Originally Posted by worldsense
Any recommendations on electronics for decent prices. My main need is a nice mobile for my wife, unlocked, and preferably with a "docking" charger.
I've been to those places in the past year, but didn't look in BKK.
SIN is like shopping at a mall in the U.S.
HRK has a decent computer & tech mall on the Kowloon side in a three or four-story across from the Star Ferry. Not bad, but not so cheap after being in China.
Akihabara (NRT) is simply the most amazing place in the world to get that new or hard-to-find computer or electronic parts. Want an obscure circuit tester, wire strippers, oddball LED, or PC chip? -- They got it if you look hard for the right seller for the item. If you love computers and technology, this is the place to go. If you are not the kind of person who drools over this stuff, then I'd say "no". Not cheap and no bargains.
Best place to buy (cheaply) technology, especially generic computer-related parts, is China -- probably the computer district in any large city. I went to the computer mall in Chengdu and bought CF memory cards for less than were available at the time in the U.S. Similiar story for computer video cards.
You, of course, absolutely have to know what you're buying. The retail distribution system for this electronic and computer parts into the U.S. is efficient enough that you are unlikely to save more that 10% (plus the U.S. state sales tax, if applicable), even with a good buy at Chinese retail.
Bowgie