I am once again disappointed in the dollar to sterling conversion

As per verses, I am once again disappointed in people’s insistence on comparing apples to oranges. Add the VAT on, in the same way US buyers will add sales tax on, and at todays exchange rate the price you pay is a shocking £5.40 more than the us price 😉

Why do these things have such piffling little amounts of memory? I have more than 16gb worth of music, and my collection isn’t that massive. Add in a few films/TV programs and 16BG is useless really, never mind 8GB.

‘cos they want you to use google cloud services, which is after all what google is all about (I have 6000 tracks on google music for example).

Well, as storage costs so little, why shouldn’t I?

The counter argument is, when data access costs so little and is so prevalent, why should you bother?

Also kind of depends on where you are based, and where you’re likely to use it. Mobile device with mobile data is something I’d want when I’m away, not at home. 3G roaming makes it uneconomical for that “everything in the cloud” concept. 3 hour drive from here can get me in to 5 different countries, 5 hour drive in to a further 2.

Then the “unlimited” data, seems to be, well, “limited” 😉 (Friend got a rollocking from GiffGaff for using too much data on their “unlimited” 3G. Apparently “unlimited” really means “unlimited general surfing and checking email etc.”, not downloading a movie and 3 albums.)

So I would certainly be wanting local storage, at least for a decent portion of MP3’s etc. Can still have everything in “the cloud” too.

Oh and a microSD slot would be very very useful indeed.

Cougar – get where your coming from. But sometimes you’ve just got to switch off the phone and let fate hit you square in the face with a haddock.

We’ve had utterly disappointing anniversary meals for all 7 of our anniversaries, technology could destroy this streak and my anecdote library would be the poorer for it.

lol brassneck

Hhmm, was going to splash out on a galaxy tab2 7, looks like it has been a catalyst for cheap 7 inch tabs to come to market.

Should wait I guess…..

Not sure I like the widescreen ratio – good for watching movies, not so great for readings magazines, A4 documents etc.

And a bit odd that they skimped on the SD slot – surely that is a key advantage of Android over IPad?

When is it due out?

Pretty soon I think? 2-3 weeks?

cos they want you to use google cloud services, which is after all what google is all about (I have 6000 tracks on google music for example).

Didnt think we could get Google Music in the UK yet?

I’d assume they’d need to launch it with the tablet. It’d also explain why the tablet is most definitely not available everywhere

When is it due out?

Shipments of the 16Gb one that’ll be sold retail to hit retailers in the UK on the 20th, on sale shortly after, is the word.

Didnt think we could get Google Music in the UK yet?

Not officially, no.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t use it.

This week I’ve been in London. Before leaving the flat, I can get up-to-the-second bus timings on my phone to see what’s due at the stop outside. I see that there’s a bus in a minute and another in ten. I know that I’ve no chance of making the first but can finish my coffee at my leisure and still easily make the second. On the bus to the Tube station I don’t know how to get to where I’m going but I can fire up a Tube route planner. It tells me the optimal route, taking into account engineering works which mean I have to take a bus replacement service. I text my OH and let her know the time I’ll be arriving. Once at the Tube, the platform signs are down, but that’s ok because TFL expose this information to an API; to wit, there’s an app for that. I know now there’s a Tube due in two minutes.

On the tube, it’s a boring ride, so I stick my headphones in and settle back with some music and an eBook.

At my destination stop, via the bus replacement which was easy to find thanks to the transport guide, I use GPS powered mapping software to work out how best to walk to where I’m going. But I remember, my OH wanted me to pick up some stuff from a chemist, so I search the map for the nearest Boots. There’s three nearby, and I need a bigger store rather than just a corner pharmacy, so I pull up photographs of each storefront to see what they look like. I walk over to the largest, and on my way I check for any offers they’re doing, getting a code for 10% off my next purchase.

I leave Boots, and spot an awesome looking statue opposite. I think, my photography-geek mates would love that; so I take a picture, hit a button and upload it to Twi…

Then the battery runs out, I have no idea where I am or where I’m going as I’ve relied on the phone to tell me what to do. I try to find a payphone but there’s none about as BT have removed them due to lack of use. I sit in the street hugging my knees and sobbing until a kindly police officer gives me directions.

ftfy. 😀

I find it mildly amusing that you think that London no longer has phone boxes yet still has kindly policemen.

But I remember, my OH wanted me to pick up some stuff from a chemist

I can’t believe you needed to rely on your own memory.

With all this technology available at our fingertips, and you’re still having to think with your own actual brain.

I was interested until i saw the woeful lack of memory….as a fully paid up Android fanboy i think forcing users to move to cloud based storage will back fire eventually and as long as Apple keep offering 32Gb+ storage on their phones and tablets then the smart money will continue to go there….hurt me to say that, anyway….

….also disappointed it hasnt got 3G connectivity, Wi-Fi is fine in my house when it can happily leach off my home hub thingy but what about in the car etc?….you’re then at the mercy of Wi-Fi hotspots or turning your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot for the tablet to use but this of course eats into the data allowance of the phone contract.

I’m still really struggling with the tablet concept.
Apart from the larger screen they dont seem to offer anything more than a decent smartphone….i cant put all my laptop pictures, music, videos on one due to lack of memory….connectivity away from the home is likely to be hit and miss….they lack the external ports and connections for HDMI, printers etc….they’re neither fish nor fowl, surely the point of IT is to make life easier?…less physical clutter around the house etc etc….none of these tablets are good enough for me to ditch my laptop so i’d end up with a smartphone, a tablet and a laptop!….WTF?!….no thanks, i’ll stick to a smartphone and laptop for now cheers.

I had in my ‘to-do’ list, and the meal was in our shared calendar so I didn’t forget what we’d arranged. (-:

In seriousness, I do take the point about over-reliance. Following tech (eg, satnav) blindly is a recipe for disaster; plenty of anecdotal stories around of people driving into rivers because their GPS told them to.

It’s no excuse to disengage your brain. The fact of the matter is that without the tech I still could have looked at tube maps on the station walls, worked out routes manually, asked a local where the nearest shop was etc etc. Point is, it just makes things so much simpler having such a powerful tool to hand in such a conveniently portable format. Why would I not use it? How many people buy an iPhone and only ever use it to send text messages and play Angry Birds? Now that’s madness.

I could similarly suggest that nailguns are fantastic. You could argue “well, they are until the battery runs out, then you’re screwed” or “what’s wrong with hammers?”. But if I’ve actually got a nailgun, and choose instead to knock nails in with the heel of my shoe, well, then I’m a bloody idiot.

Mm, nailguns.

this of course eats into the data allowance of the phone contract.

Still seems more cost-effective to have a single larger data contract than two discrete smaller ones, n’est-ce pas?

I’m still really struggling with the tablet concept.

Me too, TBH. I don’t really have a need, personally, for a laptop-replacement tablet. The 7″ form factor appeals because it’s then something that can live in a coat pocket, but so is a phone.

I think some of your arguments are short sighted though. Hit and miss connectivity? Between wifi and tethering to the phone that’s most bases covered; in the event that neither of those are available, your laptop won’t fare any better. Ports and connections? Really, when was the last time you plugged a printer into a laptop? Cables are so last year.

HDMI does seem to be a bit of a dropped ball on the N7 though. The prototypes had a proper HDMI port, but it’d appear that the production model doesn’t even have MHL, which is lunacy.

you can buy a 500gb portable drive that creates its own wireless network for around £150 – large devices are a thing of the past IMO

Cougar you cheeky sod, i plugged my printer into the laptop to print work stuff off just this week!….i’m not down with the kids yet re. wireless printing.

Part of my confusion with tablets is that my smartphone has become the tool i use away from the home to watch videos on, listen to music, play games, keep my diary, sat-nav etc etc….i only really now use a laptop when i need to do some typing for work or uni….basically smartphones have become so good i’m struggling to see where a tablet fits in….if smartphones were crap, like they were not too many years ago then i’d be first in line for a tablet….it just seems like an IT accessory for the sake of it.

I have an HTC Flyer I got for £189 (would have been £8 less but they denied my cashback claim). It does have a micro SD card reader and HDMI output (via an adapter). I can take the SD card out of my camera after a ride and immediately do a slideshow in the pub. I was sceptical at first but it’s much better for viewing websites than a phone!

Cougar you cheeky sod, i plugged my printer into the laptop to print work stuff off just this week!….i’m not down with the kids yet re. wireless printing.

There’s a weird / wired pun here somewhere I’m sure. (-:

I’m more and more coming to the conclusion these days that cables are really only appropriate for permanent connections. For example, at home I have a printer directly connected to a desktop PC acting as a home ‘server’. Portable devices print over wifi to that PC.

smartphones have become so good i’m struggling to see where a tablet fits in.

That’s pretty much where I’m coming from. What you’re gaining, primarily, is screen real estate. And when your phone display is 960×540 you’re not gaining a heck of a lot with a 1024×600 tablet. You could get the same effect by simply holding your phone closer to your face.

You could get the same effect by simply holding your phone closer to your face.

not very useful if 10 people are looking on 🙂

I was interested until i saw the woeful lack of memory….as a fully paid up Android fanboy i think forcing users to move to cloud based storage will back fire eventually and as long as Apple keep offering 32Gb+ storage on their phones and tablets then the smart money will continue to go there….hurt me to say that, anyway….

I can’t really see the problem myself. I have a 16GB phone and a 16GB ipad and neither is near full. Depends what you are after I suppose, but storage space isn’t a biggy for me.

That’s pretty much where I’m coming from. What you’re gaining, primarily, is screen real estate. And when your phone display is 960×540 you’re not gaining a heck of a lot with a 1024×600 tablet. You could get the same effect by simply holding your phone closer to your face.

Many people struggle to see what’s on an iphone screen because it’s so small, and holding it closer is no use if you can’t focus on it.

Many people struggle to see what’s on an iphone screen because it’s so small

Do they?? Do you mean old people, possibly with cataracts?

glenh….agree with you re. memory, i have 500-odd tracks on my ipod….it totals 4Gb space, makes no odds to me whether i have this music on my phone or separate on a dedicated MP3 player but i have friends with 10,000 tracks (of shit mainly) on their ipods and who carry around episodes of TV shows to watch later….for them storage is important.

Also if i bought a tablet i’d like to be able to ditch the laptop, therefore i’d need enough memory to move across all my work and uni stuff, all the photos on there, etc etc….just doesnt seem feasible at the moment, i’d like a tablet with Wi-Fi and 3G compatibility, the kind of memory that Netbooks have at least (i cant see that impinging on form factor too much) and HDMI connection….not too much to ask is it?

I’ve just tried to pre order one off Play+ and it can’t do it..

HoHum..

Does this mean they’ve sold bucket loads and I’m last in line?

GrahamS – Member
Many people struggle to see what’s on an iphone screen because it’s so small
Do they?? Do you mean old people, possibly with cataracts?

No, I mean most people over 45 or so, who are presbyopic (which happens to everyone eventually).

An while I’m not that age myself yet, reading text on most web pages on an iphone is pretty difficult for me (although that could improved significantly if the damn browser did some text reflow).

Turn phone into landscape, double tap text to zoom to paragraph level. That makes most sites very readable (including this one) even for the over 45s.

HDMI connection….not too much to ask is it?

I was thinking about this, and my earlier comments about wires.

DLNA is the solution, I’d hazard.

Why do these things have such piffling little amounts of memory? I have more than 16gb worth of music, and my collection isn’t that massive. Add in a few films/TV programs and 16BG is useless really, never mind 8GB.

Flash memory is getting cheaperer and cheaperer. Hell, you can get a 32GB SD card for less than £20 retail, so why do these tablets not have at least 64GB?

So far, in iTunes, and on my iPod Classic, I have around 102Gb of music, 12954 tracks, and unlike a previous poster’s friends, none of it’s shit; the crap doesn’t make it to the hard drive. (I still have plenty of discs I haven’t ripped yet, and there’s always new stuff and borrowed stuff to add).
My 32Gb iPhone is struggling for space, what with all the OS maps in Viewranger and UK Map, and CoPilot Live, the photos, my ebooks, so I’m really hoping the 5, when it comes out, will have 64Gb, but 128Gb would be lovely.
Flash memory is cheap, but my understanding is that the SS memory used in mobile devices and SSD’s is very different to jump drives and SD cards, you can now get 64Gb drives for less than thirty quid, but a 64Gb SDXC card will cost £84, down from £120 a short while ago, and £750 eighteen months or so ago… 😯
Memory isn’t all the same, hence the price differences.
I’m sure some smart-arse will ask why I have all that music with me; it’s because I can. Cloud storage is fine, but useless for streaming when all you get is 1Gb/month data. I used to use 500Mb/week just listening to three or four hours of 6Music a day, so streaming is out of the question.
Waiting for the day I can buy a mobile phone with 256Gb of storage… 😀
BTW, my iPad is 64Gb, and that has the whole of the UK OS1:50k mapping in Viewranger, plus selected 1:25k, and CoPilot, mainly because I just can’t get everything on the phone.
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