Hey,

Im looking to buy the (relatively) new Galaxy S2, I'd prefer to buy an imported one, anyone has any recommendations where can I find it?

Thanks

Looking to pick one up myself when it hits RMB4k. Here is the list of sellers on Taobao that are located in Shanghai: http://s.taobao.com/search?q=i9100&commend=all&style=list&v=product&tab=coefp&ssid=s5-e&pspuid=130188363&p=detail&psrc=detail&pdi=y&loc=%C9%CF%BA%A3#J_Filter

You have to click on a few of them, but you'll find that about half of the Taobao stores have actual physical stores (most likely on Tian Mu Lu in the mobile phone mall). Once you find a shop with a price you like and that has a physical store, print out the page and bring it there (better to bring more than one store's printout just in case). They might try and charge you a S&H fee because you actually came to the store. You can pay it, negotiate it, or try another shop.

When I bought my HTC Hero @ tianmu lu 2 years ago, they also made me buy some sort of 1Y warranty for 150RMB. Claimed they wouldn't sell the phone without it. Not sure if that is a scam or not but I did get some sort of official paper from a China mobile shop downstairs. Phone never broke so luckily didn't have the chance to test the warranty.

Also, you can see a price history of the phone on taobao here (which is just a cool feature): http://s.taobao.com/search?q=i9100&psrc=detail&v=product&p=detail&m=parm&pspuid=130188363&cat=1512

Most of these phones sold in the Mainland are fakes made in Shenzhen factories. Google Android phones are even easier to copy because the OS is open source and legally available to anyone. Sure, sometimes they work and sometimes they dont. The insides are all common fake Chinese parts that they use in 200 RMB phones. And yes some people will "warranty" them as in replace them when they inevitably blow up in a month. But its not going to work like a real unit that was made in a real factory.

Buying a mobile in SH is a very questionable idea unless you know the seller. And Tabao? Good luck with that....

Of course there are fakes but taobao isn't just an online fake market. you can find a good seller with high ratings and guaranteed returns. even then, i would just go to the shop in person (but then no official TaoBao protection). Are there fakes of the i9100? probably in looks, but it isn't hard to spot a fake when you have it in your hands and turn it on. Can you fake the performance of a dual core 1.2ghz phone with 800x480 AMOLED screen? a mediatek chipset (used in fake phones) will barely run 2.3.3, much less any demanding apps, and have a POS LCD screen. Finally, Samsung's version of Android won't work on anything other than a Samsung phone, so if it lacks TouchWiz, then you can start to be suspicious.

Be careful but not everything is fake. The most faked phone is obviously the iPhone, the fake hardware might be convincing but you can tell the instant it turns on that its fake. I've (intentionally) bought fakes before and the software they load on them is horrific.

Thank you for the help and the links!

I want to get this phone too, anyone know where I can sell my current phone (i8910HD)?

Picked up my SGS2 on Sunday. Shop I went to was Big Elephant 6floor #77. Flat price, RMB4100 no negotiating. Make sure you get a data cable (I thought the charger plug & cable were detachable into a USB data cable, but is not so I was short a microUSB cable). Busy shop, no english but they recognize the phone by the model number (i9100) and will call to have someone bring it up. Got case & screen protector for additional 100RMB.

Phone is huge improvement over my HTC Hero, but just has some preinstalled Chinese apps (QQ, anti-virus, etc) I have to get rid of after I've rooted the thing.

^ was that price for the 16G version? Do you know if the 32G version is available?

When I was in Hong Kong last week, I finally got to use my POS Samsung Galaxy properly for the first time. My goodness... Logging into gmail took all of half a second. Sending big snapshots took all of five seconds. Youtube videos loaded up immediately. Maps, one second. Fast fast fast and uncensored. That was using the free wi-fi in the hotel room. Don't know what 3G speeds would have been like. Or 4G? 5G?

Back in Shanghai, my phone is once again nothing more than an MP3 player. I've never been much for gadgets and stuff, but if I lived in HK, or anywhere else modern, I'd be all over that new Galaxy S2.

How much did they put into the Expo spending frenzy? 50 billion USD? The new metro lines are nice, but jeez, crappiest internet in China? Come on. Still, even if it was fast, the phone might as well be bricked if I can't get to what I want.

...

watchbagdvd wrote:check out this shop... It's near Shanghai railway station.. They have a website as well..

http://hq1388.com/
http://hq1388.com/list.asp?ProdId=0276

I got my HTC desire HD from them 6 months back... The phones which they sell are smuggled (not fake) and you need to pay little extra if you need warranty (usually around 150 - 200 RMB for 2 years)...

Thanks, 3990RMB isn't too bad for the 16GB European version, insurance is 180RMB for 2 yrs. I want it!

I bought mine from expansys.

3990RMB is pretty good.

Hey MrGray,

I actually purchased my Samsung Galaxy S2 in Hong Kong a couple weeks ago when I went there to visit a friend. The total cost was about HKD 4999 but I was able to get it for HKD 4199 after trading in my old Blackberry 9700 to the same store.

I'm not sure what the exact price is in China, but the one I purchased in HK has both simplified and traditional Chinese input, so it's working well for me. I also set up call forwarding from my U.S number to my China phone so that I can still receive calls from back home while in China.

Here's an article that I wrote showing people how to set up call forwarding to China in case anyone is interested.

http://www.azenlife.com/2011/11/11/how- ... -to-china/

It involves setting up Google Voice and Skype.