Criteria for picking the right (world) phone

[chojen]

As an Electrical Engineering I consider my self technically literate but I don't follow the gadget world.

Well I'm moving from the US-Midwest to Asia (Singapore) for a year or two and need to select a world phone (I'm with Sprint, which uses CDMA(EV-DO) and not GSM (EDGE/HSPA).

My current Palm phone is crap (it's over 4 years old) but I keep it because I'm month-to-month and I can tether for free (before tethering became main-stream) and the company 20% corporate discount. I need a world phone to use in Asia but one that will also work when I visit or move back to the states (I'll just us a US pre-paid SIM card).

Obvious choice (I'd think) would be a Quad Band, unlocked GSM Android (I DON'T do Apple products, period). I figured I'd get a no-name Chinese/Hong-Kong Android off Ebay (GPS, Skype, etc..) but most of the postings have this warning "won't work with 3G". I don't understand since "3G" is not a specific communication transmission standard

So why the warning about no 3G support on these no-name phone? In Singapore all phones are unlocked (by law) and they support decent internet speeds. I'm don't really care about the data speed rates while I'm in the states. I guess I'm more concerned about how the phone will perform in Asia.

I need a phone that will support full mobile broadband service (I don't think I have to have 4G). So can't I just buy a SIM card (with a monthly data plan) and go?

I really need a replacement phone now but you have to sign a contract for a decent phone (which make no sense as I'm leaving in 3 months).

What do I have to look out for so I don't get stuck with a phone that taps out at "2G" speeds.