Buying from foreigners on ebay – mini I-phone clone

I thought I might mention my purchases on ebay from the Far East.

Last February I purchased a cute little touch-screen mini I-phone clone – a CECT A07.

Cons:

1. Every four or five days it decided to freak out, reset all settings, and delete all but the last 16 incoming SMS texts. Apparently the quality of these phones can vary dramatically.
2. It died permanently last week. R.I.P., less than a year after I received it.
3. It eventually produced a static noise that those on the other line would hear.
4. The robust MP3 player would wear down the batteries pretty quickly.

Pros:

1. Cute, cute, cute! I used it in Spain on two trips, and I got asked about it all the time. I can’t imagine lugging around a clunky I-phone. My purses are tiny.
2. Powerful sound from MP3′s. You could seriously annoy some people.
3. Really neat displays on applications
4. A choice of several keyboards. I used the Spanish. It was so easy to type accents and caps, etc.
5. Best for people with fingernails unless you want to use the stylus. The stylus did not fit in the phone itself.
6. Really light-weight
7. Supported a Micro-SD card up to at least 2GB (never tried a larger size).
8. Included FM radio.

So, when it died, I needed another one. I have a Lebara SIM card from Spain that retains its balance and phone number as long as I use it once every 90 days. ***CORRECTION: you have to add credit to it every 60 days.*** Luckily, they are partnered with T-Mobile, so for a premium price, I can simply send a text periodically and retain my very cool number and card. By the way, Lebara sells by far the cheapest SIM cards and has crazy good rates to call back to the States and Canada from Spain. I got mine from SIMS FOR SPAIN.

ANYWAY, so I’m looking for a replacement GSM cell phone for my international trips. Did I decide to buy a reliable brand like Samsung, LG, Nokia, or Motorola? Noooo. Because they’re boring and I’m so used to the touch screen yet not the clunkiness of one. So…I bought the next generation of the same phone, the CECT A08, and it should arrive in three weeks. Of course, I’m hoping I luck out on quality. At least the ebay seller has crazy high ratings, so we’ll see. The problem with ratings is that you’re encouraged to give feedback quickly. If a month later, the product craps out, the seller still gets a high rating.

Anyway, I’ll post pictures of my new phone and tell you how it goes.

Later!