Best Phones To Import to India

Things aren't as bad as they used to be a decade ago, where any new gadget launched in the West would take ages to appear in the Indian market. Also, when they would appear, they'd generally cost a great deal more than their internationally pricing. This was probably the main reason for the thriving grey market back then.

Not to say that things are perfect now, but it is definitely better than before. Grey market prices for many phones available here aren't substantially lower than the official price. Handsets get launched within a span of a month or two. However, manufacturers are sometimes skeptical about launching a few good phones in the market. This could be because they are not sure if it will do well, or even maybe they think it will kill the market share of other models already selling well in the country. 

We have hand-picked five mobile phones that haven't made their way to the Indian soil yet, but are worth importing, especially if you can't hold off your phone purchase any longer. The way you get them here is up to you; you could try everything from asking a relative/friend/acquaintance staying abroad to pick one up for you. If you aren't as lucky, then you could buy it online from sites like eBay or Amazon and get it shipped here. If you don't prefer that, you could go to an electronics shop that deals in importing mobile phones.


The DEFY not only has a desirable shell, but the artillery inside is also fairly equipped. A 3.7-inch 854 x 480 pixel capacitive display (same as the Milestone), an 800 MHz processor and 512MB RAM should keep the Android OS running without a nagging lag. All connectivity features - 3G, Wi-fi, GPS - are there. There's a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with an LED flash too; the only missing link being its inability to record 720p HD videos (although it records at a smooth 30 fps at VGA res). There's also a secondary mic for noise cancellation during phone-calls.

We've seen the DEFY being sold in the States for as low as USD 360 (Rs. 16,300). Even if you get this phone for even a rupee under Rs. 20,000, we'd say it is a fabulous deal.