Database Info

Phone vs Laptop... where to draw the line?

I'm sure a lot of you have thought this over so i wanted to get your opinions.
The other day I was telling a friend about a phone with a 5+ inch screen and got to thinking (I love big screens, cant stand less than 3")... At what point should a person just buy a netbook with a 3g card and use VOIP on a bluetooth headset? I mean, my wife has a MSI Wind and honestly It is small enough I could carry it almost everywhere with me. It also cost less than my phone!!!!. The Wind isn't even one of the smaller ones. It has a 10.2 screen. Look at this one though http://gizmodo.com/5084147/umids-mini-netbook-makes-eees-look-massive (they should have made the screen wider but I guess they were trying to use off the shelf parts to keep it cheap).
I think the lines are definitely blurring and I honestly cant decide what to do for my next phone. A netbook with a 3g router is sounding very tempting. What thoughts do you guys have? or do you plan to just buy both lol.

I'd draw the line where you'd feel like a tit holding a netbook against your head tbh. Phones are for making phonecalls remember
Smartphone's are going to die out soon. Why do I need a Touch HD AND a netbook? I don't, I need a littlebitty Nokia that only phones and texts - discuss...

pocket
it´s true that you can carry them, but even little notebooks can´t be put inside your pants pockets...yet....

It's about convergence, having one device that does it all.
I still see idiots carrying a cellphone, an ipod, and a notebook. And they use the phone to go online with their notebooks via 3G.
I just have my i780 and the extra battery pack (i780s come with an extra batt with a stand alone charger case).. and oh yeah.. I also use it for GPS navigation.
Go for one device that can do it all. Though your need for a big screen will be the deciding factor.

Personally i have all three and carry two, Trinity and iPod, on a regular basis as the battery in my Trinity struggles to last all day sometimes when i am reading and replying to mail let alone trying to listen to music as well. Also my iPod is big enough to hold my entire library so there's no "wish i had that with me today" moments. The notebook is for computing somewhere at a desk/table that isn't my own, usually my parents or friends, and as such usually hooks to their WiFi.

You don't stick the netbook to your ear you use a bluetooth headset. Also some of these netbooks are getting small enough to stick in your pocket! Look at the one I linked.
Battery life would be an issue though. My wifes Wind lasts about 45 mins on battery. Those reviews that claim 2.5 hours are BS. Maybe if you turn the screen on super dim, wifi / bluetooth off, switch on econo-mode and read an ebook. In an even smaller netbook with about the same guts I bet battery life would be horrid.

For me this is the limit line between lap top and phone

I still think we might see a movement away from big phones, or people using two devices but not concurrently. For business use a decent netbook with 3G and bluetooth headset would be ideal, providing someone can actually one day make a battery that lasts a whole day yet doesn't have to be on wheels.
However, as useful as that'd be in work, it's not really a solution for how do I phone my missus to tell her I need to come home from the pub?
So I think a big device (with 3G or similar) for work and a small/tiny device (with radio and nothing else) for play/always. Aren't we at the point of a Bluetooth sized headset that has a phone in it? Or a comedy sized watch - aren't LG launching one soon?

The laptop would need to remain on (idling) the whole time, and they're just not designed for that today. In the end, having a laptop with 3G inside and a bluetooth "phone" or having a basic 3G phone and a laptop is not so different... you always need both parts.
I'm also using both a trinity and a Gigabeat F40. I just don't have the same response quickness, autonomy and storage on my trinity. So unless we get a pdaphone with a real battery life (something like 10 hours under heavy use), with 64GB of storage (it should arrive soon enough) and that doesn't struggle to playback a mp3 while surfing the net, I won't leave my loyal mp3 player at home.
I guess that 1 year from now I may find an appropriate device on the market.

[Q] Experts, what's the phone for me?

Hello everyone,
I would like some advice from you guys as I think you know what you're talking about (and I don't in this area )
Situation:
* not an IT'er, hence not informed about these things
* Current phone = Nokia E51
* Has a long battery life and hence very reliable
* I have a long commute to work every day
Lots of time (waiting) on the train
Would like a phone to mitigate the boredom
Expectations for a new cell phone:
* Battery life of minimally 24 hours
I want to be able to take it off the power grid at 7am on a friday only to have to plug it back in again around 7am on saturday with quite some power (20-25%-ish) to spare
* After having done the following:
some texting and a few minutes of calls throughout the day and evening
browsing/using youtube/watching some movies or listening to music for +-2hours
being able to go out with it at night and google some random stuff (i.e. checking which movies they're playing etc.)
without having to worry in any degree whatsoever that I'll be left with a dead phone in case something unexpected happens during the night (car breakdowns or other accidents, hospital visits, friends or family who urgently need to contact me, etc.)
* Other points of interest:
Budget doesn't matter too much, can be cheap and can be expensive
Screen needs to be fit for reading on the internet/some pdf's etc
No physical keyboard
I do not care about the camera functions
Already took a look at:
* Windowsphone / blackberry (Not my cup of tea)
* HTC (Have only heard bad things about this, and all the people I know who had one got rid of it)
* Iphone (Itunes annoys me, and so do the apple people who freak out about their cell phones)
* Samsung Galaxy S2
Was blown away when I saw this phone
Went to order it yesterday after having read unanimously positive reviews (techradar and such)
Then read about the battery life span which renders it useless to me (had no idea that people can live with that kind of thing in this day and age)
Cancelled it about 2 hours ago and got my money back, thankfully.
* Nokia 5800
link to phone
My brother has this and is happy about it
I can't imagine there's nothing better on the market than a 3 year old phone
So long story short:
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you guys might have for a phone that would suit me. Perhaps I'm too demanding for current technology?
Thanks guys.

When I got the Galaxy S the Battery life was maybe 8 hours. After rooting the phone deleting all the bloatware and installing a custom rom, Well.......... 30 hours +/-.
The point is battery life is soley contingent on how you set up the phone and what you do with it. Frankly, out of the box, Samsung sets the phone up poorly. That is how forums like these got started, They saw great hardware and sucky software.
Now, The S2 is awesome hardware, and the development on it is just beginning. I would recommend you read the S2 forum general and development sections. You are going to find that people have addressed the battery problem.
My Galaxy-S Phone I bought 2 batteries so I would never have to worry about battery...... now, I do not know where the spares are it has been so long since I have needed them.
I would be using the S2 if it was available here in the USA NOW. But we still have to wait 45 days more.
Read up on that forum here is the link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1055
Right Now the best phone out there is the S2
Stick with the Android Format it is way more flexible Win-7 is decent but not enough support, and win7 and Iphone do not make it easy to modify the phone.
Other than the email syncing advantage on the Blackberry it offers nothing else. Android long term is the way to go.
Hope that helps

Yes I followed that forum for a while, which is what made me cancel my order for the S2.
People are getting horrible battery life out of it that is nowhere near the 24hour minimum range I'm requiring, and I doubt they'll be adding 50% to the battery life it currently has.
On a different forum where I posted the same question, one advice that has come in by now is this:
Motorola Defy with Cyanogenmod that puts the latest android OS on it.
I'd like to have a few options though so suggestions are still more than welcome.

I would still go for the GS2 despite the battery issues it will be a great phone

schmeather said:
I would still go for the GS2 despite the battery issues it will be a great phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no "despite" the battery issue I'm not buying a phone to babysit it.

Captivate/Inspire + Galaxy Tab 10.1 or Galaxy S II?

So... I'm working on a limited budget here, but I need a new cellphone at the very least (my old Cappy bricked, and from gym use had the moisture indicator activated =[) and maybe a new tablet. I do have a laptop, but I've come to realize that there are indeed "intermediate" situations where a laptop would be too cumbersome but internet/digital functionality is still needed (I used to be a cynic too, "If I have a laptop, why do I need a tablet?").
So the question is, as stated in the title, which of the following "options" should I go for?
1) Captivate/Inspire (midrange Android phone) + Galaxy Tab 10.1
Or
2) Samsung Galaxy S II (once it comes out on AT&T hopefully in July)
Your thoughts are appreciated, and I'll be happy to give answer more questions to give you a background on my sitch.

Lencias said:
So... I'm working on a limited budget here, but I need a new cellphone at the very least (my old Cappy bricked, and from gym use had the moisture indicator activated =[) and maybe a new tablet. I do have a laptop, but I've come to realize that there are indeed "intermediate" situations where a laptop would be too cumbersome but internet/digital functionality is still needed (I used to be a cynic too, "If I have a laptop, why do I need a tablet?").
So the question is, as stated in the title, which of the following "options" should I go for?
1) Captivate/Inspire (midrange Android phone) + Galaxy Tab 10.1
Or
2) Samsung Galaxy S II (once it comes out on AT&T hopefully in July)
Your thoughts are appreciated, and I'll be happy to give answer more questions to give you a background on my sitch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From personal experience, I found a good compromise in the Dell Streak 5. It's a big phone, but if you like a big screen you'll be all over it. I'd been after one for ages and have held onto it longer than almost any other device (four weeks - i know...)
I think the question to ask yourself is 'what am I going to get the most use out of?' Do you skimp a bit on the phone for a tablet's sake, or do you go the whole hog with the phone and forget the tablet?
Let me know what you decide, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I would get the Galaxy SII instead of the other combination.
Reasons:
1. You can do and have basically almost everything a tablet does/has, beside the bigger screen.
2. You can have one internet contract if you have the Galaxy SII, no need for 2 nor 3 nor more. (if you have a smartphone and a tablet, you will be needing one contract for the smartphone and one for the tablet, 2 contracts in total...means...more expensive upkeep)
3. A smartphone is easier to carry around than a tablet.

aaa said:
I would get the Galaxy SII instead of the other combination.
Reasons:
1. You can do and have basically almost everything a tablet does/has, beside the bigger screen.
2. You can have one internet contract if you have the Galaxy SII, no need for 2 nor 3 nor more. (if you have a smartphone and a tablet, you will be needing one contract for the smartphone and one for the tablet, 2 contracts in total...means...more expensive upkeep)
3. A smartphone is easier to carry around than a tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not necessarily. I have a single data plan on my smartphone. WiFi tethering, available on almost all newer smartphones these days (especially Android) allows you to share a data connection between several devices. No separate contracts, and if you're using a HTC smartphone it's as easy as connecting to a new WiFi network
Your other points are good though. A phone is far more portable, and as they both run Android functionality will be almost the same. It's the usability that changes

juzz86 said:
Not necessarily. I have a single data plan on my smartphone. WiFi tethering, available on almost all newer smartphones these days (especially Android) allows you to share a data connection between several devices. No separate contracts, and if you're using a HTC smartphone it's as easy as connecting to a new WiFi network
Your other points are good though. A phone is far more portable, and as they both run Android functionality will be almost the same. It's the usability that changes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have also a flat rate internet contract which allows me to theter....but....
Thetering? You have get a BIGGER battery for that, if you plan to use it often.
Battery live is the biggest problem if you use an Android smartphone as an internet hot spot.
I tried it several times but only under immergency situation.

aaa said:
I have also a flat rate internet contract which allows me to theter....but....
Thetering? You have get a BIGGER battery for that, if you plan to use it often.
Battery live is the biggest problem if you use an Android smartphone as an internet hot spot.
I tried it several times but only under immergency situation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true! I didn't really see that big of a difference though.
I was using an HTC Incredible S, tethering to my desktop (without charging). It definitely drained quicker, but I got three hours out of it and the battery only dropped 10%.
I agree that you wouldn't want to do it all day though. But it will save you from a second data contract and all the cost

Upgraded from charge to a Note 2

Title says most everything.
I was traveling across country when my Charge's battery gave up on me. I did like this phone. I stopped in Fargo, ND at a local verizon store and asked if anyone around had a battery. they were helpful and looked all around plus where I was traveling to. No batteries in stock. Of course I could buy one online but that would take days to get delivered. When traveling 1400 miles, one doesn't want to go phoneless for long incase there is trouble.
So I upgraded to a Note 2. I like it a lot but I still don't want to let the charge go away too quickly. I have a neighbor who could use it on his wifi. If only I could find some batteries cheap. My neighbor is legally blind and uses a motorola droid 2. I think he is only able to text because he can tactile feel the buttons on his screen. Regardless, I would like to give him this charge to try if I can find a decent battery cheap enough.
That is about it. I have moved on to a Note 2 and want to keep this charge alive. Any help would be appreciated. Especially if I can keep my low sighted neighbor connected.
God bless
Gonk

Gonkulor said:
Title says most everything.
I was traveling across country when my Charge's battery gave up on me. I did like this phone. I stopped in Fargo, ND at a local verizon store and asked if anyone around had a battery. they were helpful and looked all around plus where I was traveling to. No batteries in stock. Of course I could buy one online but that would take days to get delivered. When traveling 1400 miles, one doesn't want to go phoneless for long incase there is trouble.
So I upgraded to a Note 2. I like it a lot but I still don't want to let the charge go away too quickly. I have a neighbor who could use it on his wifi. If only I could find some batteries cheap. My neighbor is legally blind and uses a motorola droid 2. I think he is only able to text because he can tactile feel the buttons on his screen. Regardless, I would like to give him this charge to try if I can find a decent battery cheap enough.
That is about it. I have moved on to a Note 2 and want to keep this charge alive. Any help would be appreciated. Especially if I can keep my low sighted neighbor connected.
God bless
Gonk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
easy enough. i did this when I gave the Charge to my son. after rooting and installing tweaked 3.2, I was able to install apps like android firewall to prevent his games from accessing the internet.
I then set the phone to airplane mode, then turned on wifi. only problem is that each time the phone reboots, you'll need to enable wifi.
hope this helps.

Gonkulor said:
Title says most everything.
I was traveling across country when my Charge's battery gave up on me. I did like this phone. I stopped in Fargo, ND at a local verizon store and asked if anyone around had a battery. they were helpful and looked all around plus where I was traveling to. No batteries in stock. Of course I could buy one online but that would take days to get delivered. When traveling 1400 miles, one doesn't want to go phoneless for long incase there is trouble.
So I upgraded to a Note 2. I like it a lot but I still don't want to let the charge go away too quickly. I have a neighbor who could use it on his wifi. If only I could find some batteries cheap. My neighbor is legally blind and uses a motorola droid 2. I think he is only able to text because he can tactile feel the buttons on his screen. Regardless, I would like to give him this charge to try if I can find a decent battery cheap enough.
That is about it. I have moved on to a Note 2 and want to keep this charge alive. Any help would be appreciated. Especially if I can keep my low sighted neighbor connected.
God bless
Gonk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also just left the SCH-I510 for the SCH-I605 (this week). Loving the new toy.
Not sure if I can help you in respect to your low sighted neighbor...
Cheap batteries are on eBay, if you don't mind wait. search for "sch-i510 oem battery", last I checked they ran $6-7ish.
I am playing around with a WIFI only ROM to use as foundation for a music player. Not sure if there will be tangible benefits of disabling the non-WIFI Radios, but it might be fun to see. If you are interested let me know...
No promises on when I'll have something to share. For the most part I've got it built, just need to teach myself how to package it as a recovery install zip, or make an ODIN Image.
PS for your neighbor a tablet with a larger screen might be in order. I've got an Acer Iconia A500 that I just rooted/unlocked/ROMed last week. I noticed they are getting cheap on swappa. With ICS+ and the Xposed framework and app settings module you could customize the fonts... just thinking out loud.

Looking for a tablet suggestion

Looking to replace my Nexus 9. It's a good tablet, but it just takes way too long to charge, and occasionally freezes and locks up, only to be remedied by removing the battery from the motherboard for a few hours. The tablet will live in my car as a dashboard tablet running dashcommand and/or google maps.
I'd prefer it be at least the size of the nexus 9 (8.9") or bigger, would strongly prefer to stay above 8 inches. Would prefer it be unlocked for potential 4g connectivity later on. High battery life is a plus, and/or the ability to charge at a decent rate. The tablet is hooked into a 5v 2a charging dock from Proclip (www.proclipusa.com). Expandable memory would be cool, but i'll settle for decent on board storage.
My current tablet dies every few days, even after having it force-kill the app and sleep via tasker when the car shuts down (on power disconnect), along with disabling wifi. I'll be reflashing it to see if that aids any, but ultimately I wouldn't mind upgrading.

dude if u change your mind....about inches...the best u can do to yourself is to buy a Xperia Z3 tablet!I have it about a year now and i can't even think to buy another tablet!Best battery ever,snapdragon powered,3 gb ram,waterproof,led,vibration,fm radio,quickcharge v2...sd card...but the best part is it's unbelievable battery life..if u read the forums u'll see how happy the Z3 owners really are!it's your choise dude...i hope i helped..

kos25k said:
dude if u change your mind....about inches...the best u can do to yourself is to buy a Xperia Z3 tablet!I have it about a year now and i can't even think to buy another tablet!Best battery ever,snapdragon powered,3 gb ram,waterproof,led,vibration,fm radio,quickcharge v2...sd card...but the best part is it's unbelievable battery life..if u read the forums u'll see how happy the Z3 owners really are!it's your choise dude...i hope i helped..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Definitely a rock solid option, not seeing any 4gLTE choices but that's not the end of the world, could always hotspot off my phone
EDIT Just kidding, i'm seeing it now, z4 also looks pretty cool, albeit a little expensive

it has LTE dude! http://gsmversus.com/sony-xperia-z3-tablet-compact/zte-blade-x3/

kos25k said:
it has LTE dude! http://gsmversus.com/sony-xperia-z3-tablet-compact/zte-blade-x3/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was reaaaaally hoping for a 9" model, or even a 10", but I can probably dig the 8" model. Have to see if I can find one in a similar size at a store to mess with

y can always try the superb kindle fire hdx 8.9 inches!i think there is a port to install android!