Mobile phone while r2i

Mom14 · Post by **Mom14** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 4:13 pm

Hi,
Is it advisable to buy factory unlocked iPhone in USA to use in India.I am r2i to bangalore in dec,I am in dilemma whether to buy mobile here or in Bangalore?
I hav an ipad2, is it worth spending on iphone5 back home,tho I am apple products fan !!
Any recommendations for smartphones??

Gator92 · Post by **Gator92** » Sat Oct 27, 2012 7:47 pm

ipad, iphone 5, samsung galaxy S3, Note, Nokia Lumia and all brands are available in India with original factory warranty and almost all models are sold unlocked. Just to get a sense of how much it will cost, you can check out flipkart.com. Unless there is a huge difference in price, it may not be worth to buy in USA. I like the blackberry curve since the keypad is more convenient to type for email app over the touch screen keys, even though the screen size is small. If it doesn't involve too much typing, my first choice would be Samsung Galaxy S3 and next would be Iphone5.

singleton · Post by **singleton** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 6:35 am

If you are buying unlocked iphone, it makes a lot of sense to buy it in US and take it to India. Agree with Gator92 that they are available in India as well, but the difference is easily too high, trust me, I know this first hand. If you are getting the latest Iphone 5 unlocked, do that here. They havent stated selling them in India. And usually new Apple products get launched in India only a few months after their US launch.

Mom14 · Post by **Mom14** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:08 am

Hi Singleton,

There are issues like Warranty and 4G band difference I guess if I buy here,factory unlocked price of I phone 5 is same both in India and USA,it's releasing in Bangalore next week.

Old-Spice2 · Post by **Old-Spice2** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:37 am

iPhone 5 is listed for Rs 45K in India. Apple sells unlocked iPhone 5 for $700 in US without contract. If this is true, then you save Rs 10K by getting iPhone 5 in US. In India there is no concept of carrier subsidizing the phone cost by signing up for 2 years contract. You pay full price for the phone and then take prepaid SIM card for making calls.

zen · Post by **zen** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:07 am

I don't think you can get an unlocked Iphone officially, i.e. at a retail store or Apple store. It will have to be from Ebay or some online store, which itself is risky. Another thing to consider is the warranty. I know that Apple does not offer you international warranty, which means, you won't be able to service it in India if something goes wrong.

As far as Samsung is concerned, you can get an unlocked S3 in US. Just make sure that you are buying the international version and not the US local version. They sell two different models. Samsung does transfer warranty outside of US, so you should be ok.

My pick is definitely Samsung Galaxy S3.

Old-Spice2 · Post by **Old-Spice2** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:27 pm

zen;477999I don't think you can get an unlocked Iphone officially, i.e. at a retail store or Apple store. It will have to be from Ebay or some online store, which itself is risky. Another thing to consider is the warranty. I know that Apple does not offer you international warranty, which means, you won't be able to service it in India if something goes wrong.

I have purchased unlocked iPhone 4S from Apple store. They sell it for $700 plus taxes - you need to ask for GSM version if you want to use with Airtel or Vodaphone in India. Do not know about warranty as it is still working.

zen;477999As far as Samsung is concerned, you can get an unlocked S3 in US. Just make sure that you are buying the international version and not the US local version. They sell two different models. Samsung does transfer warranty outside of US, so you should be ok.

My pick is definitely Samsung Galaxy S3.

Galaxy-III sells for Rs 39K, close to iPhone 4S model. Consumers think if I have to pay same amount as iPhone I might as well purchase Apple product.

suyog · Post by **suyog** » Mon Oct 29, 2012 12:31 pm

I took locked iphone to pune and unlocked it on JM road for Rs 1500, there are many shops infront of JM Temple.