FIRST OF ALL:
I am very much impressed by the excellent work of the following people
on Google Answers:
- willie-ga (his answers are very detailed)
- pinkfreud (he provides answers that reflect a great deal of
research)
- lisarea (answers are always perfect)
- aceresearcher (has a remarkable turnaround)
It would be a real honor for me if any/all of you professionals could
take a shot at this question. I have read a great deal of your work,
and, quite frankly, I am astonished by your efforts. Keep up the
outstanding work!
Question Overview:
We are looking for a list of foreign companies that supply GSM enabled
cellular phones.
Details:
These overseas mobile phone suppliers should be companies located in
countries such as Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, and the like. In addition
to a list of contact information, please include a brief paragraph
including details/background information on the respective company.
(***Even better, for extra credit, please document references which to
attest to the supplier's reliability***)
Important Note:
We are looking for foreign suppliers which can provide "unlocked" GSM
phones. Therefore, while researching, please try to focus on companies
which can provide phones that are "unlocked."
On "Unlocked Phones":
Before phones are supplied to a network service provider they are
"unlocked" - meaning that the unit will work on any carrier in any
country when activated with an appropriate SIM card.
Please, when providing the list of possible foreign phone suppliers,
focus on companies which offer phones in the "Unlocked" stage. (Hint:
It may be easiest to focus on foreign entities which provide GSM
phones to major phone carriers in the US, such as ATT Rogers,
T-Mobile, Cingulair, etc. - since these phones, by definition, are in
an "unlocked" stage since the carrier hasn't yet locked the unit to
their specific network)
To assist in the research, here is a list of the GSM phone for which
we are seeking foreign suppliers:
Motorola v70
Motorola v66
Motorola v60
Samsung SGH-S100
Samsung SGH-S105
Nokia 7210
Nokia 8890
Nokia 9290
Sony-Ericsson T68
Sony-Ericsson T68i
Motorola T720i |
Request for Question Clarification by
aditya2k-ga
on
25 Nov 2002 04:54 PST
Can anyone other than the researchers you mentioned answer this?
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Request for Question Clarification by
ephraim-ga
on
25 Nov 2002 06:30 PST
Are you looking for suppliers which sell these items at wholesale
prices or retail prices? FYI, I recently purchased an unlocked GSM
Ericsson r520m in the US from a retail supplier.
/ephraim
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Clarification of Question by
3gwireless-ga
on
25 Nov 2002 10:51 PST
1) Anyone is welcome to answer the question (I'd just be especially
honored is any of the aforementioned people were able to)
2) I'm looking for foreign wholesalers, NOT retail outlets/prices
3) At the present, I am looking into purchasing a limited number of
phones due to capital restrictions. But with time, I plan to buy a
far larger quantity of goods.
Hope this helps
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Request for Question Clarification by
aceresearcher-ga
on
25 Nov 2002 12:17 PST
3gwireless,
Thank you for the compliment! However, this question is really outside
my expertise, so I cede the Answer to any of the Researchers who are
better able to provide you with the information you need.
Regards,
aceresearcher
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Request for Question Clarification by
lisarea-ga
on
25 Nov 2002 17:44 PST
Hi, 3gwireless,
I'm all a-blushin' now! Thank you so much for the compliment. I want
to print it out and frame it.
I just had a couple of quick questions for you.
I started to give your answer a shot earlier today and lost everything
in a 2 second blackout. (I have no excuse for not saving. I do know
better.)
I was expecting the same thing you were in regard to Hong Kong, etc.,
but oddly, I was able to find more American and British companies
offering these, particularly when taking into account your wise
request for background information and references.
Could you tell me if you've done much research as it is, and if you
have any general price points in mind? I'm a little concerned that
maybe I'm researching at a whole different price range than what you
might have in mind.
Also, what country are you in, and roughly what volume of phones are
you thinking of buying? Most wholesalers require anywhere from 3 to a
dozen as a minimum order, so I could narrow down the possibilities
that way as well.
If nobody else has answered your question by tomorrow, I'll give it
another shot. And this time, I'll save my work.
Thanks,
Lisa.
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Clarification of Question by
3gwireless-ga
on
26 Nov 2002 15:11 PST
Lisa,
Sorry to hear of the blackout - but I'm really glad you're taking a
shot at answering this.
I am aware of an online retailer (from the US) who takes orders and
has the orders mailed overnight from a distributor in Hong Kong. As
such, I am sure that such distribution companies exist overseas
(therefore, there is definately a suitable company somewhere in Hong
Kong...)
Regarding the target price range: Again, I am looking for "wholesale"
prices. For example, the Samsung 105 (unlocked) is retailing
competitively at $250ish. New unlocked Motorola v60's go for approx.
$175. New unlocked t68i's retail for about $300. I'm looking for a
distributor/supplier who can provide these models at prices that are
"significantly below these quotes". Again, I presume that foreign
companies (Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, etc.) are the most likely to
offer these "wholesale" prices in US dollar figures. If you could
find American and British companies that offer the phones listed in
the first question-posting at unquestionable wholesale prices - all
the better! (and again, the background information and references is a
major plus)
I'm in the US. The current estimated volume is a dozen phones /
month. But, I assume the volume purchased will increase with time
(target volume: 100 phones / month)
Hope these guidelines help with the search.
Thanks!
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Request for Question Clarification by
pinkfreud-ga
on
26 Nov 2002 15:19 PST
3gwireless,
Many thanks for the kind words.
I did a preliminary spin around the 'Net looking for the kind of
foreign suppliers you need, but I've had no success. This kind of
research is outside my area of maximum competence, so I'll defer to my
colleagues who are more experienced in such quests.
~Pink
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Request for Question Clarification by
lisarea-ga
on
26 Nov 2002 23:52 PST
Hi again,
I don't want to leave you dangling after I said I'd try to find this
for you. Unfortunately, I'm not having much luck. When I researched
this earlier, I hadn't yet decided if what I was finding was worth
posting as an answer, and I haven't found much of anything since. I
think I'm just locating your competitors, in fact.
My guess is that I am hitting a language barrier, so maybe a
researcher who knows Chinese would have better luck.
But I do want to thank you again. I've been meaning to look for a new
phone, and this gave me the kick in the pants I needed.
I'm really sorry I couldn't be of help to you.
Good luck.
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Clarification of Question by
3gwireless-ga
on
27 Nov 2002 10:45 PST
Once again, thank you to everyone who is taking a shot at this one. I
appreciate all your collective efforts, and look forward to an answer
(which, I am sure, will far surpass my wildest expectations!)
Happy thanksgiving!
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Clarification of Question by
3gwireless-ga
on
11 Dec 2002 00:23 PST
Any answers out there?
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