Thoughts On Buying Computers And Phones While Overseas.

[tweety bird]

i'm in abu dhabi atm and i'm debating whether i should take advantage of their lack of a sales tax and no gst and buy a new phone and computer while i'm here.

a htc xl is $493us here and while i don't know if that's the phone i'm going to buy (help on this would be good too) that's much cheaper then in oz.

has anyone done this before?

any constructive opinions will be useful thanks guys.

[Cowboy1600]

You can get a One XL 4G off Mobicity for $558 delivered.

Is it worth saving $60 for any potential draw backs on buying OS?

Note: that is a 4G as well. Not sure if the one you found for $493 is 4G. Do you know what frequencies the $493 one works on? You need to ensure any phone bought overseas works on one of the Australia bands.

http://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/mobile_phone_frequencies

2G

2G, other wise known as GSM, is standard on almost all phones (except CDMA phones in the USA). Most new phones come with quad band GSM support. A quad band GSM phone supports 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz.

2G is old technology and provides a fall back position when 3G coverage is unavailable.

Australian 2G bands:

• 900Mhz (Telstra, Optus & Vodafone)
  
• 1800Mhz (Telstra, Optus & Vodafone)
  

3G

There are several 3G networks operating in Australia. 3G frequencies are usually specified as UMTS/HSDPA or WCDMA frequencies on the mobile phone specifications.

Australian 3G bands:

• 850MHz (Telstra, Vodafone) – Exclusive 3G band
  
• 900MHz (Optus, Vodafone) – Re-uses the 2G 900 band for 3G in rural areas
  
• 2100MHz (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, 3 Mobile) – Exclusive 3G band
  

LTE (4G?) – more information

Long Term Evolution (LTE)

Telstra is setting its LTE network at 1800 megahertz frequency, the frequency previously used by 2G phones.

Telstra will sell dual mode LTE/HSPA+ mobile broadband devices that will operate seamlessly across 1800MHz and 850MHz spectrum bands, giving Telstra Next G network customers 4G(LTE) where it is available and then seamless switchover to the 3G HSPA technology in other areas.

Both Optus and and Vodafone have also announced plans to roll out LTE networks. In April(2011) Vodafone announced it will replace 8000 2G and 3G base stations with equipment which can be switched to LTE "at the flick of a switch".

In September 2012, Optus announced the activation of its 4G LTE Network in mainland capital cities and selected regional centres.

• 1800 MHz (Telstra, Optus)
  

[tweety bird]

i was reading about that last night, i didn't really take much notice of the phone and it's capabilities at that time because they were playing the worst arabic dance music i have ever heard and i just wanted to go out of the store..

i think i'll skip the phone and do some more research on the computer and see how i go.

[DivHunter]

Computers yes, phones sometimes.

[R31Nismoid]

Buy the local One XL - less issues and given the One X is having major quality/reliability issues, warranty is a must... I'd honestly stay away from it if you want the truth.

2 friends & myself out of 5 have had to send ours back for warranty issues with screen (yellow dota), connectivity, mainboard failure etc.

My first HTC phone in 5 years to have these problems, and seems a lot of the internet is riddled with similar problems all over the world on the One X

[Cowboy1600]

There are two One X/Ls at my work and while neither have actually had an issue, they just do not feel like a well constructed phone. They feel plasticy and flimsy. My Velocity is at the opposite end of the scale. It feels Nokia like in it's construction.

[R31Nismoid]

When the S3 is $200 more expensive - it's a tough call, but the S3 is certainly not having the reliability problems of HTC.

$550 for a One XL after not even 6 months is almost "too cheap" really compared to past flagships like the HD2/Sensation and so on, so it's no surprise it's having these problems

[tweety bird]

will i have computer program problems (like running games/cad programs if i buy the programs in aus) if i buy a computer here then take it back to aus?