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</td> </tr> <tr><td class="content_subtitle" align="left"> Fri, Feb 19, 2010
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Guess how these guys got their Google phones <!-- TITLE : end--> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" height="15">
</td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3" class="bodytext_10pt"> <!-- CONTENT : start --> By KENNY CHEE
CONSUMERS who do not like the idea of ordering Google's Nexus One smartphone online - the only official way to buy it now - have found another way to lay their hands on the device. Singaporeans and even foreigners have been flocking to Sim Lim Square - where retailers have been selling the device since last month - to snap it up, despite a mark-up in the price.
Last week, my paper found at least six electronics shops there selling Google's first smartphone for $938 to $1,080 - more than the $877 that consumers here would have to pay to buy it online. This comprises US$577.31 (S$813.18) for the phone, power adaptor and shipping fees; and S$64 for GST and local handling charges. The Nexus One began retailing officially online on Jan 5. It can be shipped only to four markets - Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain and the United States.
Retailers here said they are selling the Nexus One at a higher price to cover their overheads and make a profit. Like the phones bought directly online, those sold at Sim Lim Square come with a one-year warranty by its manufacturer HTC, but when the warranty kicks in depends on when the shops here got the phone. At least one shop can also put in a request to have Google engrave words of a customer's choice on a Nexus One, just as if it had been bought online from Google.
Retailer Bizgram Asia and another store said they bought the handsets through Google's webstore to resell here. Others said that their phones came from the US, but declined to reveal how they got them. Google allows a single user to buy up to five Nexus Ones, even if the purchases are spread across multiple transactions. A Bizgram Asia shop attendant, who declined to be named, said that "people who want to resell the phones, like us, buy only five phones" at a time online.
Another mobile-phone shop said it could bring in 10 to 20 sets, depending on demand and orders. Customers can place pre-orders with a $50 deposit, the shop attendant said. Both Singaporeans and foreigners, including Westerners, have taken to the Nexus Ones sold at Sim Lim Square. Bizgram Asia has sold at least six phones so far. Besides Singaporeans, the retailer said that Indonesians, Malaysians and Australians have also bought the Nexus One as they were not able to buy the phone back home.
The store's attendant said that some people did not mind paying a premium of $50 to $80 to get the Nexus One, as they would otherwise have to wait for the phone to be shipped over if they were to buy it online. Mr Victor Khoo, a manager at Video-Pro.Com, said that a Nexus One could be sold within a couple of days after its arrival, typically to Singaporean men in their 20s to 40s. "Some people prefer to buy from shops because they can see the actual goods," he said, adding that some are concerned that the phones could be lost or damaged while being shipped here, if they were bought online.
For this reason, the store has also been stocking Amazon's Kindle since last month, which has been bought mostly by Westerners, at $499 (6-inch version) or $899 (9.7-inch). Amazon does not ship the Kindle here. It sells it for US$259 (S$365) and US$489 (S$689) for the 6-inch and 9.7-inch versions respectively, excluding shipping fees. Some people in Singapore have also started to sell the Nexus One on online auction site eBay.com.sg
As of last Thursday, the site was hosting six auctions for the phone with starting bids from $875 to $1,098. Of these, four had options for the buyer to pay the full sum on receiving the phone from the seller in a face-to-face meeting. Google said that it was selling the Nexus One only through its webstore for now, and not via any retail channels here. It said that it was in discussions with telcos worldwide to sell the phone. The three telcos here have said that they are interested to bring in the phone. In the US, it can be bought at a subsidised price from telco T-Mobile.
Consumers here can return the phone within 14 days upon delivery, regardless of reason. A restocking fee of US$45 will be charged if it has been removed from its box and used. A Google spokesman said that "we are not able to guarantee the authenticity of (Nexus Ones) bought through other sources". Consumers can call the HTC hotline here (1800-238-7788) to check the authenticity of their phones based on the serial numbers.
Building designer and self-professed gadget lover Andy Chua, 42, bought a Nexus One last week from Video- Pro.Com instead of ordering it online, because he did not want to wait to get it. He did not mind paying more at the shop, in return for the ease of mind that his phone works. "I feel much more secure buying from a shop than through the Internet," he said.
[email protected]
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my paper </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="15">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr><td colspan="3"> <!-- TITLE : start -->
Guess how these guys got their Google phones <!-- TITLE : end--> </td></tr> <tr><td colspan="3" height="15">
CONSUMERS who do not like the idea of ordering Google's Nexus One smartphone online - the only official way to buy it now - have found another way to lay their hands on the device. Singaporeans and even foreigners have been flocking to Sim Lim Square - where retailers have been selling the device since last month - to snap it up, despite a mark-up in the price.
Last week, my paper found at least six electronics shops there selling Google's first smartphone for $938 to $1,080 - more than the $877 that consumers here would have to pay to buy it online. This comprises US$577.31 (S$813.18) for the phone, power adaptor and shipping fees; and S$64 for GST and local handling charges. The Nexus One began retailing officially online on Jan 5. It can be shipped only to four markets - Singapore, Hong Kong, Britain and the United States.
Retailers here said they are selling the Nexus One at a higher price to cover their overheads and make a profit. Like the phones bought directly online, those sold at Sim Lim Square come with a one-year warranty by its manufacturer HTC, but when the warranty kicks in depends on when the shops here got the phone. At least one shop can also put in a request to have Google engrave words of a customer's choice on a Nexus One, just as if it had been bought online from Google.
Retailer Bizgram Asia and another store said they bought the handsets through Google's webstore to resell here. Others said that their phones came from the US, but declined to reveal how they got them. Google allows a single user to buy up to five Nexus Ones, even if the purchases are spread across multiple transactions. A Bizgram Asia shop attendant, who declined to be named, said that "people who want to resell the phones, like us, buy only five phones" at a time online.
Another mobile-phone shop said it could bring in 10 to 20 sets, depending on demand and orders. Customers can place pre-orders with a $50 deposit, the shop attendant said. Both Singaporeans and foreigners, including Westerners, have taken to the Nexus Ones sold at Sim Lim Square. Bizgram Asia has sold at least six phones so far. Besides Singaporeans, the retailer said that Indonesians, Malaysians and Australians have also bought the Nexus One as they were not able to buy the phone back home.
The store's attendant said that some people did not mind paying a premium of $50 to $80 to get the Nexus One, as they would otherwise have to wait for the phone to be shipped over if they were to buy it online. Mr Victor Khoo, a manager at Video-Pro.Com, said that a Nexus One could be sold within a couple of days after its arrival, typically to Singaporean men in their 20s to 40s. "Some people prefer to buy from shops because they can see the actual goods," he said, adding that some are concerned that the phones could be lost or damaged while being shipped here, if they were bought online.
For this reason, the store has also been stocking Amazon's Kindle since last month, which has been bought mostly by Westerners, at $499 (6-inch version) or $899 (9.7-inch). Amazon does not ship the Kindle here. It sells it for US$259 (S$365) and US$489 (S$689) for the 6-inch and 9.7-inch versions respectively, excluding shipping fees. Some people in Singapore have also started to sell the Nexus One on online auction site eBay.com.sg
As of last Thursday, the site was hosting six auctions for the phone with starting bids from $875 to $1,098. Of these, four had options for the buyer to pay the full sum on receiving the phone from the seller in a face-to-face meeting. Google said that it was selling the Nexus One only through its webstore for now, and not via any retail channels here. It said that it was in discussions with telcos worldwide to sell the phone. The three telcos here have said that they are interested to bring in the phone. In the US, it can be bought at a subsidised price from telco T-Mobile.
Consumers here can return the phone within 14 days upon delivery, regardless of reason. A restocking fee of US$45 will be charged if it has been removed from its box and used. A Google spokesman said that "we are not able to guarantee the authenticity of (Nexus Ones) bought through other sources". Consumers can call the HTC hotline here (1800-238-7788) to check the authenticity of their phones based on the serial numbers.
Building designer and self-professed gadget lover Andy Chua, 42, bought a Nexus One last week from Video- Pro.Com instead of ordering it online, because he did not want to wait to get it. He did not mind paying more at the shop, in return for the ease of mind that his phone works. "I feel much more secure buying from a shop than through the Internet," he said.
[email protected]
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