cell phones?

[ad5ter]

I'm using a Google Nexus One which I love but I have my best friends wedding coming up in a few weeks would like to purchase them 'his and hers' phones as wedding gifts. To provide some background information, these 2 have been travelling around the world (mainly Asia) teaching in places like Korea and Japan.

They have been weary to buy their first real smartphone because they do not want to be locked down to a contract because they are never sure if they are going to be staying in North America long term. I've already purchased an Acer Liquid E here on the forums from Mattlef and just looking for another touchscreen android or iphones (Unforgivingly overpriced imo). I've looked at all the standard places (ebay, kijiji, HWC forums), just wondering if anyone had any insight on where to buy cheap smartphones.

I'm willing to go 200-300, if the quality of the phone presents itself.

Any input would be appreciated.

[jcmaz]

Not to shoot your idea down or anything, but shouldn't you present something memorable to your best friend and his wife that will serve as a token of your friendship?

[LarkStarr]

he can set his wallpaper to an image of himself, jeez. I personally prefer practicality over something memorable.

find a pair of blackberrys, one in pink and one in black :P - good worldphones though.

[Andy]

Perhaps the Galaxy S ... Won't work in Japan though I believe. Mine's a Canadian model and it works fine (3G as well) in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. With local SIM's of course. But ... I am running a less than stock ROM.

[ad5ter]

Originally Posted by jcmaz

Not to shoot your idea down or anything, but shouldn't you present something memorable to your best friend and his wife that will serve as a token of your friendship?

Helping them plan and organize their wedding serves a token of my relationship..

I just wanted something that nobody else has thought of to get them (yet everyone complains that they have a hard time getting a hold of them because of their crappy cell phones). I'd rather give them something they will be able to use in everyday life than tacky decorative plates with gold plated stands.. (I only say that because they've already received some...) There are other ideas in the mix as well...

Anyways, thanks for the input.

[MARSTG]

might want to try also cellarama.com BBs are unlockable however. not extremely reliable but worth a go.

[ad5ter]

Ended up getting them a pair of LG Optimus One's. Split with a few friends and paid 280 for both. When they came in, I updated the LG firmware, installed custom recovery, rooted, and flashed with a stable Cyanogen7 nightly ROM. They are working great so far.

Wedding went off without a hitch, both the bride and groom loved their gifts and will be all set to go when they get back from their honeymoon (a friend and I also split on Hang gliding lessons for both of them up in Muskoka, where they went for their honeymoon).

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions and advice!