Buying an N900 from the US, to use in EU

[dandiesel]

I've searched through and I don't think anyone specifically answers this question directly.

As far as I'm aware, the main differences between the US and Euro models are:

Wifi bands 1-11 - US
1-13 - EU (shouldn't pose a problem)

Keyboard layout maybe?

Frequencies for 3G.. from searching online there's mixed opinions as to whether the N900 from the US would be compatible in the EU with our networks over here. But the frequencies cover 900/2100 bands [i'm a bit dodgy with this kind of thing] so technically should work fine with most networks?

Thinking of buying one, but the US models are cheaper than the EU models.

If I could get a yes or no answer, please :)

[77h]

this should not be a problem at all. The one major difference is the power plug.. ;) but adapters are cheap. i will get one in the us in january. be aware if you buy in stores you pay sales tax so you would pay slightly more than from online retailers.

[dandiesel]

I'm actually ordering one from the UK, it's a US version and significantly cheaper than ordering a UK model and importing from the US.

The power plug isn't an issue :)

Thanks a lot.

[allnameswereout]

this should not be a problem at all. The one major difference is the power plug.. ;) but adapters are cheap. i will get one in the us in january. be aware if you buy in stores you pay sales tax so you would pay slightly more than from online retailers.If you import from US to EU you must pay VAT complete amount you paid for article including S&H. This is converted to EUR. So what happens is this:

1) Price of product in USD.
2) Price of S&H in USD.
3) Credit card / Paypal fee in USD.
4) EUR -> USD conversion fee.
5) Clearance fee (in EUR).
6) Default country's VAT (sales tax) over product and S&H (!!!).
7) Additional tax to customs depending on product ranging from 3,7% to 12%.
8) If the product goes poof your warranty is not valid in EU stores. This is, with Nokia, only valid if you bought the product within EU. So you then have to get in contact with your US store or Nokia US.

I suggest looking at UK. GBP is low, saves almost all of the above, arrives faster (US -> EU is week, customs is... depends... week here in NL while UK -> NL is 3 or 4 days), and warranty is easier. Only thing is right charger. But you can even use a converter for that.

[qhorse]

I'm actually ordering one from the UK, it's a US version and significantly cheaper than ordering a UK model and importing from the US.

The power plug isn't an issue :)

Thanks a lot.

Do you have an address I could use, I'm thinking of buying a US version as well and this could be a good option...

[konstrukt]

the major difference between the n900 in the eu and the us really is
the f****g price. well if you live in the eu of course.
americans pay 582.99$ on amazon.com and i have to pay
901,67$ on amazon.de. for the lazy ones: that is an amount of
318,68$! now how does that suck?!

[dandiesel]

Cheapest I can find on a UK site is €489 including shipping. Which is £449 GBP.. not bad. Might be worth getting a UK model if I can sell my N97.

[konstrukt]

if i would order the n900 from the us, it would be ~476€ + a duty of
~90€ (19%) + shipping costs of ~20€ (?) = 586€. not worth the action.

[allnameswereout]

the major difference between the n900 in the eu and the us really is
the f****g price. well if you live in the eu of course.
americans pay 582.99$ on amazon.com and i have to pay
901,67$ on amazon.de. for the lazy ones: that is an amount of
318,68$! now how does that suck?!In EU it costs 600 EUR.
In US it costs 583 USD without sales tax.
Sales tax varies from state to state.
If we add 20% sales tax (approx what it is in EU (in USA it is less, indeed, that is why we have a social security system etc)) we get 700 USD..
..which is according to Google 465 EUR. This means the Nokia N900 is 135 EUR in USA when comparing Amazon.com with Amazon.de

According to Geizhalz (http://geizhals.at/deutschland/a457621.html), Alternate sells Nokia N900 for 500 EUR, and in the Netherlands the price is about 540 EUR (http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/244767/nokia-n900-zwart.html). A difference of 35-75 EUR. Boohoo, how evil. Well, based on this data it won't help you to order it from USA; see my above post.

[77h]

If you import from US to EU you must pay VAT complete amount you paid for article including S&H. This is converted to EUR. So what happens is this:

1) Price of product in USD.
2) Price of S&H in USD.
3) Credit card / Paypal fee in USD.
4) EUR -> USD conversion fee.
5) Clearance fee (in EUR).
6) Default country's VAT (sales tax) over product and S&H (!!!).
7) Additional tax to customs depending on product ranging from 3,7% to 12%.
8) If the product goes poof your warranty is not valid in EU stores. This is, with Nokia, only valid if you bought the product within EU. So you then have to get in contact with your US store or Nokia US.

I suggest looking at UK. GBP is low, saves almost all of the above, arrives faster (US -> EU is week, customs is... depends... week here in NL while UK -> NL is 3 or 4 days), and warranty is easier. Only thing is right charger. But you can even use a converter for that.

I was speaking about a physical visit to the US!!! ;) I have a friend in the US who will order it for me on amazon. he will personally give it to me & i will take it with me. No tax ;) and no, I never worry about customs, neither in the UK, nor in Europe nor in Chile ;)

[allnameswereout]

I was speaking about a physical visit to the US!!! ;) I have a friend in the US who will order it for me on amazon. he will personally give it to me & i will take it with me. No tax ;) and no, I never worry about customs, neither in the UK, nor in Europe nor in Chile ;)You're allowed to import an X amount of EUR from a non-EU country. I think X amount differs per country. In NL it is 430 EUR. FWIW, Nokia N900 is worth more than 430 EUR.

In NL, for receiving packages outside of EU anything under 22 EUR is free to go, anything between 22 EUR and 150 EUR is VAT (+ clearance fee), anything over 150 EUR is VAT and customs tax (+ clearance fee). For other EU countries it most certainly differs, but expect similar constructions. It adds up rather quickly.

Your friend will receive item and either pays duties or not depending on State where he receives package. In your case you take it with you, and if you pay in cash that seems reasonably secure. Except somewhere some 500 USD were spend by you in cash.

If you weren't physically visiting he'd sent it to perhaps as 'gift' (which it actually isn't), and sends it insured or not. Without is risk. Either way, additional costs.

However, in both of these cases the product is sealed and new, and when it was bought by whom can be easily traced. It is bought in USA, and in one way or another you paid for it hence it was not a gift.

You're probably low profile but realize what you are doing in this case is commiting fraud, and publicly admitting a crime isn't the most wise move.

You also still have the problem of warranty, and the WLAN chip does not allow Ch 12 & 13.

[dandiesel]

So there's the added hassle factor involved in importing (to Ireland).

Might have to just go for the UK version so.

[TA-t3]

In some countries the value limit of an item you bring yourself (having been out of the country more than 24 hours) is considerably higher than the price of the N900 though.

[ruskie]

The thing with the EU is... the customs agents can stop you on the street and demand proof of payed duty.

Also someone mentionde 19% duty.. that's only VAT... Duty is completly separate from that.

So yes to import into EU it is: price+shipping+duty+VAT

If you can get an exemption for duty for a to low price then great.

I'll just buy it at the local nokia store.

[dandiesel]

Very helpful all - looks like it is in fact better to order from your locality!

This negates the 'compatibilty with European networks' factor too.

(As an aside, would the wifi channel difference really mean a whole lot , aren't most wifi channels around 6 or 7? )

[TA-t3]

Well, the VAT is usualy way more than the duty. The duty I've paid for electronic imported from the US must be very low indeed, because I didn't notice it on the customs papers. VAT though.. that's a pain.

As for customs officers stopping you on the streets.. nah. I don't buy into that. I know that if you cross the border with a car it's legal for a customs officer to stop you down the road a bit, but they can't just ask for "papers please!" in the street.

[konstrukt]

In US it costs 583 USD without sales tax.
Sales tax varies from state to state.

i guess i was in the wrong here.
thought the amazon prices are including tax, like in germany.

If we add 20% sales tax [...] we get 700 USD,
which is according to Google 465 EUR.
This means the Nokia N900 is 135 EUR in USA
when comparing Amazon.com with Amazon.de

that's still over 20% of the whole price.
for me that is still a big difference.

thanks for the link. so it's not as bad as it seemed to me.
guess i was in a bad mood, too.:rolleyes:

[Laughing Man]

Online retailers rarely include tax in the USA unless their warehouse or place of business is located there. E.g. Newegg has warehouses in CA and PA so they charge sales tax for any packages shipped to people inside those states. But they don't charge sales tax to say MD. This is becaause there are way to many variations in sales tax across states so until the Federal government steps in or states really push like NY did. Though even in the state example what online retailers just do is not charge sales tax and tell whoever is buying it in that state to buy the sales tax. Which rarely the buyer will ever do.

[konstrukt]

do i get this right? if you buy something from an onlineshop in the us, it tells you to pay the tax but it won't be checked by the state you're living in? (i'm still learning english, so there are missunderstandings once in a while:))

[GeraldKo]

do i get this right? if you buy something from an onlineshop in the us, it tells you to pay the tax but it won't be checked by the state you're living in? (i'm still learning english, so there are missunderstandings once in a while:))

Yes, you understand correctly (so long as the company you buy from does not have a "presence" -- like a warehouse or office -- in your state).

[thecursedfly]

tell me if I say something wrong in this.. :p
scenario:
- I'm going to visit a friend in the USA in three weeks
- I take 500 euros cash with me to give to my friend, or make an international bank transfer for whatever personal reason, lets say an old debt
- he buys a N900 from Amazon shipping to his address and paying with his credit card
- I arrive in USA, stay there a week while I unpack the N900 and begin to use it as my daily phone
- I come back to Europe with the N900 unpacked in my pocket as my regular phone.
(- Of course, warranty would be usable only returning the N900 to my friend somehow..)

Where is the duties+vat catch? They cannot know I didn't have the phone when I arrived in USA right?
If it is illegal, take it just as a scenario; I don't see anyway how anybody would know the truth..

[r0eladn]

boarder officer at airport is accidentally n900 fanboy: HEY WAIT A MINUTE. THAT PUPPY CAME OUT LIKE 3 DAYS AGO. NO WAY YOU COULD HAVE HAD THAT PHONE ALREADY!

[Laughing Man]

@thecursedfly

I don't know why it's illegal (strange that it would be.. are you saying your not allowed to buy anything in any other country besides your home country since you wouldn't be paying the home country taxes?). It just seems silly that it would be its in the rulebooks to prevent rich people or big companies from exploiting it (which is likely).

[r0eladn]

i think there are different laws when it comes to shipping a package international and taking bagage with you when traveling international.

look up the bagage customs. maybe somewhere here: http://www.cbp.gov/

[GeraldKo]

Why does the N900 cost so much more in Europe than in the US? (649 in France, 599 in NL or DE, but only 437 Euros in the US) VAT alone doesn't account for a 37%+ differential, does it?

[konstrukt]

*socialist-mode on* because they have a perfectly running two class system in wich the worker class earns even less money than the worker class in several european countries. but don't worry, we catch up! *socialist-mode off*

funniest thing is, that even exported products from the eu, are cheaper for europeans if they order them in the US. not in every case, but it works for bigger things like cars or high end computers for example.

[Rauha]

tell me if I say something wrong in this.. :p
scenario:
- I'm going to visit a friend in the USA in three weeks
- I take 500 euros cash with me to give to my friend, or make an international bank transfer for whatever personal reason, lets say an old debt
- he buys a N900 from Amazon shipping to his address and paying with his credit card
- I arrive in USA, stay there a week while I unpack the N900 and begin to use it as my daily phone
- I come back to Europe with the N900 unpacked in my pocket as my regular phone.
(- Of course, warranty would be usable only returning the N900 to my friend somehow..)

Where is the duties+vat catch? They cannot know I didn't have the phone when I arrived in USA right?
If it is illegal, take it just as a scenario; I don't see anyway how anybody would know the truth..

Illegal yes, but impossible to get caught unless someone is both stupid enough to leave the phone inside original package and unlucky enough to be chosen randomly for customs check.

[r0eladn]

*socialist-mode on* because they have a perfectly running two class system in wich the worker class earns even less money than the worker class in several european countries. but don't worry, we catch up! *socialist-mode off*

funniest thing is, that even exported products from the eu, are cheaper for europeans if they order them in the US. not in every case, but it works for bigger things like cars or high end computers for example.

'they' also have a voting system where you have the choice to vote for a pro-war/non-pro-war president. :D

[TA-t3]

Again: It doesn't have to be illegal to bring the device into the country without VAT or duty. It depends on the country.
@thecursedfly: Simply check the customs regulations for your country. Maybe they even have a web page. It could could be that the value limit for bringing goods into the country toll-free is higher than the price of the N900. It is in some countries. Note that this limit is typically way higher than the limit for something shipped to you through the mail or UPS/FedEx.

[chemist]

tell me if I say something wrong in this.. :p
scenario:
- I'm going to visit a friend in the USA in three weeks
- I take 500 euros cash with me to give to my friend, or make an international bank transfer for whatever personal reason, lets say an old debt
- he buys a N900 from Amazon shipping to his address and paying with his credit card
- I arrive in USA, stay there a week while I unpack the N900 and begin to use it as my daily phone
- I come back to Europe with the N900 unpacked in my pocket as my regular phone.
(- Of course, warranty would be usable only returning the N900 to my friend somehow..)

Where is the duties+vat catch? They cannot know I didn't have the phone when I arrived in USA right?
If it is illegal, take it just as a scenario; I don't see anyway how anybody would know the truth..

there is nothing to worry about! billing will be about 376eur and you are free to bring any equipment with you with an overall of 430eur. so buy your phone in the us and you are fine to bring it with you, but if you want to buy some more stuff keep in mind that you got only 55eur left to spend on new stuff and import it to the EU. this 430eur is only for stuff you bring with you, you are forced to pay taxes and vat if you send it home or anything like that. the 430eur is free per person.

[ruskie]

Well, the VAT is usualy way more than the duty. The duty I've paid for electronic imported from the US must be very low indeed, because I didn't notice it on the customs papers. VAT though.. that's a pain.

Depending on the value of the device, if it was actually noticed by customs(they tend to miss them via certain routes), and if it actually comes into the duty zone. Also loose electronic components are without duty on import usually. Atleast for small orders.

As for customs officers stopping you on the streets.. nah. I don't buy into that. I know that if you cross the border with a car it's legal for a customs officer to stop you down the road a bit, but they can't just ask for "papers please!" in the street.

I'm talking for within the EU. Yes the law allows for customs agents to actually stop you anywhere inside the EU zone. Not that they do this since it makes a bit to much of a logistical nightmare. I'm guessing this is one of those laws that are there if they actually need to pin something extra on a person. Not to mention there's nowhere near enough to actually handle such street duty.

As far as I'm concerned I don't mind paying VAT or duty on things I buy/import. I don't have to like it but I won't go to many lenghts to avoid it.

[thecursedfly]

Mine was actually a scenario hypothesis, I'm not going to the USA, but was curious to know the answer.
Thx for answering.

[luca]

Why does the N900 cost so much more in Europe than in the US? (649 in France, 599 in NL or DE, but only 437 Euros in the US) VAT alone doesn't account for a 37%+ differential, does it?
Because we are *****s and electronic companies know that.
Oh, and we even have to pay for the Vaseline if we don't want it to hurt too much ;)

[GeraldKo]

Because we are *****s and electronic companies know that.
Oh, and we even have to pay for the Vaseline if we don't want it to hurt too much ;)

My question still stands:

Why does the N900 cost so much more in Europe than in the US? (649 in France, 599 in NL or DE, but only 437 Euros in the US) VAT alone doesn't account for a 37%+ differential, does it?

Is it all VAT? Some other tax? Like if the units are made in China, does the EU throw on import tariffs that the US doesn't? Does Nokia actually make more profit? Really, if anyone knows, I'm curious.

[luca]

As I said, they know that we're going to buy their stuff even with higher prices, and since everybody is doing the same, we either buy at those prices or don't buy any gadget at all.

[AVee]

Apart from the VAT difference there may also be a warranty difference between most EU countries and the US. In the Netherlands you basically are entitled to compensation or replacement if anything sold to you doesn't have the lifetime you could reasonably expect from it, regardless of what the manufacturer says about warranty.

More specific to Nokia: The UK website shows a 2 year warranty (http://www.nokia.co.uk/get-support-and-software/repair/european-limited-warranty) for mobile phones, the US website shows a 1 year warranty (http://nds1.nokia.com/files/support/nam/phones/guides/US_standard_phone_warranty_en.pdf)(pdf). This additional warranty of course comes at a cost.

[allnameswereout]

Why does the N900 cost so much more in Europe than in the US? (649 in France, 599 in NL or DE, but only 437 Euros in the US) VAT alone doesn't account for a 37%+ differential, does it?How do you mean 'so much more'? Nokia said it'd be sold for 500 EUR + VAT. That is 600 EUR. Which is what it costs at Nokia store. If you buy it elsewhere you can find it cheaper (as I have linked to earlier) because they buy in bulk. The price difference between those is about 40-70 EUR as I calculated. Which is 10-20% more, but not 37%, and its nomrla stuff costs more in Europe. I didn't invent that, but othere corporations like Apple and Dell do that too.

[allnameswereout]

*socialist-mode on* because they have a perfectly running two class system in wich the worker class earns even less money than the worker class in several european countries. but don't worry, we catch up! *socialist-mode off*

funniest thing is, that even exported products from the eu, are cheaper for europeans if they order them in the US. not in every case, but it works for bigger things like cars or high end computers for example.If I buy a car from US I pay:

1) S&H.
2) Clearance fee (neglectable).
3) Import tax.
4) VAT (19%).
5) Environment tax.

The latter counts for new cars bought in NL too, and also imported cars from EU, because it triggers when one would get license plate. The tax differs a lot based on how bad the car is for environment. There are even cities in Germany where driving a SUV is illegal, or where you need special permissions.

[GeraldKo]

How do you mean 'so much more'? Nokia said it'd be sold for 500 EUR + VAT. That is 600 EUR. Which is what it costs at Nokia store. If you buy it elsewhere you can find it cheaper (as I have linked to earlier) because they buy in bulk. The price difference between those is about 40-70 EUR as I calculated. Which is 10-20% more, but not 37%, and its nomrla stuff costs more in Europe. I didn't invent that, but othere corporations like Apple and Dell do that too.

The US price from Nokia's own store is the equivalent of 437 EUR (http://www.nokiausa.com/find-products/phones/nokia-n900#/main/landing)($649), not 500 EUR (which would be about $740). So I'm still curious where the 60+ EUR comes from -- are you saying that Nokia, Apple, and Dell can all just apply higher markups in Europe? What a funny notion of competition!

But besides that, you're saying that the VAT is about 99 EUR in Germany and 149 EUR in France?

(BTW, are you Dutch to begin with? You seem to have an American way of expressing yourself.) (Neither offense nor compliment intended!)

[allnameswereout]

The US price from Nokia's own store is the equivalent of 437 EUR (http://www.nokiausa.com/find-products/phones/nokia-n900#/main/landing)($649), not 500 EUR (which would be about $740). So I'm still curious where the 60+ EUR comes from -- are you saying that Nokia, Apple, and Dell can all just apply higher markups in Europe? What a funny notion of competition!Could be, but Nokia said on that Nokia Summit on 3 September it'd cost 500 EUR + taxes.

That it'd cost then 600 EUR is no surprise because taxes is 19%.

That it costs less in USA (even after taking into account taxes) is no surprise either because other corporations like the ones I gave example of do the same.

Is that fair? I have no idea. It doesn't seem fair indeed however importing with S&H and all that nonsense added up does not warrant to buy it overseas. I found that lately usually buying from UK is cheaper than in EU (NL/DE) because the GBP is low. Also, computer parts have been traditionally cheaper in DE than NL. Not fair either perhaps, but it is as it is...

But besides that, you're saying that the VAT is about 99 EUR in Germany and 149 EUR in France?The VAT is in France 0,6% higher than in Germany or Netherlands. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VAT#EU_countries) I have no idea why mentioned price difference exists.

(BTW, are you Dutch to begin with? You seem to have an American way of expressing yourself.) (Neither offense nor compliment intended!)Yes, I am (south-)Dutch, prefer British English over American English, and have no idea what an American way of expressing implies. :D

[luca]

are you saying that Nokia, Apple, and Dell can all just apply higher markups in Europe?

Yes, they can and they do.
(btw, the european 2 years warranty is just a smokescreen, the real warranty is six months, after that it's your duty to demonstrate that the item was faulty when delivered).

[SubCore]

So I'm still curious where the 60+ EUR comes from -- are you saying that Nokia, Apple, and Dell can all just apply higher markups in Europe?

you need to read up on Purchasing Power Parity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasing_power_parity) and the Gini-coefficient (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient).

This (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_mac_index) might also be of interest, it demonstrates this concept quite nicely.

[chemist]

guys (still loughing...) there is a serious fact you need to keep in mind! "different markets, have different prices", selling stuff all over the world means you have to adapt on the market and put your goods into the markets price range!
15% of European milk production gets pulverized and shipped to Africa for a fourth of its price, its even cheaper than their own milk. (that this behavior destroys the African market at milk is another discussion)

[chemist]

Yes, they can and they do.
(btw, the european 2 years warranty is just a smokescreen, the real warranty is six months, after that it's your duty to demonstrate that the item was faulty when delivered).

its not! I dont worry about any device within warranty, and even 2 weeks before warranty was over I got my DVD-Player replaced the second time, my mobile was replaced 6 month before warranty ended, my mainboard about a month and so on. I put up a smokescreen now... /me is out for a cigarette

[luca]

its not! I dont worry about any device within warranty, and even 2 weeks before warranty was over I got my DVD-Player replaced the second time, my mobile was replaced 6 month before warranty ended, my mainboard about a month and so on. I put up a smokescreen now... /me is out for a cigarette

That's thanks to your national legislation and/or manufacturer goodwill, not due to EU law.

[Botev1912]

actually the price on newegg is $549 (373€)+no sales tax (except CA) and free shipping. This is the final price, a lot cheaper than the 600€ ($883) in EU

[demirole]

guys (still loughing...) there is a serious fact you need to keep in mind! "different markets, have different prices", selling stuff all over the world means you have to adapt on the market and put your goods into the markets price range!
15% of European milk production gets pulverized and shipped to Africa for a fourth of its price, its even cheaper than their own milk. (that this behavior destroys the African market at milk is another discussion)
I agree, the notion that same things should cost the same everywhere is plainly ludicrous. Just compare the price of a Big Mac here in Switzerland with anywhere else in Europe...
So even after correcting for VAT and warranty coverage the prices for most items will still be different.
Btw, the higher French price, could it be due to extra taxation? Like a recycling charge for electronic devices or so? Just guessing...

[nichomerri]

*Desperate call for help*

Hey everyone, I kinda feel stuck between a rock and a hard place here: as an American citizen, I feel entitled to the low low prices offered on Amazon.com for the N900, but as an exchange student currently living in the EU, I feel safer with Nokia's warranty and repair network here in Belgium.

My Dad will be visiting in February, should I ask him to bring me a late Christmas present? Should I buy it now from Amazon (5% cashback, etc.), or will the price drop drastically after the holidays? More importantly, if my Dad's getting it in the US, what should he look for in terms of defects? Oh and also, does anyone know whether Nokia has some sort of basic international warranty? I don't feel like having to ship it back to the US just cause it died after a month (btw, does anyone know what the chance of that would be?)

Basically, I just need a little help getting convinced. I'm a fairly experienced Linux user, I'm not scared of terminals or slightly quirky interfaces. What I'm scared of is Nokia focusing on some other big project and forgetting about N900 users. I keep hearing about software fixes for this and that, and people making excuses for all sorts of flaws by saying it'll all be fixed by Nokia engineers snapping their collective fingers or something, but I still haven't heard of any revolutionary software update.

My main question, I guess, is this: people seem to say that Nokia warned everyone this would be a geek/developer/tinkerer-oriented product, and that's why Nokia is not pushing it too hard to the general public, but is that just an excuse to put out a half-baked product and hope "the community will fix it, maaan"? 'Cause I like to drink the occasional glass of Kool-Aid, but I don't love the crash you get after that sugar high (read: I don't want to be stuck with a nice shiny paperweight in 6 months)

tl;dr: I have a desperate need for someone to approve my irrational and irresponsible purchase, please help.

[NoX]

Hi
I'm in almost the same situation, I'm from Spain, here the N900 price is 600€ and the warranty are 2 years, and the 2 years are for real, if the phone is broken at month 23 they will have to change it, unless it's my own fault (if I drop it or something).
I'm going to NY next month so I can buy it a lot cheaper than here (about at 2/3 of the price)
So my question is, would you give up the warranty just by 1/3 of the price?
or do you think that nokia will repair my phone here in Spain under the European terms of warranty?

Thanks

[nex]

Hi
I'm in almost the same situation, I'm from Spain, here the N900 price is 600€ and the warranty are 2 years, and the 2 years are for real, if the phone is broken at month 23 they will have to change it, unless it's my own fault (if I drop it or something).
I'm going to NY next month so I can buy it a lot cheaper than here (about at 2/3 of the price)
So my question is, would you give up the warranty just by 1/3 of the price?
or do you think that nokia will repair my phone here in Spain under the European terms of warranty?

Thanks

I know that Nokia Greece (Alphacopy) will not respect a non-EU warranty for any hardware issues. If they decide it's a software issue they will only respect the warranty for phones bought from their distribution network in Greece.

I would expect all EU dealers to act in a similar manner. At worse they will need to confer with the Nokia dealer of the EU country you bought it from, perhaps with an extra delay for you getting your phone fixed.

All in all, sadly, this system basically forces you to think twice before buying electronics across borders in the EU

[Alan_Peery]

Hey everyone, I kinda feel stuck between a rock and a hard place here: as an American citizen, I feel entitled to the low low prices offered on Amazon.com for the N900, but as an exchange student currently living in the EU
In your shoes, I'd have your dad bring it over to you, and not worry too much on the hardware issues side if the unit doesn't have mic problems or reboot a lot during your dad's visit. If it has those problems, have him carry it back, and return it directly to the US. If you then have problems later, your life will be much easier if you can just lean on your dad as your proxy -- and get the unit serviced in the US.

Order a couple of extra batteries (BL-5J) or some other charging solution at the same time, you'll probably want it.

Can you wait until February to get your hands it? I thought about waiting for a US trip, and decided not to... :-)