Which Mobile phone to purchase in China?

Question

What brands of Mobile phones can you buy in China? How much should I expect to pay for an average one? Where is the best place to purchase them in the central china area? And if I am only going to be in China for 4 months is it best to buy prepaid? Also I am stopping in Hong kong for 12 hours, would it be better to look for a phone here?
I appreciate any advice!
Thank you

Answer 1

Almost every mobile phone solution will be a prepaid situation. Cards can be purchased usually in 100 RMB denominations at kiosks and in Mobile Phone Stores.

You will see many numerous phone shops at every street corner in China. My suggestion is to purchase China Mobile. It is the most common, best quality and widely used service in China.

You should be aware that there are stark differences in plans, some plans only allow local (provincial) usuage and others allow for use nationally. Your best bet is to get a service that uses the card with number 13800138000 - This card can be found in most provinces and you can buy and add time in most places.

Think about the place where you will be spending most of your time though, or a central location to al the places you will be travelling, because even though in most places you can also add time b y walking into a mobile store and giving them your phone number and cash, many provinces wont accept addiging time to cards that were purchased outside of their local province. (A real pain in the &*^*^%!!!)

You can buy Nokia and cheap moterolla phones for about $120 USD. -or- if you wanna save money, if you are using a carrier like T-Mobile, ATT, Cingular, you can have them unlock your existing phone so that you can use your existing mobile phone in China. Just take out your t-mobile SIM and add your China SIM card.. Its that simple.. you will need to contact them about an unlocking code though.. Other options include buying a cheap ohone on EBay, though in my experience not all of the phone are unlocked.. MAKE SURE YOU USE A PHONE THAT IS COMPATABLE WITH THE GSM NETWORK!!!

Good luck!

Answer 2

You'd better choose the international brands like Nokia, Samsung or Motorola. The local brand is cheaper but it'll be difficult to choose for a foreigner. 1,000 yuan can get you an average one. But if you don't have any special use and just use it in China, you can buy a cell phone within 500yuan.

You can ask http://ask.jongo.com/ for some more specific informations. They answer all China-related questions.

Answer 3

All major international brands are available, i.e Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, etc. Chinese brands are also available, they are generally a bit cheaper but the quality can be a bit dodgy. I would budget between RMB 500 and 1000 for a phone. The absolute cheapest to be had (that I've seen) is about RMB 400 - although it was a Motorola and worked quite well.

Answer 4

Donot ever purchase a mobile from sellers on the street.They will show you the real one but when you give them money they will give you the fake one which looks like the real one.