Cellphone Newbie... Please help.

I have been wanting to buy a cellphone for a long time now, but I have never owned a cellphone ever for any long term. I have tried to find newbie guides and so on about different networks, cellphones and so on but I haven't had too much luck.

I am quite computer literate and very tech savvy, however I simply do not have experience with what cellphones would be compatible with which plans.

I am a resident in Canada, and I would like to buy a phone that is not available from Rogers or from any other Canadian cellphone retailers and use it on a Canadian network, however I have no idea if it would be compatible or if I would be able to get a plan for it.

I don't want to get myself on a contract or anything, I'd realistically would like to order an unlocked phone off ebay and set it up with either Rogers, Fido, or whomever would be able to support it. I know there are GSM and CDMA networks but I don't know which company provides what.

I would like to buy something like this:
HTC TyTN II P4550 (HTC Kaiser 120)
or possibly:
HTC Touch Pro (HTC Raphael 100)

(Could not post links...I need 10 posts )

I'd like to play around with some WM6 programs and so on and have those available, however none of the cellphone providers in Canada seem to sell these exact model phones yet.

I apologize in advance if this is the wrong forum, but I appreciate if anyone can help me with this, thank you.

Hi there, sorry I didnt see your post before, or I would've answered it.

A lot of people buy unlocked phones off ebay, or from wherever and then just use it with their provider. I believe only Rogers and Fido is able to do that because Telus and Bell both don't use SIM cards, they program it into the phone, and people here use SIM cards for their phones, so just don't tie yourself to Telus or Bell.

So order what you want off ebay, then tie yourself to Rogers or Fido.
Most of their plans offer a new phone with a 3 Year Contract, so you can probably just sell that on craigslist or ebay or something. But it would be locked. Just take your SIM card that they give you and put it into your phone and it should work.

2 Year Contracts dont offer phones, so maybe thats a better idea for you, your choice, but its not worth it. Tie yourself for an extra year and get a new cell phone.