tukapa1: I have some experience after buying two cellphones direct from China.

I would not buy a NZ new phone again after buying these two phones - both have been excellent and far, far cheaper than anything you could purchase locally for the features received.

I did a lot of research and bought a brand called THL - they are a large Chinese company with over 300 stores throughout China.

I bought this phone and it came in under the GST threshold so no extra to pay.  I bought it from antelife which is why I linked to this page.  You may be able to find it cheaper elsewhere and THL have their own online store.

I have had it for over 6 months now and have had no problems.

From memory you have to ensure it has 3G 850/2100 to work on the Telecom network and GSM 900/1800 to work on Vodafone/2 degrees.

The screen on the W8S is excellent, battery life with average use is 2 days, I'm running mine on the XT network and have full use for calling, 3G internet and the play store.

This is just my experience for your information, to balance out all the naysayers.