Here's a comprehensive review of the Xperia Arc:

http://www.gsmarena.com/sony_ericsso...review-584.php

The bottom line? A good handset with an amazing camera, but it aint no Galaxy S II.

How low can the price go?

The Tab now at an insane $350!

http://www.thegalaxytab.com/2011/04/...rders-at-frys/

Archos who?

Transformer looks awesome. I might get one when it comes out.

Im going for this:



HTC Desire Z

I was waiting for late 2010-early 2011 QWERTY Android phones (even if its not from HTC) but there arent really too much out there.

@riahc3: the jpeg you attached is somewhat too big for a forum that is browsed with mobile devices. It could be kind of you to erase it or change it with a reduced size one.

Not affecting me, its good.

I got my older brother (for his bday) the original Milestone. Cost me $600 total but I got the gold edition (brand new), 1yr local warranty, genuine car dock (rare find), clock dock and Xbox-style GameGripper.

After 2 months the Milestone2 and the Desire Z were released. I knew of them before I got the MS but proceeded anyway to redeem him from his N97 (gross).

All three are good phones, all three have GameGrippers (if your into that), but I would say the Desire Z is marginally better than the other two because it has better support (custom ROMs). I would say the EPIC 4G is the best (it is) but I cannot get it with GSM which sucks!

Of course, this is the wifi-only version. However, for that price, I'd like to see hardware similar to the 8.9/10.1 versions. If it's the same as the current Tab, I'm a little under-whelmed. The hardware is going to be pretty out of date in a month or so. Give me the newer hardware in the 7" package, and I'll get in line now.

Now, I may have to start re-thinking my strategy for a tablet. Previously, I wanted a tablet with 3G (insures GPS and proper market). However, as long as GPS is included, I think wifi-only may be the way to go (which should also mean non-carrier branded).

Given the current situation in the US, I'm not sure which carrier I'd want to go with. My first choice would have been T-Mobile, but that seems unlikely now (long term 3G may not work). AT&T has atrocious pay-as-you-go data plans. Verizon may cripple the tablet/try to prevent custom roms. That leaves Sprint? who may not be around too long if the AT&T/T-Mobile merger goes through.

Looks to me like the safest bet is a wifi-only tablet, tethered to a cheap phone for data. Any thoughts from other US members? dan?

Thanks for the update! I completely missed that significant detail.

I can see tethering to be a cheaper solution, but it may have a couple of drawbacks -- battery life and convenience. With one device acting as a radio, I would guess that it would drain faster than typical and require the act of tethering, which would be an inconvenience (though only slight). Wireless certainly makes things more seamless, though I still don't like the idea of juggling devices to accomplish simple things as I have been doing with my N810 for the duration of its life.

These days, I would prefer a plan-share data plan (share multiple devices on one account -- Rogers offer's these), than to have to tether, though this is just my personal preference. Of course, this is based on speculation rather than experience.

I'd rather not tether either, it can drain a battery pretty quick. However, I think we can agree that a tablet won't replace a phone for most people. So most will be carrying a phone as well. Places where you have power and don't need to be mobile (car, office, home, etc) tethering isn't a problem.

I'd love a shared data plan. Even a pay-as-you-go data plan would be great. However, as far as I can tell choices for that are limited and not very appealing here in the US. AT&T buying T-Mobile leaves a lot of questions as well. So which carrier to go with for best data price/longevity. Or just deal with tethering until thing stabilize.

The carriers would be smart to offer some decent pre-paid data plans.

That aside, Samsung may be missing the boat here. Trying to sell a prevoius generation wifi-only tablet, may be a loosing proposition due to internal competition. Why buy a $350 dollar tablet when for a $100 more, I can get much better hardware in a sleeker package? Not to mention there should be some decent tablets with newer hardware at 7" as well coming soon. A wifi 2nd gen Tab "Tab2" at that price point could gooble up some serious market share, they have an established history and presence going for them.

I'm starting to wonder if Samsung isn't trying to determine what the upper size limit for tablets is. Not much real difference between 8.9 and 10.1. I can't think of a significant advatage one way or the other. The larger screen size just doesn't seem like it would make a large difference. On the other hand the difference between 7" and 8.9/10.1 could be very significant.

I'd rather not tether either, it can drain a battery pretty quick. However, I think we can agree that a tablet won't replace a phone for most people. So most will be carrying a phone as well. Places where you have power and don't need to be mobile (car, office, home, etc) tethering isn't a problem.

I'd love a shared data plan. Even a pay-as-you-go data plan would be great. However, as far as I can tell choices for that are limited and not very appealing here in the US. AT&T buying T-Mobile leaves a lot of questions as well. So which carrier to go with for best data price/longevity. Or just deal with tethering until thing stabilize.

The carriers would be smart to offer some decent pre-paid data plans.

That aside, Samsung may be missing the boat here. Trying to sell a prevoius generation wifi-only tablet, may be a loosing proposition due to internal competition. Why buy a $350 dollar tablet when for a $100 more, I can get much better hardware in a sleeker package? Not to mention there should be some decent tablets with newer hardware at 7" as well coming soon. A wifi 2nd gen Tab "Tab2" at that price point could gooble up some serious market share, they have an established history and presence going for them.

I'm starting to wonder if Samsung isn't trying to determine what the upper size limit for tablets is. Not much real difference between 8.9 and 10.1. I can't think of a significant advatage one way or the other. The larger screen size just doesn't seem like it would make a large difference. On the other hand the difference between 7" and 8.9/10.1 could be very significant.