Ok, after babbling in my blog for eternity, I finally went and bought the phone. I haven’t had time to check out all the features just yet. (I am a little slow you see. ) A few things about the phone buying experience.
Poorvika Jackasses:
Bastards (In Russel Peters Tone, only angrier and not as a joke). I had this 300 rupee coupon. K810i costs 13100. (With 2GB M2 card) So he is supposed to sell it to me for 12800 and taxes on top of that. (for using a credit card. Don’t worry just for the credit card points) I don’t know this store guy must be a dunce or something at math. He tells me after the offer, I could buy it for 13000 or 13100 with card. WTF ??? So I decided I am not buying it there even if my voucher went waste and I had to pay more elsewhere.
Next Stop - Subiksha:
Decent people. Quoted a price of 12,795/- (With 2GB M2 card) Only they didn’t have it on stock and wanted to sell me a K790i instead. They said I would get it by evening and I wasn’t prepared to wait. But overall, Subiksha guys are transparent and very decent. I suggest this shop for anyone who buys any phone.
Univercell Rippers:
Yea. Seriously!! They quoted a 13200 price with an additional 2% tax for credit card. Go to hell. Even if I like Madhavan, I am not paying 400 extra.
Final Destination: MMR Communication
Looks like a nice little store. He gave it to me for just around 13,000. Which by the way included the credit card charges. I would say just the same rate as Subiksha. But we didn’t even have to bargain. Nice blokes who don’t want to take you for a ride. The scree protector cost me 300 though. I am a little sad about that.
Now, I better go and check out the features. I am transfering songs and it’s taking a bit of time.
Oh and BTW, if anyone wants to buy a phone today, You get some entry level Sony Ericsson phone free with W810i. Go for it. It’s definitely worth it. Sangeetha Mobiles is the shop. It was in the papers.
Good Blog. I will continue reading it in the future. Nice layout too.
Aaron Wakling
I came across your blog on Technorati. Nice site layout. I will stop by and read more soon.
Mike Harmon
Yeah. Univercell has built up a reputation of sorts due to it’s extensive publicity. But their prices are pretty steep(read ‘not competitive enough’) with very few good deals. And they are not very flexible either-quite hostile, if I may say so.
I didn’t know you had a problem with screes in your area.
Univercell is like BSNL. They always quote very high rates. Everyone goes to MMR these days. Don’t buy with cards. Especially for electronics which shops sell at competitive margins. They pass on the extra transaction charges to you.
Gr8 how is the mobi????
MMR is the best choice. When and where is the treat Karthik? Do post in your blog asking which is the best place to give treat.
@Srividya,
You may say so.
They don’t appear too friendly when you enquire about entry level models.
@Marc,
What gave you the idea I did ?
I bought it with a card and he charged me something like 150 rupees extra for that. So I ended up paying close to 13k instead of 12900. That’s alright. Even with the tax , it was much cheaper than other places save Subhiksha.
@Aravindhan,
I like it. I would say it’s pretty amazing. Even texting with it is easy. (Looking at the buttons, one would feel compelled to say that’s not the case.) The music on the speaker isn’t that hot. But then this is a Cybershot phone and not a Walkman series phone. Once you use the phones, it’s pretty much the same though. My only concern is reg. the Joystick.
@Hari,
MMR seems to be the best choice, yes. I spent every lasy rupee I had on the phone. Now, if you were to pay, it’s different.
I bought mine at The Mobile Store, and I paid a huge premium at that place. Serves me right for not matching prices from different places. It doesn’t matter
@George,
A few hundred rupees doesn’t really matter. But then I have strict policies about not buying in places where they rip you and still expect you to buy.
mobile store staff are really intelligent
2 weeks back, we went to buy a phone for my friend. we ask how much memory card comes with the phone - the answer was “upto 2GB”
only after some more asking were we told - 128 MB card.
subiksha is the cheapest store and we ended up getting my friend a P1i - SE…
My phone costs 1,100 less today than when I bought it. But part of that may be that a more powerful version of it is out now under a different number. Those people are frauds dude, total frauds.
@George,
Those people as in The Mobile Store people ? And ?I do vaguely recollect readina about your new mobile on your blog. It was some Nokia classic model wasn’t it ?
Treat in Rain Forest - Adyar… Its an amazing place… Excellent food man!
Rain Forest is amazing, yes..but only the ambience. The food is not all that great.
@Vinod,
When ? Just tell me when you are treating us, and Ill be there.
@Srividya,
Never been there.
I am not exactly a foodie. Eating in the college mess for 4 years has killed my taste buds.
Oh, and Vinod treats us , you are invited too.
Bored of Indian food. Head somewhere else.
You get Continental and Chinese food over there too, Marc.
In fact, it’s predominantly these cuisines. Not so much of Indian food.
@ Srividya
Well you might talking about veg food. the non veg is really FAR more better in Rain Forest. Its been a long time since I had a decent food outside.
I might be veg. However, my friends are not all veg, you see. And judging from their feedback, I am pretty sure the non veg too is not all that great.
Especially considering how much you will be shelling out.
Errr, what were we discussing ?
And since when could we say “I am Veg”
So is egg vegetarian or non vegetarian? How about milk?
Why is Vinod obsessed with Rain Forest?
@Marc,
Egg is non-vegitarian. There are eggs available and there are claims that it is vegitarian. All rubbish.
I think non-vegitarians can be defined as meat eaters if you like. That way egg and milk don’t qualify as non-vegitarian food.
But no big deal. I don’t get the fuss at all. Like its an insult if someone calls you a non-vegetarian.
Vinod,
Is there something we don’t know of ?
The word is vegetarian, with an ‘e’.Not vegitarian.
@ Srividya
I had non-veg food there and my friends too and it was really worth the money we paid. Thats what my friends also felt. There might be places with food better than Rain forest’s but I loved it.
@Srividya,
Now, how I wrote two spellings in the same comment is beyond me. Definitely not a typo. (I better stop on those drugs
. Either that or must have been college)
See what I mean? Vinod is completely fascinated with the place.
Karthik, dude. Don’t do drugs. It’ll ruin you!
@Marc,
Dude, I am trying, but then addiction is actually a true phenomenon. I always thought it was something they told you to keep you away form drugs.
Damn them all for crying wolf. BTW, you interested ? I can get you for cheap rates.
i recently bought a N82 gps mobile for just rs 20,500/- + free bluetooth + free gift voucher…one hell of a gr8 offer…you get best deals and good bargains at sangeetha mobile stores,…. its the best place to buy cellphones..with plenty of promotional offers running…. u get free bluetooth worth rs 1599/- + free gift voucher worth rs 1200/-…. i recommended place to visit and check out…
@Ali,
20k was not my budget, and i hate N series.
In my research, I did not find Sangeetha mobiles cheap at all. Promotional offers are not as hot as they appear.
I recently saw a buy 2 get 5 mobile offer. Ridiculous. The 2 mobiles cost >15k each and the other 3 cost < 750 rupees. How people are fooled.