On 12/31/11 9:33 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:09:36 -0500, X `
wrote:

On 12/30/11 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

First, let's look at what it IS. It is a marketing tool from Amazon to
hawk their digital wares. It has a decently large screen, though Ipad
is larger. It has about 15K apps to Ipads roughly 100K apps. It is
light in memory at 8GB. It does not have 3G, but does have b/g/n
Wi-Fi. It has no camera. She may not want some of this and may want
things not listed.

So if she is looking for a reader with some netbook/tablet capability,
it may be OK. Best feature is the price. I personally am passing on
one because I can pay a bit more for a really good netbook.

I think this is a LOT like buying a boat. Figure out what you are
going to use the reader/tablet/netbook/notebook for and then find the
features that meet your requirements.


If you like to read books and magazines on a small computer screen, the
Kindles and similar readers are ok. I still prefer reading books the
"traditional" way, although I did read an entire "beach" novel on my
laptop the last time I flew cross country. It was ok.

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.


On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.


I don't have a 4G cell or tablet, so I can't compare its speeds to
Wi-Fi. When I'm away from Wi-Fi, 3G speed is more than adequate for my
needs. I don't "net surf" very much on my cell phone, and the other apps
- emails, messages, et cetera, seem fast enough on 3G when Wi-Fi is not
available.

--
Hate women? Hate the idea of women having sex?

Vote Republican, and join in the GOP's unhinged attacks
on Planned Parenthood, the HPV vaccine,
and insurance coverage of contraception.

On 12/31/2011 9:33 AM, wrote:
On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:09:36 -0500, X `
wrote:

On 12/30/11 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

First, let's look at what it IS. It is a marketing tool from Amazon to
hawk their digital wares. It has a decently large screen, though Ipad
is larger. It has about 15K apps to Ipads roughly 100K apps. It is
light in memory at 8GB. It does not have 3G, but does have b/g/n
Wi-Fi. It has no camera. She may not want some of this and may want
things not listed.

So if she is looking for a reader with some netbook/tablet capability,
it may be OK. Best feature is the price. I personally am passing on
one because I can pay a bit more for a really good netbook.

I think this is a LOT like buying a boat. Figure out what you are
going to use the reader/tablet/netbook/notebook for and then find the
features that meet your requirements.


If you like to read books and magazines on a small computer screen, the
Kindles and similar readers are ok. I still prefer reading books the
"traditional" way, although I did read an entire "beach" novel on my
laptop the last time I flew cross country. It was ok.

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.


On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

Don't stray from your 4G coverage spots or you will be disappointed when
the best you can get is 2G or 3G. Like the Chevy Volt, 3G and 4G can be
a big disappointment.

On Dec 31, 10:41*am, X ` Man dump-on-conservati...@anywhere-you-
can.com wrote:
On 12/31/11 9:33 AM, wrote:





On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:09:36 -0500, X `
wrote:

On 12/30/11 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

First, let's look at what it IS. It is a marketing tool from Amazon to
hawk their digital wares. It has a decently large screen, though Ipad
is larger. It has about 15K apps to Ipads roughly 100K apps. It is
light in memory at 8GB. It does not have 3G, but does have b/g/n
Wi-Fi. It has no camera. She may not want some of this and may want
things not listed.

So if she is looking for a reader with some netbook/tablet capability,
it may be OK. Best feature is the price. I personally am passing on
one because I can pay a bit more for a really good netbook.

I think this is a LOT like buying a boat. Figure out what you are
going to use the reader/tablet/netbook/notebook for and then find the
features that meet your requirements.

If you like to read books and magazines on a small computer screen, the
Kindles and similar readers are ok. I still prefer reading books the
"traditional" way, although I did read an entire "beach" novel on my
laptop the last time I flew cross country. It was ok.

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.

On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

I don't have a 4G cell or tablet, so I can't compare its speeds to
Wi-Fi. When I'm away from Wi-Fi, 3G speed is more than adequate for my
needs. I don't "net surf" very much on my cell phone, and the other apps
- emails, messages, et cetera, seem fast enough on 3G when Wi-Fi is not
available.

--
Hate women? Hate the idea of women having sex?

Vote Republican, and join in the GOP's unhinged attacks
on Planned Parenthood, the HPV vaccine,
and insurance coverage of contraception.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My #2 son gave us a Blackberry Playbook for Christmas. When I bundled
our phone/internet/cable tv services last summer, I lost my Wi-Fi
modem.
I had to call and schedule my service provider to come in on the 3rd
of January to swap out the basic modem for one capable of Wi-Fi.
It was no big deal up till now because the only one using that feature
ws my #1 son on his infrequent visits from Toronto.
I probably wouldn't have bought a playbook myself, but now that I have
one I'm anxious to see what it can do.
I'll tell you one thing...the 3 meg front camera and the 5 meg back
camera are limited for indoor use on a dark day. It claims to have
1080i video.... whick is ok outside in the bright light.
Also got an iPod Nano for Christmas.. so I had to visit a nearby audio
store earlier this week to pick up a new pair of Grado headphones.
Good grief..they cost as much as the iPod but do have a nice sound.
(supplied 'bud style' headphones sounded crappy & fit worse)

On 12/31/11 11:34 AM, North Star wrote:
On Dec 31, 10:41 am, X ` Mandump-on-conservati...@anywhere-you-
can.com wrote:
On 12/31/11 9:33 AM, wrote:





On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:09:36 -0500, X `
wrote:

On 12/30/11 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

First, let's look at what it IS. It is a marketing tool from Amazon to
hawk their digital wares. It has a decently large screen, though Ipad
is larger. It has about 15K apps to Ipads roughly 100K apps. It is
light in memory at 8GB. It does not have 3G, but does have b/g/n
Wi-Fi. It has no camera. She may not want some of this and may want
things not listed.

So if she is looking for a reader with some netbook/tablet capability,
it may be OK. Best feature is the price. I personally am passing on
one because I can pay a bit more for a really good netbook.

I think this is a LOT like buying a boat. Figure out what you are
going to use the reader/tablet/netbook/notebook for and then find the
features that meet your requirements.

If you like to read books and magazines on a small computer screen, the
Kindles and similar readers are ok. I still prefer reading books the
"traditional" way, although I did read an entire "beach" novel on my
laptop the last time I flew cross country. It was ok.

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.

On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

I don't have a 4G cell or tablet, so I can't compare its speeds to
Wi-Fi. When I'm away from Wi-Fi, 3G speed is more than adequate for my
needs. I don't "net surf" very much on my cell phone, and the other apps
- emails, messages, et cetera, seem fast enough on 3G when Wi-Fi is not
available.

--
Hate women? Hate the idea of women having sex?

Vote Republican, and join in the GOP's unhinged attacks
on Planned Parenthood, the HPV vaccine,
and insurance coverage of contraception.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My #2 son gave us a Blackberry Playbook for Christmas. When I bundled
our phone/internet/cable tv services last summer, I lost my Wi-Fi
modem.
I had to call and schedule my service provider to come in on the 3rd
of January to swap out the basic modem for one capable of Wi-Fi.
It was no big deal up till now because the only one using that feature
ws my #1 son on his infrequent visits from Toronto.
I probably wouldn't have bought a playbook myself, but now that I have
one I'm anxious to see what it can do.
I'll tell you one thing...the 3 meg front camera and the 5 meg back
camera are limited for indoor use on a dark day. It claims to have
1080i video.... whick is ok outside in the bright light.
Also got an iPod Nano for Christmas.. so I had to visit a nearby audio
store earlier this week to pick up a new pair of Grado headphones.
Good grief..they cost as much as the iPod but do have a nice sound.
(supplied 'bud style' headphones sounded crappy& fit worse)


I have a friend who takes some great photos on her iPhone4S. I'm not a
big fan of phone cameras, but I know lots of folks are. I don't much
like earbud earphones, either.

--
Hate women? Hate the idea of women having sex?

Vote Republican, and join in the GOP's unhinged attacks
on Planned Parenthood, the HPV vaccine,
and insurance coverage of contraception.

On 12/31/2011 11:34 AM, North Star wrote:
On Dec 31, 10:41 am, X ` Mandump-on-conservati...@anywhere-you-
can.com wrote:
On 12/31/11 9:33 AM, wrote:





On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:09:36 -0500, X `
wrote:

On 12/30/11 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

First, let's look at what it IS. It is a marketing tool from Amazon to
hawk their digital wares. It has a decently large screen, though Ipad
is larger. It has about 15K apps to Ipads roughly 100K apps. It is
light in memory at 8GB. It does not have 3G, but does have b/g/n
Wi-Fi. It has no camera. She may not want some of this and may want
things not listed.

So if she is looking for a reader with some netbook/tablet capability,
it may be OK. Best feature is the price. I personally am passing on
one because I can pay a bit more for a really good netbook.

I think this is a LOT like buying a boat. Figure out what you are
going to use the reader/tablet/netbook/notebook for and then find the
features that meet your requirements.

If you like to read books and magazines on a small computer screen, the
Kindles and similar readers are ok. I still prefer reading books the
"traditional" way, although I did read an entire "beach" novel on my
laptop the last time I flew cross country. It was ok.

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.

On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

I don't have a 4G cell or tablet, so I can't compare its speeds to
Wi-Fi. When I'm away from Wi-Fi, 3G speed is more than adequate for my
needs. I don't "net surf" very much on my cell phone, and the other apps
- emails, messages, et cetera, seem fast enough on 3G when Wi-Fi is not
available.

--
Hate women? Hate the idea of women having sex?

Vote Republican, and join in the GOP's unhinged attacks
on Planned Parenthood, the HPV vaccine,
and insurance coverage of contraception.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My #2 son gave us a Blackberry Playbook for Christmas. When I bundled
our phone/internet/cable tv services last summer, I lost my Wi-Fi
modem.
I had to call and schedule my service provider to come in on the 3rd
of January to swap out the basic modem for one capable of Wi-Fi.
It was no big deal up till now because the only one using that feature
ws my #1 son on his infrequent visits from Toronto.
I probably wouldn't have bought a playbook myself, but now that I have
one I'm anxious to see what it can do.
I'll tell you one thing...the 3 meg front camera and the 5 meg back
camera are limited for indoor use on a dark day. It claims to have
1080i video.... whick is ok outside in the bright light.
Also got an iPod Nano for Christmas.. so I had to visit a nearby audio
store earlier this week to pick up a new pair of Grado headphones.
Good grief..they cost as much as the iPod but do have a nice sound.
(supplied 'bud style' headphones sounded crappy& fit worse)

I guess so.
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CIwBEPMCMAQ
You could have had your yard cleaned for that kind of money.

On 12/31/2011 11:46 AM, Oscar wrote:
On 12/31/2011 11:34 AM, North Star wrote:
On Dec 31, 10:41 am, X ` Mandump-on-conservati...@anywhere-you-
can.com wrote:
On 12/31/11 9:33 AM, wrote:





On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:09:36 -0500, X `
wrote:

On 12/30/11 9:09 PM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

First, let's look at what it IS. It is a marketing tool from
Amazon to
hawk their digital wares. It has a decently large screen, though Ipad
is larger. It has about 15K apps to Ipads roughly 100K apps. It is
light in memory at 8GB. It does not have 3G, but does have b/g/n
Wi-Fi. It has no camera. She may not want some of this and may want
things not listed.

So if she is looking for a reader with some netbook/tablet
capability,
it may be OK. Best feature is the price. I personally am passing on
one because I can pay a bit more for a really good netbook.

I think this is a LOT like buying a boat. Figure out what you are
going to use the reader/tablet/netbook/notebook for and then find the
features that meet your requirements.

If you like to read books and magazines on a small computer screen,
the
Kindles and similar readers are ok. I still prefer reading books the
"traditional" way, although I did read an entire "beach" novel on my
laptop the last time I flew cross country. It was ok.

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.

On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

I don't have a 4G cell or tablet, so I can't compare its speeds to
Wi-Fi. When I'm away from Wi-Fi, 3G speed is more than adequate for my
needs. I don't "net surf" very much on my cell phone, and the other apps
- emails, messages, et cetera, seem fast enough on 3G when Wi-Fi is not
available.

--
Hate women? Hate the idea of women having sex?

Vote Republican, and join in the GOP's unhinged attacks
on Planned Parenthood, the HPV vaccine,
and insurance coverage of contraception.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

My #2 son gave us a Blackberry Playbook for Christmas. When I bundled
our phone/internet/cable tv services last summer, I lost my Wi-Fi
modem.
I had to call and schedule my service provider to come in on the 3rd
of January to swap out the basic modem for one capable of Wi-Fi.
It was no big deal up till now because the only one using that feature
ws my #1 son on his infrequent visits from Toronto.
I probably wouldn't have bought a playbook myself, but now that I have
one I'm anxious to see what it can do.
I'll tell you one thing...the 3 meg front camera and the 5 meg back
camera are limited for indoor use on a dark day. It claims to have
1080i video.... whick is ok outside in the bright light.
Also got an iPod Nano for Christmas.. so I had to visit a nearby audio
store earlier this week to pick up a new pair of Grado headphones.
Good grief..they cost as much as the iPod but do have a nice sound.
(supplied 'bud style' headphones sounded crappy& fit worse)

I guess so.
http://www.google.com/products/catal...d=0CIwBEPMCMAQ

You could have had your yard cleaned for that kind of money.

Just a note on Earbuds.. The Sony earbuds (about 20 bucks) come with an
in line volume control and have great sound like most Sony audio products...

On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:33:29 -0500, wrote:

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.


On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

===

I have a 4G Verizon aircard that I use with laptops. When it's
working well (not always, but improving), it is faster than a good
cable connection.

On 12/31/2011 12:10 PM, Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 31 Dec 2011 09:33:29 -0500, wrote:

The lack of 3G/4G on a tablet may not be so serious an issue. Most
places you end up using a tablet will have free wifi available, which
means the need to pay for an additional 3G appliance (in addition to a
smart phone) is not overwhelming. Wifi is faster, anyway.


On my hardware, 4G kicks wi-fi's ass.

===

I have a 4G Verizon aircard that I use with laptops. When it's
working well (not always, but improving), it is faster than a good
cable connection.


Yeah, that's what we use when we are away from the house... Works pretty
good when you get 4G. Started working better after the huge NE storm. I
think they finally replaced the old crap that really wasn't ready for 4G...

On 31/12/2011 5:34 AM, X ` Man wrote:
On 12/31/11 12:43 AM, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 20:32:01 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

On Dec 30, 9:44 pm, wrote:
On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:15:44 -0500, Happy
wrote:









On Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:26:25 -0800 (PST),
wrote:

I know nothing about them, but my wife want's one [and I get to pay
for it]. What are the advantages [or not] over a Xume, iPhone, and a
host of other lightning technology talkie gadgets out there?

What a silly question.

If your wife says she wants one, then they're obviously better than
anything else.

Now, just find a good deal on one and go for it.

Here...I learned a lot...

http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/14/a...e-fire-review/

Now, get out the $199 and buy one from Amazon.

========

It turns out that there is also an interesting alternative for just a
bit more money:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005B9G79I/ref=asc_df_B005B9G79I1841434

It has a better screen, a built in GPS, and full access to all of the
Android apps. There are some great navigation apps available like
Navionics which comes with charts.

oooooh! Now I'm thinking.......

?;^ )

It is better to get a tablet that can read books than a book reader
that wants to be a tablet when it grows up.
Make sure it is expandable and runs a real OS. If you are not invested
in the apple culture, "I" anything may not be your best choice, unless
you are planning on moving.

If I were not buying an iPad, I'd be taking a serious look
at the Galazy:

http://tinyurl.com/7cmqhlf

The problem with virtually all the tablets is that they only have an
on-screen typing keypad. Most offer an option to attach a USB or
bluetooth keyboard, but then you are back to a sort of laptop computer.

If your typing needs are minimal, then a tablet makes some sense.

My little iPhone pretty much mimics the iPad...it's okay for
non-typing-intensive tasks and it handles a lot of them pretty well. But
it is no replacement for a laptop, and I don't think the iPad is,
either. Not yet. Also, it is a pain in the ass to access the file system
in most tablets, and that makes a number of "computer" facilities
cumbersome.
As a book reader, though, the tablets are an interesting alternative to
the printed page.

Or just hold off for a year or two, save big and get more.

http://www.everbuying.com/Wholesale-...FQhbhwod0VOdlw

Industry is moving so fast it is hard to buy something new that isn't
obsolete and over priced.

If I have Apple stock, I would sell it.

--
No mater how liberally you try to ignore rationality and reality,
reality always wins in the end.

Thanks for all the replies. My wife has still settled on the
Kindlefire though. She figures she doesn't need all the bells and
whistles. Then again, later she'll wish she'd upgraded but that's
normal around here.

I sent her this thread and she studied out all the options. She was
humored by some of the tag lines.

Wayne, I liked the idea of the marine apps, but she says I'm on my own
there........

oh well.