Please help me in buying a "world" cellphone - unlocked

Hi fellow SDers,
I am in the US for a short business trip, and I would like to buy a GSM phone here which I would like to continue to use when I'm back to India. The main reason is that phones in India are unlocked by default, and more expensive even when converted from USD to local currency (INR). Would appreciate your help/advice in this.

I can of course buy fully unlocked phones here, but that's almost as expensive as buying it back home. The only possible exception to this is the Galaxy Nexus. (BTW, I'm looking for Android/iPhone - smartphones only).

The other option I found is buying phones off Craigslist. Would you advise this? Also, I see many phones such as HTC Inspire 4G at around 150-200 dollars. My question is this - can I buy, say a T-Mobile HTC Inspire, and go to a Tmobile store to get it unlocked? (I'm of course not their customer). I do see some phones advertised on craigslist as unlocked - But I'm not really sure if it would work back home. I have my home SIM which does log-on to T-Mobile here in NYC, if the same SIM shows a T-Mobile signal with such phones, I believe it should work back in India, but not so sure...

The last option I see is buying a no-contract/prepaid phone, and asking T-Mo/ATT/whoever to unlock it. Does anyone ever do this?

Finally, Manhattan seems to be crowded with stores offering SIM unlocks of virtually any mobile. Is it worth biting the bullet and buying a locked phone off craigslist, and then going to these stores? Or are they mostly hit and miss

Do you have any other suggestions ?

Simply search for a "unlocked gsm quad band world phone [ebay.com]" on ebay. You can pick one up for about $28.

Here is an easy to understand guide [clarkhoward.com] on how to get and use a cell phone overseas.

Thanks. What is the best deal according to you guys currently ? I have around $200. And the older Atrix ones are available unlocked for around that price.

Do you think that's a good deal? There are some claimed unlocked Atrix 2's for sale on Craigslist for around $200 as well.

Is there a way to tell if a phone is unlocked - does popping in my foreign sim + the phone showing a network signal guarantee that the phone is unlocked?

Thanks for the advice!

Quote from quadmaniac : Thanks. What is the best deal according to you guys currently ? I have around $200. And the older Atrix ones are available unlocked for around that price. Do you think that's a good deal? There are some claimed unlocked Atrix 2's for sale on Craigslist for around $200 as well. Is there a way to tell if a phone is unlocked - does popping in my foreign sim + the phone showing a network signal guarantee that the phone is unlocked? Thanks for the advice!

Ebay has brand new unlocked gsm quad band world phones for $28. No need to spend $200.

Quote from Brian1 : Ebay has brand new unlocked gsm quad band world phones for $28. No need to spend $200.

Read the initial post. He said he'd like to buy one he can continue to use abroad as they end up cheaper to simply buy in the U.S. anyways.

Yes, the $28 ones are too basic for my needs too. I'd want at least a basic Android smartphone.

Quote from quadmaniac : Yes, the $28 ones are too basic for my needs too. I'd want at least a basic Android smartphone.

$89.98 shipped [ebay.com].

Quote from Brian1 : $89.98 shipped [ebay.com].

That seems like it would be somewhat painful to use as one's full time phone. Froyo, 256MB of RAM, strange resolution, and I can't even find what CPU it features from a quick Google search.

http://heightsdeals.store.buy.com...97016.html

Nexus one refurb $110 shipped. It is a very good phone for a good price.

or

Get a nexus s on ebay. You can usually find one for less than $200