Hi Suzanne,
You know Adam! That’s great, he’s a good friend.
Onto your phone question.. Chris is right that you should get what suits you. I have an iPhone and prefer that platform – if that sounds like you, I wouldn’t be too deterred by the fear of theft. I know tons of people with iPhones in Chengdu and I’ve never heard of anyone having theirs stolen by a pickpocket. I take the subway basically everyday, too.
If you want to go that route, it is slightly cheaper to buy in the US. Once you get here, you just pop your China-bought SIM card into the phone and that’s it. Really simple. Same deal if you get an unlocked Android phone. Having a smart phone is a good idea because you’ll have GPS enabled maps, wireless internet, etc. Just handy things to have in any city in general, but might be especially useful in Chengdu if you don’t know your way around.
Chengdu’s Apple Store makes the SF Chronicle? Awesome. I visited the store and published a post on it a few months ago if you didn’t see that: Apple Set to Conquer Chengdu
Fantastic line of work you’re in. There are a lot of mobile development opportunities in Chengdu right now.
Feel free to ask any other questions about Chengdu should you have any 🙂