So I bought an Android phone today...

[slewthy]

Just bought a Samsung Galaxy S2. Thats an upgrade from a slidey just-about-makes-a-phonecall-phone.

Its obviously like night and day. As Bibs said earlier, Swype is amazing. I can text faster than I can type!

The phone is so good, it is already outperforming my laptop and desktops (OK, they are at least 5 years old each)

It is quite big but it packs a great camera, flash, HD video, etc etc etc.

Oh, and its not an i-Phone.

Nuff said.

[Vulcan Grey]

I got the ASUS Transformer (like the one Bib's posted above) a few weeks ago, used a Staples $100 off coupon, so I ended up paying $299! (£183).

I like it a lot so far. I like it better than my free Google Chrome netbook (CR-48)

look Bibs

Baaaaaaath!

[Bibs]

Wow, mine was more than twice that price

[Vulcan Grey]

I didn't get the $149 keyboard... I have the Google Chrome book for that.

[Bibs]

OK. I got the keyboard, it's going to be replacing my netbook and that was one of the key selling points for me

[Vulcan Grey]

get the Plasma Sound HD app in the market and try out the multitouch (all 10)

[Bibs]

[rogerch]

I'm leaning toward the Gigabyte Netbook T1005P, but still a bit pricey, and to be honest it's very much on a want list rather than need. My current netbook is still functioning well, I'm still getting 4 hours from the battery and I've had it 3 years !

[Iconic Ride]

Netbooks are so yesterday.....

[Bibs]

Bloomberg just scooped the Kindle Fire - $199 for a 7" Android tablet!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-28/amazon-unveils-199-kindle-fire-tablet.html?cmpid=bit

[Iconic Ride]

From the news release:

"While the Kindle Fire can vie with the iPad in access to media content, it lacks a camera, microphone or a connection to a 3G wireless network. It may not appeal to consumers who are drawn to the iPad’s larger screen and willing to pay a premium for added features such as video chat."

"Right now, the price point is the headline rather than the functionality.”

And, per Brian Blair, an analyst at Wedge Partners Corp. in New York:

“I don’t actually believe 7-inch is going to be a viable tablet for anybody,” he said. “It’s a ‘tweener. A real tablet offering has got to be a 10-inch screen.”

Call me a bona fide dinosaur, but can someone explain the appeal (and iPad sales numbers certainly seem to demonstrate it!) of carrying around a 9 to 10 inch screen around all day? Where does one put the device when it's not in use? It won't fit in your pocket, and if you're going to have need of a screen larger than a current model "smart phone," a small laptop would seem to handle the requirement, and with much more functionality, albeit at greater cost.

Not looking to be sarcastic here. Rather, truly wanting to know people's motivations [in general] for purchasing a tablet.

[rogerch]

I have yet to see an Apple product live up to it's hype.

[Bibs]

Wrong thread Roger but since you mention it, 41% of USA phone users expect to buy an iPhone 5, Apple are pleased that they seem to live up to their hype and I'm sure they rue the day they didn't meet your expectations. Do you have any idea how much money that will make them? No sane person can deny the iPhone was a game changer, no-one.

John, the key to tablets is ease of use. They aren't creation devices, they're consumption devices and since the vast, vast majority of people only consume on the internet they're perfect.

As a recent example, my parents have been using a laptop that I bought my little sister for her 18th and Uni. That's a 7 year old laptop now, not unusual by any accounts from what I can tell. They thought that it's meant to take 5 minutes for a computer to boot up, that's it's meant to take 2 minutes for a webpage to load and that they need expensive anti-virus and a degree in IT to fix any minor problems and in truth, they're not far from the mark for the average Joe.

They've now got a tablet. Boots in a second, can't get a virus (in their usage) and can't go wrong. Worse case they hard reboot it, 30 seconds and it's running again. No longer do I have to drive there to fix the wifi authentication woes (it runs XP which doesn't natively support WPA encryption!), talk them through complex driver updates over the phone etc. It just works, it just can't go wrong. For 99.99% of internet users it's more than enough whereas a PC or laptop was too much. They can also stream HDTV to their telly, watch a film of their choosing on a 10" screen on a flight, skype with my sister (they miss her so!), they're not tethered to a plug socket and it's 10 times smaller and lighter than the laptop. They use it more than the laptop, much more as it's that much easier to use.

That's what tablets are for. Being a 'computer guy' I'm fixing friends, relatives, neighbours PCs on a regular basis due to lack of knowledge of the intricacies of Windows more often than not and it's because they're using their F1 car to drive to the shops. It needs an F1 mechanic to maintain (esp pre Windows7) and the tablet is their hatchback. Simple, reliable, more than up for the task and rarely, if ever will go wrong or need a service.

[rogerch]

Perhaps I should have said "I have yet to see any Apple product live up to it's hype."

Save your money there better products at a fraction of the cost and most have FREE aps

iTunes

[Bibs]

Show me some better products than an iPhone at a fraction of the cost? Similar price perhaps. My Dell Streak was £300 just for a phone, my Asus Transformer was £430, both Android devices...

[Backmarker]

Roger,

I can only say that my experience of Apple and its products is just the opposite of yours. Every single device has lived up to the hype.

I have owned an iPhone 3G, an iPhone 3Gs, and still own and use daily an iPhone 4, an iPod Shuffle, an iPad 2 and a MacBookPro. My kids are still using my older iPhones and they each have iPods of some desciption.

Each product has worked perfectly and continues to do so. They do everything that Apple say they will do.

At work, I am forced to use Windows. By comparison, its complete pants. Yes Windows is a lower initial capital outlay, but you get what you pay for.

Apple FanBoy

Apologies to Bibs and others for ambushing the Android thread

[rogerch]

Show me some better products than an iPhone at a fraction of the cost? Similar price perhaps. My Dell Streak was £300 just for a phone, my Asus Transformer was £430, both Android devices...

Actually I must add that I find the prices you pay over there for consumer electronics HORRENDOUS But I guess we just differ, I've sued Asus twice successfully and will not have another of their products in the house. Only my view but the Gigabyte T1000 is more suitable to my use and a lot cheaper.

iTunes is nothing more than a hindrance to listening pleasure, and they want you to pay for it !

Have a look at a company called Huawei, probably my next phone in your currency less than 50 quid.

[Iconic Ride]

Thanks for taking the time to post a detailed explanation, Bibs. It appears that there are, in fact, numerous reasons that might not have immediately sunk into my semi-reptilian brain for owning a tablet.

But I'm still going to have to have my pockets resized.

[oneshot]

Question is Bibs, would you have an iPhone if you didn't get it as a free upgrade? Would you pay £510 (Apple's web site) for one??

[Bibs]

I've not paid real money for a phone in 20-ish years Dave. My bill is always high enough that I get free and early upgrades.

PS Random fact, my mobile number is the same now as it was in 1992!

[rogerch]

The adage "Nothing is free" certainly applies to the telcos over here who seem able to disregard all consumer protection laws.

We have similar systems, "free phone" minimum monthly charge.

I always pay upfront for the handset, choose the provider and the plan. I have retained my number for the last 8 years, and surprisingly remained with the same provider, who still gives me the best deal, though not as good as it was.

[Iconic Ride]

As a pensioner "man of leisure" myself, Roger, I can relate.

[rogerch]

There's a new one out tomorrow

[Iconic Ride]

[rogerch]

You need to get with technology man.