i declared mine when i went through customs at the airport (i'm so honest) since it was over the personal concession of $700. however, they let me off since the tax they calculated was under $50 - it came to about $46, i think, which is about 12.5% on the excess above $700 after converting to nz dollars. not sure how it differs for items arriving in the mail, though.
quickymart: Just be careful you're not stung with import duties from Customs.
Why be careful?
Because I found import duties can sometimes cancel out any savings you might make by importing an electronic item - also it's a pain to try and get it serviced; normally it needs to be sent back to the supplier (well, my phone did anyway).
quickymart: Just be careful you're not stung with import duties from Customs.
How do you go about paying that? I haven't managed to get an answer out of anyone yet :| ie, if i'm buying it from the UK and if i'm going to have to pay GST anyway (It'll still be cheaper than having a friend buy it in the UK and ship it to me as a "gift") i'd like to have to clear customs as fast as possible!
quickymart: Just be careful you're not stung with import duties from Customs.
How do you go about paying that? I haven't managed to get an answer out of anyone yet :| ie, if i'm buying it from the UK and if i'm going to have to pay GST anyway (It'll still be cheaper than having a friend buy it in the UK and ship it to me as a "gift") i'd like to have to clear customs as fast as possible!
FedEx sent me a bill a couple of weeks after I received the phone.
cmhh: I picked up the telstra desire in sydney yesterday.? It is definately 850/2100 and is unlocked.? Works fine on xt here in NZ.? Haven't done a speed test, but after entering the APN settings it seems just as fast as my old iphone did (I think the specs say the desire does about 7.2 Mbps).? Also, I was pushed the OTA update for the original GPS issue once I got back to Wellington - was only 4.5MB or so, so that was cool.
The only problem I have so far is that there are a fair number of Telstra 'apps' which are part of the ROM and can't be deleted.? They are actually only web links so don't take up much actual memory, but I'd really like to get rid of them as they clutter the apps menu, and some have (quite stupidly) the same name as the android equivalent (like Music and Maps... duh).? I wanted to flash a generic ROM, but one of the tools needed to create a so-called goldcard now costs 30 euro so might just wait and hope HTC put out a generic ROM after 6 months or so (Telstra have the exclusive for 6 months, and they have released generic ROMs for some of the other models via the HTC website, I think).
Anyway, I would definately recommend getting the Telstra version for use on the XT network, assuming Telecom aren't getting it any time soon (which would be stupid since there is now obviously an XT compatible version in production).? 779 AUD outright, which is a bit steep, but it is a cool phone.
cmhh: I picked up the telstra desire in sydney yesterday.? It is definately 850/2100 and is unlocked.? Works fine on xt here in NZ.? Haven't done a speed test, but after entering the APN settings it seems just as fast as my old iphone did (I think the specs say the desire does about 7.2 Mbps).? Also, I was pushed the OTA update for the original GPS issue once I got back to Wellington - was only 4.5MB or so, so that was cool.
The only problem I have so far is that there are a fair number of Telstra 'apps' which are part of the ROM and can't be deleted.? They are actually only web links so don't take up much actual memory, but I'd really like to get rid of them as they clutter the apps menu, and some have (quite stupidly) the same name as the android equivalent (like Music and Maps... duh).? I wanted to flash a generic ROM, but one of the tools needed to create a so-called goldcard now costs 30 euro so might just wait and hope HTC put out a generic ROM after 6 months or so (Telstra have the exclusive for 6 months, and they have released generic ROMs for some of the other models via the HTC website, I think).
Anyway, I would definately recommend getting the Telstra version for use on the XT network, assuming Telecom aren't getting it any time soon (which would be stupid since there is now obviously an XT compatible version in production).? 779 AUD outright, which is a bit steep, but it is a cool phone.
Are these apps/shortcuts the only customisations that Telstra have made to the ROM?
Go to android.modaco.com - you can get root access to the Desire and flash a custom ROM now without any Telstra customisations on it.
Customs fees & GST on my Nexus One cost me NZ$120 for a phone of roughly the same value. GST Plus a $24.75 "clearance fee". Pricey, but still cheaper than it'd likely be to buy it in NZ if it was available (which it's not obviously).
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