Phone, Tablet and Gizmo Thread #0x02

ArmenT · Post by **ArmenT** » 16 Jan 2013 12:37

My brother was in Vegas for CES and picked up an xi3 modular computer (model X5A) -- you can't buy them in stores yet. Now that he's unpacked it, his initial views are somewhat mixed about it. He got a 32 GB SSD model so he could run Windows on it. With Windows 7 Pro + service packs + couple of software packages, he's down to about 7.5 GB.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 16 Jan 2013 16:44

Yelp also tends to read like a roster of complaints rather than a collection of reviews. Product reviews tend to be much more fleshed out, objective and useful than service reviews. Non-corporate services are subjective and interpersonal so it is only natural to ask for referrals from people you know. Services vary a lot in anyways.

Amazon has an awesome review systems going on. I bet a good chunk of its traffic is driven by reviews.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 16 Jan 2013 16:47

sai i used to have a sony erricson p1i, that my FIL used to use back in India. iirc GSM 900/1800. used to work ok with ATT and is currently back in service as a phone with my FIL. He used to say it is better to buy phones in India.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jan 2013 17:03

Are cheap but functional phones like karbonn and micromax available in usa market?
Nobody seems to talk below a galaxy s2 in usa market...can u just buy a unlocked cheap phone and take up a basic talktime plan?

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 16 Jan 2013 17:15

dont know about those particular brands but you do get supposedly cheap phones. there are also smaller carriers who are supposed to piggy back on ATT, Sprint and VZ networks. I dont know much about them, but am trying to see if they are any good.

Given our phone usage, i'm seriously considering dumping the big vendors and their contracts. Where I live ATT always had a poor service, it has worsened after the last hurricane.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 16 Jan 2013 17:21

with ATT & VZ if you have a smart phone, you must take a data plan which comes to 60$ a pop for a family.
Basic talk time for VZ is 40$ per line. Dumb fone is 30$ per line.
basically with a minimum of two fones you are looking at minimum of 60$ pm.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 16 Jan 2013 18:55

Sounds like american telcos are proud balatkaris.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 16 Jan 2013 19:29

All post paid plans do a yearly contract thing to hook you in. Even if you go month by month after the contract, you will usually renew it to get an upgraded phone. and the cycle continues.

Even if you pony up cash upfront and get an unlocked new phone for 600 or so, you don't have that much cheaper prepaid voice+text+data plans that make up the difference. Maybe a $10 to $20 difference between postpaid and prepaid on similar plans. The only advantage with prepaid is you can stop it any month without a credit rating hit.

India has good plans..I had a good plan and then I observed my usage pattern and switched to another provider who had a plan close to my pattern. Simple as that. Buying a phone plan in the US is like a huge decision and headache..lol.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 16 Jan 2013 19:31

oh ya balatkar and all they do nicely. efficient money collection, carefully worded contracts, revenue optimized plans etc, these and all they have reduced to a science really.

but not service, though. service is based solidly on the well-honed science of sweet-spoken impersonal non-commitment. for eg., they will sell you locked fones. but if something goes wrong with it, nobody owns up to the product they all sold, they will make you run around from carrier to manufacturer to retailer. for my problem finally i had to rely on google chacha to solve it. technically you have emails, chats, and 1800s for service. but you dont actually get any service, when you have out of the book problems.

in my experience with service in india has been opposite. pain to reach, but once you get their attention, 99% of the time people have gone out of the way to solve the problem. like, one engg gave me his personal fone number and really dug around to solve it. not once have i seen that level of commitment here.

cable is another. we have avoided cable-tv for a many years now. basic channels in US are all over the air digital and free. but you still need to do business with either cable companies or telephone companies for internet. and in most parts of the country they have carved out the market and are for all practical purposes monopolies.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 16 Jan 2013 19:45

that has been my conclusion too Gus. you are right. i did some analysis and concluded that paying monthly fees is like putting money in the tirupathi hundi. both places value of contribution and the returns are speculative. with tirupathi atleast there is a better sthala purana and a more egalitarian story.

in real terms, 99% of fone connection to network is through wifi. We already know our neighbourhood. When we travelled out of it, a paid for once standalone GPS unit provides more than sufficient support for localization and orientation.

considering that over the period of contract we end up paying atleast 2000$ for services barely used, pardon me if i come across as bitter.

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 16 Jan 2013 19:48

micromax and karbonn 10k android phones are not quad band and wont work in US. They are targeted for markets like India.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 17 Jan 2013 22:34

Google dreams up tiny laser projection system to control Project Glass

Tom Chi in the patent is an ex-SKSC fella.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 17 Jan 2013 22:49

shaardula - my requirement is for massa. I only need the desh service for SMS, perhaps calls only when some banks call me for verifications.

negi · Post by **negi** » 18 Jan 2013 06:07

Singha wrote:Sounds like american telcos are proud balatkaris.

They were charging me 10 cents per call per minute (local onlee) for prepaid.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 18 Jan 2013 06:45

negi wrote:
Singha wrote:Sounds like american telcos are proud balatkaris.
They were charging me 10 cents per call per minute (local onlee) for prepaid.

If you taking about pure calls then it should be 45 per month prepaind and no contracts. Getting data is frustrating. My bro visited SFO recently and he took the same deal.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jan 2013 07:38

I am thinking of getting the micromax canvas2 (white one) for my wife. its specs looks ok and screen in 5" IPS. and it will surely be totally outdated in 3 yrs which makes its 10k price look good vs 35k for a note/S3.
thats a good model for unlocked phone upg cycle and un x-subsidized voice call plans here.

other option is andi 4.5h from iBall.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 18 Jan 2013 10:13

Singha saar, you can also look at Lava Xolo 800 (white), though is 4.5", has higher (960 x 540 Pixels) resolution and has IPS and 16 million color display.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jan 2013 10:14

lava is 245 ppi and canvas2 is 196ppi

is this noticeable in the 4.5 or 5 inch form factor...Ui gurus anyone?

300dpi is the economode of a typical office laser printer.

the ipads range from 250-330ppi a web search shows. but they have much larger screens.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jan 2013 12:18

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/20 ... d-storage/

facebook wants new low cost flash mems to store billions of photos

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jan 2013 12:38

it seems micromax is going to release a canvas 3 this qtr, with a microtek quad core pkg , 5-6" screen, 2600 mah battery and latest android. its claimed you could play games 8 hrs on a full charge....if you care for that.

so it seems worth the while to wait a month because pricing is likely to be in 12.5k range to still keep a gap with the more upmarket brands and sway people.

fanboys are claiming 6" screen, but most say 5" is ok.

microtek is the JF17 of the smartphone chipset play, with tegra, snapdragon,exynos etc being much higher end .... usually found in 20-35K priced models.

but it works and drop a few payload.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 18 Jan 2013 13:05

Singha wrote:lava is 245 ppi and canvas2 is 196ppi

is this noticeable in the 4.5 or 5 inch form factor...Ui gurus anyone?

300dpi is the economode of a typical office laser printer.

the ipads range from 250-330ppi a web search shows. but they have much larger screens.

No its not noticeable unless you want to squint yourself blind like Mullah Omar to figure out a difference. DPI is not even the top characteristic of what makes a display "attractive" in the consumer's perception - its just marketing FUD spread by the Mahdi.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 18 Jan 2013 19:01

SaiK wrote:shaardula - my requirement is for massa. I only need the desh service for SMS, perhaps calls only when some banks call me for verifications.

sai,
I SMS to a friend back home from my ATT. No problems. You dont need any special equipment for that. But for banks be careful. I had a lot of trouble with that when i was setting up online banking for my account. After much digging around, turns out SMS from some channels (like banks) are blocked on the US side.

What I did: spoke/email to the branch manager and changed the fone number on the account changed to my parents' fone. activation was sent to them, and they relayed that info to me. after everything was setup properly, i went back and changed the number again.

Chandragupta · Post by **Chandragupta** » 18 Jan 2013 19:08

What would be a good service provider to go with for a prepaid data connection for eye pad?

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 18 Jan 2013 19:13

Muppalla wrote:
negi wrote: They were charging me 10 cents per call per minute (local onlee) for prepaid.
If you taking about pure calls then it should be 45 per month prepaind and no contracts. Getting data is frustrating. My bro visited SFO recently and he took the same deal.

there are other plans. but yes on an average per minute prices are high.

for data, i'm currently researching straighttalk.

the plans are setup for people on the go. for deskbound people like me, who only occasionally need a connection on the road, this whole setup is basically inefficient. friend of mine got an unlocked fone, and set up a google fone.

there is now a replacement of landline from ATT at 10$ per month with a family plan. basically a cellphone that sits in your home and can be hooked up to your home fone wires. within the house acts like a land line, out of it cellular rather than copper.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jan 2013 19:26

The white canvas 2 is not to be found anywhere . It has sold out in all outlets physical or virtual here.
So i need to wait for the next container from cheen or the canvas 3 which might see a price drop on the 2. Not being a hardcore multitasker, both me and wife shud be fine with a dual core.

habal · Post by **habal** » 18 Jan 2013 21:04

Xolo 900 seems most value for money amongst the lot. Also regular updates by Xolo keeps giving latest Android updates since it's the first major launch from Intel platform. The set is manufactured by Lenovo for Intel, and it seems well put together in iphone5 league.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 18 Jan 2013 21:12

xolo 900 costs 17500 and is clearly not a value priced at that point. you can get galaxy advance for nearly same price and galaxy duos for cheaper.

xolo800 seems more affordable but poor reviews on flipkart.

xolo it seems is owned by lava and unlike MMX and karbonn, lava is a out and out cheen rebrander.

faithfuls are hoping 1Q2013 sees lower priced intel phones

all in all 2013 is gonna be the year to get some rafale style phones in 10K range I hope

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 18 Jan 2013 22:22

LG Optimus Pro G leaked: 5 inch 1080p display

ShauryaT · Post by **ShauryaT** » 19 Jan 2013 01:20

Chandragupta wrote:What would be a good service provider to go with for a prepaid data connection for eye pad?

Verizon. But customer service sucks.

habal · Post by **habal** » 19 Jan 2013 08:41

Best value phones in Indian market are:

LG Optimus L9 (always out-of-stock)
Atrix 2
Xolo 900 (price cut of 2K announced recently due to delayed Jellybean upgrade, you can tweak processor speed without mods or root from default setting itself. from 600mHZ to 1600 Mhz.)
Lenovo K860 (people have got discounts upto 5K on this model)
Xperia Sola (just about makes the grade but handicapped with 512mb RAM, would not have been a problem in iOS but with ICS it is a problem)

rest is not worth considering.

Chandragupta · Post by **Chandragupta** » 19 Jan 2013 09:12

ShauryaT wrote:
Chandragupta wrote:What would be a good service provider to go with for a prepaid data connection for eye pad?
Verizon. But customer service sucks.

Saar talking about desh.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 19 Jan 2013 22:01

Surya wrote:mupalla

let me know how the twisting mechanism holds up

Finally I got my Lenovo Twist ultra book (convertible laptop). The twisting mechanism is only one-way (180 degrees only)to and fro twist. It is not 360 degrees rotation. You twist left side and bring it back using right side twist.

Negatives:
(1) Lenovo took almost a month to deliver. Its shopping card, customer service is the worst I have seen in my online shopping experience so far.
(2) Regarding twist - It is okay and you need to be a kid of 10+. My 3 year old cannot twist from laptop to tablet easily. To get into tablet mode, it takes about two to three seconds after you twist and rest it. Tablet mode means getting automatic screen rotation and on scree keypad when needed etc. (But you can get them by clicking icons)
(3) Since I bought 24GB SDD and 500GB SATA, there is fan and heat etc. Not too much but you have to still think it as laptop. however, if you want truly tablet experience, 128GB SSD model may be good.
(4) Camera is good when someone sees you from the other side on webcam. HD 720p. However, I did not see it good on my own screen. (something I still did not get it). Overall the camera is not up to mark. But pics are good, videos are good.

Folks have complaints around dimming of screen etc. But Lenovo fixed all of them and I did not see any stuff like that.
Positives:
(1) Very fast with 24GB SSD - start screens and other stuff are just split second. No difference from IPADs and other toys
(2) Battery life is about 5 hours. Watched a movie and other videos for 3.5 hours. Pure browsing and text editing, it may cross 5 hours.
(3) The screen size is really impressive in Tablet mode.
(4) The touch is way superior and it is equivalent or IPADs and other toys.
(5) pretty decent keyboard and stylus (stylus pen does not come with it)
(6) Lighter than most laptops and heavier than the tablets
(7) My three year old was able to use the Tablet mode and her favorite mickey clubhouse videos and all those Youtube stuff. However, when giving to three year old you need to remove your apps like window management stuff from being pinned as they can go and repair your laptop.

Regarding Windows 8:
(1) Awesome Awesome Awesome. I really do not want to go back to Win 7 and that is the experience I have. So far I use Win 8 on my Lumia 820 but using it on Laptop is a different experience. Well thought out layout and rich user interface with smooth changes. The comment that you read negative of Win 8 are all pure and simple sour grapes.
(2) IE10 beats out any thing in both touch mode and mouse/key mode. Going to back page is touch/click on the right side and forward page is touch/click on the right side
(3) Tiles, Metro type layout is very flexible. In this framework, the apps ensure that the entire real estate is used and no menus, status bars take away the space. A touch above or just a right click or WIN+Z key stroke give you tabs for IE10
(4) The apps that are not written for Windows 8 like GTalk, they come as tiles on the start screen but when you click it takes you to the desktop app (looks like Win7). In desktop there is IE 10 that looks like the Win7 based IE.
(5) Closing apps, there is no close button and it is annoying for some but that is just a psychological problem. Microsoft's automatic garbage collector in its .NET framework is extended to apps as well. It will close for you on its own. If you want to close them you can still drag them using mouse and touch to bottom or left side and remove. You don't need to close at all.
(6) Going to search, start screens or switching apps is a 2 yr kid's work. Several options. All that you can do in IPAD can be done and there are options far more than IPAD.

Negatives: It is a touch culture and not a mouse/keyboard culture that needs to be adopted. But it is very easy with mouse and keyboard too. For some it may be annoying (sour grapes) to learn another 10 click or key commands

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 19 Jan 2013 22:27

(4) The touch is way superior and it is equivalent or IPADs and other toys.

A birdie tells me that Mickey has very strict performance specs for Win8 HW without which OEMs don't get to ship Win8 devices (one of reasons for a slow ramp up of Win8 devices). The touch is one such requirement which had many OEMs crying Paki becoz they had to give up on cheaper crappier solutions which they used earlier for lower price points. But that also made some very specific touchscreen vendors a ton of money notably the ones which used to supply touch windows and ASICs exclusively to Fruit Co. One can expect some financial arm wrestling b/w Fruit Co and Mickey in the future regarding who gets to hog capacity for sourcing certain components.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 19 Jan 2013 22:27

archan wrote:
SaiK wrote:okay, pooching again.. which device that would suite me to hold say an att or verizon line on the gsm device, with a dual sim card that i can slam an indic airtel-world-sim card?

single device, two service points is what I am aiming at. any thoughts?
Wouldn't any half decent dual sim GSM "world" phone do that (AT&T/Airtel combo)? I suppose its only a matter of supporting frequencies?

Now I am thinking about this:

Theo_Fidel wrote:Guard your unmentionables folks!

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Man ... 317035.ece
Cellphone explodes killing man

A 27-year-old youth from Bihar was killed when his mobile phone, which he plugged in for charging, exploded in a building near Konaje on the outskirts of the city on Wednesday.

The incident occurred when Mithun Sahni, who migrated from Fatheli village in Bihar to work in a brick kiln in Malar padavu village here, was watching a video on his Chinese-brand mobile phone when an electricity supply fluctuation reportedly triggered an explosion at the base of the mobile where the charger had been plugged in, said the police.

Mr. Sahni, who was reclining while watching the video, had kept the phone on his chest. The explosion caused severe injuries to his chest, and his left hand that was supporting the phone. He was declared brought dead, the police added.

Mithun Sahni and his father had been staying in a small room connected to Venkatesh Hollow Brick Works. Police officials said the electricity arrangements at the room was “ad hoc” and lacked proper earthing.

Raja Bose · Post by **Raja Bose** » 19 Jan 2013 22:29

^^Lance Armstrong is only 50% threatened by that.

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 20 Jan 2013 08:13

thanks muppalla

and the twist mechanism feels solid??

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 20 Jan 2013 08:22

Surya wrote:thanks muppalla

and the twist mechanism feels solid??

Yes. I did not see any issues as I used it several times since the last two days. But not toddler operatable. It is mechanical and turns only to and fro in 180 degrees.

Few more things that I found after my previous post:

The mouse pad has several variations of touch. I can do switching between apps using a swipe on the mouse just like you touch on the screen. Interesting as I explore more.

Definitely good and I will be loading all my apps such as SQL Server, Visual studio web servers etc in the coming days. They all will be Win7 style desktop apps as Microsoft is yet to convert everything to Metro style apps.

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 20 Jan 2013 09:25

I keep hearing that some of the micromax phones especially the canvas 2 is made someplace in Haryana. If thats true then it needs to be encouraged. Though there is not much to mention in terms of the prevalent supply industries in India for mobile manufacturing maybe its the high volumes of these phones which might have convinced the micromax folks to "manufacture" them here. Maybe by "manufacturing" they mean assembling of components sourced some place from China. There is anyway zero import duty on mobiles from South East Asia with the projected electronics imports in this category slated to overtake gold imports.

Maybe its time to impose duties and ensure that all these components manufacturing facilities are set from the scratch up here in India just like the automobile industry was set up.

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 20 Jan 2013 09:28

Transporter dude sucks in gizmos dept, he rocks in selection of the cars but fails in the gizmos. For example, he drives a Audi but doesnt have bluetooth in it. He speaks on the phone all the time.

"I am listening" would be a lot cooler if it came from the car speakers.

Vayutuvan · Post by **Vayutuvan** » 20 Jan 2013 10:17

Muppalla garu, thanks. I will have to look closely at Lenovo. As I said before, I was quite impressed with ATIV too, the advantage being that the screen can be completely detached and is very light, but the con is that it has only dual core. I really really need the quad core. What I want to test is a DLL (which is accessible from a command line exe) which is compiled with VS 2005/VS 2008 on Vista. Probably will get the machine when it becomes a little more widely available.