazon and T-Mobile when purchasing certain cell phones so that the rebates are a couple of hundred dollars more than the purchase price. What other sites do this, and which give the best offers?

[Randman]

The best place to buy cell phones is not in the US. Australasia is my choice since the Euro seems to raise prices in Europe.

[sideus]

I am curious also. Is there a retailer out there that sells cell phones that are not locked to a certain carrier besides ebay?

[spatterson]

Check out these guys http://www.expansys-usa.com/

They are pretty good... they are a british company with online stores in different countries. They carry unlocked sim phones. This is the best selection of phones I have EVER found.

[-Q-]

I've used http://www.thegsmplace.com to get unlocked phones in the past. They've given great service and really saved my bacon the last time I had an emeregency and needed to replace my phone right away.

[spatterson]

Originally posted by -Q-:
I've used http://www.thegsmplace.com to get unlocked phones in the past. They've given great service and really saved my bacon the last time I had an emeregency and needed to replace my phone right away.

They don't have many phones... 11??

Expansys has a very good collection of phones at resonable prices. Find the models that are about a year old and you will get them cheep.

[alligator]

What is an unlocked cell phone?

[Mithras]

Originally posted by alligator:
What is an unlocked cell phone?

Some stupid evil bad bad GSM carriers pervert the entire purpose of the standard (BAD!), by selling you phones that are "locked" to accept only a SIM card for that carrier. They do this because they sell you the phone at a discount, on the presumption that you'll stick with their service.

So if you swap in a SIM card for another service, then you've made them sad. (Why they can't just enforce this with a contract, rather than a restriction on the phone, I have no idea).

So an unlocked phone is one which accepts SIM cards for any service, as God, Nature, and Mother intended. This is handy if you feel like switching services, or (esp.) if you travel, and want to use a local service in each country you visit.

[macroy]

Try HERE

They're actually located in the DC area (Gaithersburg). I switched last year... prices were extremely competitive - I got 2 Sony Ericsson T610's for $100 (got one free). And they only required 6 months commitment.

Had slight issues with the number transfer - but that was like 3 months after portability started.. so I think everyone had problems.

[Edit]

Actually got them both free ($100 + 100 rebate). The cool thing was that I was able to use the coupon for both phones. Most places were only offering $50 rebate, and it was only 1 per purchase.

I just checked... You actually get $50 for the same phone... although I'm guessing the model may be a bit old by now.

[KeriVit]

Personally, I wouldn't search too far. Amazon is reputable, I have had success and paid no money for phones. Why go find the best deal and get screwed?

a thought.

[york28]

I'll let you know how it goes- I ordered a t610 from t-Mobile thru Amazon and after sending in 2 rebates will get $250 back, which more than covers the $99 phone cost.

It is an older phone, but I don;t mind as long as I get paid.

[alligator]

I saw a really, really tiny phone over in Scotland when I was there this spring. Is it possible to get these phones in Europe and have them work on American wireless networks? Is the "unlocked" phone the answer? I'm really sick of the choices my provider offers - and the other providers in my area are not offering much better.

I want the smallest phone possible. Period.

[Mrjinglesusa]

http://www.mobilebee.com

Got my SE K700i from them. All their phones are unbranded and fully unlocked.