the tablet war is heating up

[catsclaw227]

As for coporate phone plans, that too depends on your company. My company has a plan with Verizon. It feels like a family plan with a shared # of minutes and 200 texts. We go over minutes limit a lot (something's not right with that). Its free to me, in the sense that my company will pay for the ammo I need to kill a problem. But it's costing my company, because for some reason, we don't have a large enough plan. Heck, we had to add "Friends and Family" to the plan (didn't come with it already) so we could add some concall #s and thus save some minutes.

For some reason I assumed that calling plans are the same nationwide, but I am starting to wonder... I have a Verizon family plan with two phones and 400 minutes of calling. My line is primary and my wife's line is secondary and costs only $9.99 for the phone line. The plan has unlimited text and weekend calls, as well as unlimited calling within Verizon network (so I can call my family in CA, both at home and on cell, for free). There are two data plans though, one for each phone - which I feel is double-dipping and I really dislike the practice - but I guess that is standard across the industry.

So basically, we never use all our minutes. My family is free, my wife calls her mom in Russia using skype on the phone and that's free (which, with Verizon and Android, you can use the wireless network and 3G, on my iPhone with AT&T you had to use the 3G network), so we're good on minutes. The plan itself with unlimited text and calling for two lines comes out to like $79 or two phones. It's the two data plans that suck. My boss pays for my phone and the data plan, and we pay for my wife's $9.99 and her data plan.

Here in Houston, my AT&T phones are just as good as Verizon. Out on the east coast, all I hear is complaining about AT&T. But I've had no trouble when I've been out that way. I suspect it is cell network density vs. population density. Houston is 5 million people sprawled out over 4 counties or so, so the carriers have saturated the area with towers. NYC is like 5 million people packed into 4 blocks with 1 cell tower.

Yes.... even here in Cary (Raleigh/Durham region), I live near a bunch of big corporate campuses like NetApp, Cisco, AT&T, BofA, the EPA, and major biotech and pharma firms. So in our area, you have a lot of techies and lots of phones and not enough cell towers to support them all. I dumped AT&T after my contract ended and went back to Verizon who I had been with for 7 years prior, when I lived in SoCal.

 

[MarauderX]

At CTIA Samsung showed mockups of the new Galaxy tab 8.9 and 10.1.
Pricing is competitive of the Ipads. And they are thinner then the Ipad 2.

Anyone getting the HP when it appears in July? It is looking like my top choice at the moment.

 

[Janx]

(Not related to the topic but to wording: I'd like to request that y'all stop using the word "rape", even with the "wallet" qualifier. First, the word has some serious power that shouldn't be watered down like this, in my opinion, and second, in every example so far you had a choice about paying, so it sure as hell wasn't rape.)

This is a reasonable and politely worded request.

However, you are asking me to never use a word again, infringing on my right to free speech and expression.

I have two proposals for you, if you wish me to comply. One, volunteer to never use a phrase from your vocablulary (and you can't choose a word you don't use as thats not an inconvenience).

Or, and this is a better one. Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions. Bring me a a better phrase that expresses the severe distaste we all have for when companies try to charge exhorbitant rates for trivial things.

It must be just as catchy, because when I use the phrase I use, other people know exactly what I mean, and they then use it as well.

~ Message to Janx: stop being an idiot. He made a polite and considered request and here you are breaking the Wheaton Rule in about as egregious way as is possible. Continuing in this manner is likely to result in a vacation from the boards. You've been here since 2002, you should know better. Plane Sailing, ENworld Admin ~

 

[Fast Learner]

However, you are asking me...

No, there's no need for all of that nonsense. I have two adult proposals for you: politely choose to not use the term in this context because you know I find it offensive or continue to use it as you see fit. It's all up to you.

 

[IronWolf]

However, you are asking me to never use a word again, infringing on my right to free speech and expression.

Message boards are more like going to someone's house. If the owner of the house does not like certain behavior or has rules against it, then they are allowed to enforce those without violating anyone's free speech or expression. I believe the phrase some are finding offensive would fall under the Grandma Rules here.

He was just politely asking for you to avoid the use of that phrase here on these forums where a certain decorum is expected. He was not asking you to ban it from your vocabulary - just not use it here.

Or, and this is a better one. Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions. Bring me a a better phrase that expresses the severe distaste we all have for when companies try to charge exhorbitant rates for trivial things.

overpriced, ridiculously expensive, overcharging, no value for the money spent, etc would all be acceptable alternatives and still convey your point.

 

[falcarrion]

Anyone getting the HP when it appears in July? It is looking like my top choice at the moment.

Not me I already have an ipad tablet. but don't let that stop you from coming here and discussing tablets. What do you like about the HP?

 

[Fast Learner]

HP's WebOS user interface looks pretty slick, and since its apps are HTML5 and Javascript at heart, it should be comparatively easy to make them. Not saying it'll be a big success, but I'm definitely intrigued.

 

[MarauderX]

HP's WebOS user interface looks pretty slick, and since its apps are HTML5 and Javascript at heart, it should be comparatively easy to make them. Not saying it'll be a big success, but I'm definitely intrigued.

Yes, it should be much easier to make the apps, but mostly I won't be since there is often no need since a good array of websites suite my needs just as well.
Another reason is Flash, as has been said many times before. Oh, and I'll be able to actually produce documents that I can share a lot more easily. A test run with both of a few MS office products and google docs is also a good reason I'm likely sold on it vs an iPad.

 

[Fast Learner]

Yes, it should be much easier to make the apps, but mostly I won't be since there is often no need since a good array of websites suite my needs just as well.

As long as you're online and willing to burn through the data.

Another reason is Flash, as has been said many times before.

Yeah, though I'll believe that when I see it. I mean, the advance of computing power means that there will certainly be tablets that can run Flash stuff as smoothly as a full-sized computer, but when? This thing has similar power as the Xoom, which still struggles with most Flash.

Oh, and I'll be able to actually produce documents that I can share a lot more easily. A test run with both of a few MS office products and google docs is also a good reason I'm likely sold on it vs an iPad.

No, you're thinking of something else. HP produced one Windows tablet which was such a piece of junk that they only made 5,000 of them; that's long gone.

HP's tablets moving forward, including this one, run WebOS, the renamed and updated Palm OS. No Microsoft Office here.

 

[falcarrion]

I have an Android question? Can you run silverlight? such as the character builder on the WOTC website?