Need opinions.

[topline]

I'm going to assume you have always used unlocked hardware where the os on the phone is completely the way Nokia/other ment it to be used.

Branded means phone manufacturers will customize the phones os for specific carriers. They will add some specific carrier programs that probably no ones uses. Features might get disabled.(an example would be you can't used a mp3 as a ring tone because carriers want you to buy ring tones from them) Or you can only use the gps software provided by the carrier thats a subscription based instead of allowing 3rd party stuff. Icons/themes get customized etc ... And sometimes there is a carrier printed on the phone itself. Some even go so far as to change casing so it looks slightly different with a different name. Galaxy S for example.

Sorry man but I don't have kids of my own so can't tell you what they use now. I remember reading blackberries seem to be doing better than expected with kids as they want to send text/im. I'm sure iphone 4 fits right in.

Yea I was serious about the unlock code being stored on the Galaxy S itself.

[dscobsct]

dont know whether anyone still does it but the one i used to hate was that you had to go on the net through the operators portal

[RockerZ]

@Topline :
Man! , How do you manage to use telecom in Canada ? :S Like dude , seriously this sucks , pay $50 per month , dont get any freedom , your minutes are cut for recieving ! , like seriously ! , I just feel like going to the store here and buy an unlocked N86 and take it along with me to Canada.No locks , No Nothing , But then again iPhone 4 has a screen which i love , while n86 has a build which I love.
and dude, not setting mp3 as a ringtone sucks. I got around 3-4 days more to decide.Either i buy a good phone from here and take it along , or ill just have to get a iPhone or BB on contract in Canada.

Unlocked iPhones are pretty expensive here , and so is the Galaxy S. iPhone is 700 dollars on Apple which is like 2410 Dirhams , and here it costs 3600 dirhams , so you can imagine the huge price difference n86 is 1300 dirhams.

[Mr Pingu]

I think if you want to save money just get n86 the n86 camera won't dissapoint you, that 1 thing for sure!

[topline]

You're saying iphone in your country costs like 50% more than Canada? Yea thats why the Canadian iphone units are being exported out for resale.

I don't use the phone that much as a phone so I'm on prepaid. I tend to buy phones that's not available in Canada and switch often anyway. Contracts don't work for me.

I thought about your kids question again. If you go visit Bell/Rogers/Telus website for their phone lineup, you'll have an idea of which brand is popular here. Note that makers of the Blackberry is a Canadian company and there is 18 Apple stores in Canada.

[topline]

I forgot you have to pay retail taxes in Canada. No idea for your country. And phone service too! % varies depending on province.

[RockerZ]

@Topline : Yeh i went through the student plans on Rogers..mostly blackberries LOL ! .. BlackBerry weren't suppose to be phones for kids ,it was suppose to be for adults , businessman , etc. and to be honest , i dont really like BlackBerries , Cus i run after the screen , and second thing after the speed..ive used BB Bold 9000 ,I liked it , but then again , screen is small , though speed is great.

Oh and by the way , Im gonna be living in Ontario , and dont tell me I have to pay tax on top of paying $50 month . Oh and yeh , my city , the phones are expensive but the telecom is very cheap, IF compared to Canada.and then again , I heard from one guy today who lives in the US, he says that people in Canada like BBs and Apples. They dont really like Samsungs, Nokia's... I understand it depends totally on my choice...but.......

Well , Ive got 2 choices , either get an E75 or N86 , or just go Canada and get an iPhone 4 or samsung galaxy S and get stuck in for 3 years. I also went to the shops for unlocking , they said they cannot unlock iPhone 4 , and it depends on the firmware ,and the guy said he cant promise me that he will be able to unlock an iphone4 from Canada. So it probably means ill be stuck with the iPhone with bell only. Seriously , This isnt fair.

N86 - the screen is small. But the resolution is great , and so is the build quality , Thats what i think though , please clearify me if im wrong.

E75 - Again the screen is small. But the QWERTY keyboard looks pretty amazing. But i haven't seen it with much people , so then again im not sure whether its a good phone , please clearify me if im wrong.

Edit : Can I any how get a unlocked Galaxy S from Canada ? bell have a locked one on no contract for 499. But then again , Galaxy S is a samsung , it might be sucky ! I havent seen any reviews about it till yet!

Thanks

[RockerZ]

@Mr Pingu : Dude , its not just about saving money , its just about paying so much money for something which i dont even have freedom of , No bluetooth , no setting mp3 ringtones , itunes for transferring music, 3 years contract , cant use it out of Canada. Thats probably waste of money. and if i go for a unlocked iPhone from Apple , its $700 , I woudnt spend that much money for an iPhone , the only reason i thought of buying an iPhone was cus i saw it for 159.99 on Bell on 3 year contract. I thought ill be able to use it when im back here for holidays. then again i thought i'd be bored using the same phone for 3 years.

Edit : N86 came to my mind cus its 8mp camera. Canada's a beautiful place need a good camera phone to take pictures and please dont advice me to take a dig. camera for taking pictures , I dont wanna carry 2 bricks in the pocket LOL :P

[dscobsct]

i feel for you man what a crap set of options you have. they really need to stop taking everyone for a ride over there

[RockerZ]

@Mikey : yeh man , seriously!
and just look at the amount of dollars they want for all this.
Middle east is perfect , no tax , telecom is cheap , no such thing as " LOCKED " phones lol !