Buying a phone in Singapore

One of my erands in Singapore this time is to buy a new phone. My old one still works, but is literally falling apart. As luck would have it my camera has malfunctioned too, making spending money feel easier. Arriving in Singapore with my old Nokia, I called up Fauzi the friendly local, for his advice. My Bali Nokia works here in Sing with the same SIM cards and Indo ‘pulsa’ (pre-paid minutes), a good thing to know for visa-runners.

Fauzi ( a pretty up to date individual) told me phones in Singapore are not any cheaper than on the internet. He said there are some good deals on used phones, with top models getting a 20-35% discount over a new one. His suggestion was for me to look in the area around Toa Payoh, as there are many shops offering used phones. I’ll check them out, but am not sure if the saving is worth risking a faulty phone.

Arriving in Singapore and activating my phone, Singapore telekom sent me 2 automated messages, the first was about dialing codes. It said “For calls to fellow roamers dial #0 <country code> <number>, or 011 <country code> <number>.” The second told me about hotspots and how to locate them, it said “Free wireless internet surfing at Wireless@SG hotspots, dial *186 for free user ID/password. Dial *624 to locate hotspots free.”

These guys are up to speed on keeping travelers up to speed.