Should I wait or get it now? Nokia N80

B

Bobina

New member
I read from another post on the board that Nokia's going to release the N80 (US Version) when they open their new store in Chicago. I'm checking the prices right now on fonegrabber.com and it seems to be steady at $620 (on ebay), which is going to be the same price Nokia plans on selling in the US market.

I can't seem to decide if I should just wait till the US version to come out or just get the one that's out in Europe/Asia. I could care less for the 3G, since Cingular won't be rolling UMTS till end of this year and it's going to probably be expensive anyways right? I'm also concerned on the warranty. What I mean is what happens if I need to get warranty service? Can I send it back to Nokia here in the US or would I have send it back to a Nokia service center in Europe/Asia? Anyone know what's Nokia policy for warranty services for phones that are only out in certain regions of the world?

Popping $600 is quite a lot of money and what have you guys done in terms of warranty for the phone? Atleast if I buy the US version (that's if it comes out in June), I can send it back to them. I know if I buy a phone via ebay, I have 30 days for the paypal dispute but what happens if the phone messes up in the future?

If anyone can provide any incite on this, please post it here. Should I buy the N80 now or just wait? I'm really tried of using my LG Vx8000 on Verizon and I'm paying way too much for my plan too, so I want to switch to T-Mobile. Thanks.
 
Well, depending on where you are in the US, Cingular has already rolled out 3G service and HSDPA is coming soon. If you buy an N80 now, you will get a grey market model that will have a limited warranty if at all (check with the seller first!).

Tango Uniform
 
I think I would not even use the 3G, since it's expensive. Do you happen to know if T-Mobile uses the 1900MHz band for their regular digital calls or are they reserving it for 3G rollout as well? I'm just going to use the N80 for normal calls and not use any of the 3G features for a long time until the prices drop to a reasonable level.
 
The nice thing about 3G is that WCDMA adds more voice capacity for a given amount of bandwith. That means you stand a better chance of making a call with a 3G phone in a highly populated area (try to make a phone call at the end of a marathon and you'll see what I mean).

T-Mobile uses 1900 MHz channels, but some of their roaming partners use 850 MHz. Just something to keep in mind if you are running around the country.

Only the US version of the N80 (which isn't out yet) will work Stateside. If you buy one now from Europe or Hong Kong, it will not operate on the US 3G cell sites, only the GSM sites.

Tango Uniform.
 
Tango,

Thanks for the heads up. I guess that will determine if I'm going to get the phone or not. Knowing Nokia and their release dates, I might as well get the import version and sell it when the US version comes out. I don't think the phone will be out until the end of the year.
 
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