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devaler is offline devaler
2007-11-06 , 19:37
Posts: 122 | Thanked: 23 times | Joined on Oct 2007 @ A quiet place.
#11
Originally Posted by jdsemma View Post
I have a slightly different perspective -- I've had a cell phone since Voicestream was a carrier in the US (late '90s?). And, get this, I still have the same phone.

Funnily enough, it makes and takes phone calls just fine.
So you're the guy!


I've thought about upgrading to a camera phone, or something I can SMS with (I can receive 'em but sending I've never figured out). Except a) I don't like being tied to a contract (although I could get around that with an ebay buy), and b) I don't want a monthly bill.

I went pre-paid a couple of years back. I just don't talk that much to warrant the monthly fee, and I emphatically do not relish the idea of an expensive monthly dataplan fee. (Anything over $20 a month I'm going to consider expensive.)

On the other hand, a one-time purchase of a useful IT is reasonable. If it were married with a phone, though, I'd much more hesitant about purchasing, for fears of functionality being impeded if I didn't also spring for a monthly phone and/or data plan.
But seriously, I think you've done a good job highlighting why so many of us don't want to have our internet tablets be an all-in-one convergence device. As long as we have bluetooth, we can tether our tablets to whatever data plan gets rolled out and incorporated in our cellular service (if that's what we desire). And with Linux, we don't have to worry about platform lockout; we can do pretty much what we will with our hardware.
 
rs-px is offline rs-px
2007-11-06 , 21:22
Posts: 255 | Thanked: 15 times | Joined on Oct 2007 @ United Kingdom
#12
Originally Posted by pixelseventy2 View Post
In the UK I tend to find that people either keep their phones until they die completely (and these people wouldn't be buying an IT in the first place) or change them annually. Most UK contracts are 12 months, although 18 months is starting to appear more often.
It's worse than this

A year or two ago a guy from my mobile company phoned me and offered me a brand new phone for nothing. All I had to do was keep on contract with them. I'm one of those people who stay with the same phone until it dies, largely because phones are usually crap at other functions (like web browsing), so are essentially all the same in my eyes, but also for environmental reasons (why create waste?).

When I said thanks but no thanks, the guy on the other end of the line got increasingly irate with me. But I stood my ground. In the end he slammed the phone down without even saying goodbye. I think he must have been on commission or something -- for giving away phones.

It was a bizarre phone call but perhaps illustrative of the modern world in which we live
 
jdsemma
2007-11-06 , 22:31
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#13
Originally Posted by devaler View Post
So you're the guy!
Girl, but yes. I like T-Mobile in general...

Originally Posted by devaler View Post
But seriously, I think you've done a good job highlighting why so many of us don't want to have our internet tablets be an all-in-one convergence device. As long as we have bluetooth, we can tether our tablets to whatever data plan gets rolled out and incorporated in our cellular service (if that's what we desire). And with Linux, we don't have to worry about platform lockout; we can do pretty much what we will with our hardware.
Exactly. At the moment I'm hanging around my house and other open wifi hotspots a GREAT deal more than I'm "on the road." An open platform lets me do what I want as-is, without having to get into the mess that is regional cellular data plans.

-Jennifer
 
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ldrn is offline ldrn
2007-11-06 , 22:42
Posts: 201 | Thanked: 88 times | Joined on Aug 2007 @ San Francisco, CA
#14
Originally Posted by devaler View Post
Yeah, good point. I believe that most consumers (at least in the US; can't speak for elsewhere) view their phones as somewhat disposable, in that they assume they are going to upgrade every two years or so. I like the idea of holding onto my IT for a few years longer.
While here I am, about to trade my month or two old N800 in for a N810.... I've kept my phone longer much longer than that (for over a year now, wow!)

I'd love to have a phone like the IT. The sad fact is that for me, there is not a phone that can do what my IT can do, or even close, so for now and the foreseable future, it is the IT all the way. I've tried UMPCs that can squeeze into your pocket and smartphones, but the IT fits my personal needs best.

(Here's a real nightmare scenario: if Sprint comes out with a WiMAX IT like I hear is planned, I might end up getting *another* Internet Tablet. How's that for different product lifecycles? )
 
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Hedgecore is offline Hedgecore
2007-11-07 , 01:25
Posts: 1,361 | Thanked: 115 times | Joined on Oct 2005 @ Toronto, Ontario, Canada
#15
I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?

If Kraft made the n810, would we complain there was no cheese? If CocaCola made the n810, would we complain it tasted like metal when we licked it? (I licked my 770. You didn't? Weirdo.) If it were made by Ford, would we complain about it not having any trunk space?

I'd love to see Nokia start screwing with all of these so called gadget afficionados that judge products by what they *think* they should be and not what they *are*.

That's like giving a Volkswagen Jetta a poor review because it doesn't have a v12 Ferrari engine in it. It was never supposed to, thanks for playing.
 
rs-px is offline rs-px
2007-11-07 , 15:19
Posts: 255 | Thanked: 15 times | Joined on Oct 2007 @ United Kingdom
#16
Originally Posted by Hedgecore View Post
I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?
Excellent point
 
SD69 is offline SD69
2007-11-08 , 12:59
Posts: 1,513 | Thanked: 2,248 times | Joined on Mar 2006 @ US
#17
Originally Posted by Hedgecore View Post
I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?
I largely agree with you. The IT should be judged on its merits as a handheld computer. A small part of this though depends on it being an always connected device. There are some handheld computers that have the advantage of HSDPA chips, but the vast majority do not.
 
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ldrn is offline ldrn
2007-11-08 , 13:25
Posts: 201 | Thanked: 88 times | Joined on Aug 2007 @ San Francisco, CA
#18
Originally Posted by Hedgecore View Post
I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?
I don't know if it would be *as* hotly contested, but yes, it would still come up and probably often, because...

Originally Posted by SD69 View Post
I largely agree with you. The IT should be judged on its merits as a handheld computer. A small part of this though depends on it being an always connected device. There are some handheld computers that have the advantage of HSDPA chips, but the vast majority do not.
When I think of handheld computer, I think of Nokia's IT series, the OQO computers, and Sony's UX series. The IT is the only one of the three without cellular internet... I think "does it have integrated WWAN?" is a perfectly reasonable thing to look at when considering a handheld computer.

That goes more than one way, though. I own a UX, and it's WWAN is useless. I switched from T-Mobile to Sprint, so I can't use a sim card any more, and so that module just wastes space in a device that doesn't have a lot of room to spare like that. Even when I did have T-Mobile, the fastest the UX can go is EDGE. I tether my UX even though it has an integrated SIM when I use it; for the most part, though, the N800 has taken on the role in my life I used to use the UX for.

It really is an amazing device.
 
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pixelseventy2 is offline pixelseventy2
2007-11-08 , 14:04
Posts: 357 | Thanked: 115 times | Joined on Sep 2007 @ Sunny England :)
#19
Originally Posted by ldrn View Post
When I think of handheld computer, I think of Nokia's IT series, the OQO computers, and Sony's UX series. The IT is the only one of the three without cellular internet... I think "does it have integrated WWAN?" is a perfectly reasonable thing to look at when considering a handheld computer.
I don't know about the UX, but I didn't think the OQO had cellular. From the specs:
http://www.oqo.com/intl/products/mod...fications.html
wireless & networking

* Wireless LAN: Atheros tri-mode 802.11a/b/g with diversity
* Bluetooth technology: Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
* Ethernet protocol: VGA/Ethernet adapter (included)
__________________
pixel - pushing buttons that shouldn't be pushed, and fiddling with things that shouldn't be fiddled with
 
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ldrn is offline ldrn
2007-11-08 , 14:20
Posts: 201 | Thanked: 88 times | Joined on Aug 2007 @ San Francisco, CA
#20
It has EVDO with Verizon or Sprint -- none at all is also an option, which I guess is why it isn't on the spec sheet.

You can't change your mind and switch from Verizon to Sprint or vice-versa with the OQO, either. It's hardware specific.
 
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