I had in my mind how nice it would be to have a phone with both wi-fi access and gps. The wi-fi would be to allow internet searches without mobile phone company charges by popping into the many free wi-fi hotspots cropping up. The gps would help direct me to those hotspots.

Nokia has such a product, the N95..alas, it is not available in the US. Not to give up, I found a website called Alibaba, out of China that gives access to many products. I found a deal for a Nokia N95 phone, registered as a buyer, wired transfered the funds and eagerly awaited my new phone to arrive from China. Although skeptical, I dealt with an Alibaba trusted ‘Gold’ supplier. Yet I knew that once the funds were transfered I’d be completely reliant on the integrity of the Chinese supplier. The package arrived shortly after the funds were recieved (to my initial relief), and I could not wait to to call my Nokia rep friend on my new phone, to take a picture with its Carl Zeiss 5megapixel camera or try the gps! I ripped open the box only to find:

Orange knock-off nike gymshoes..not even my size. In disbelief I checked inside the shoes just in case the phone was hidden there, and I even looked at the heels..as though the shoes may have been an updated version of the shoes found in the old ‘Get Smart” TV show.

Nope–I was scammed. How old do you have to get to know that if something seems to good to believe, it’s probably not true? But now that I’m a registered international buyer on Alibaba, maybe I should try buying shoes, maybe I’ll open the box and find a phone.

Gotta have my dreams!