OT Tablets are cheap!

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Galaxy...pr_product_top

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7-Inch, White) with Wi-Fi

$180

No contract?

John Doe wrote:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7-Inch, White) with Wi-Fi

$180

No contract?

I bought a no-name Droid tablet for ~$40 a couple months back. Got a
different model at the same time for ~$30 (clearance; I got the last one).
Wi-fi support included with both.

--
As usual, if you or any of your team are caught or killed we will
disavow any knowledge and laugh atcha'ass

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7-Inch, White) with Wi-Fi
$180

Currently $150 at Newegg.

Lenovo IdeaTab new model 8" version for $180 or less.

Dell Venue 8" for ~$170.

Stock Android apparently with no bloatware and only two or three
Dell applications.

I don't think it has MHL TV/monitor driving capability. But
apparently it can be used with Airdroid to manage the tablet from
your PC.

Intel dual core CPU "up to 2 GHz". I suppose that means power
management keeps it lower when unneeded. I see some quad core
no-name CPUs that probably are slower. Has a lot to do with
process management.

On Dell's website, several customer reviews complain about
freezing. But then I start reading verified purchaser reviews and
see only one complaint about freezing.

I suppose the only thing one buys into here is the operating system.
And since Microsoft is gung ho for H1B visa outsourcing, it's not
going to be Windows. Not that the makers of android are any better,
but I suppose android is the next most popular operating system.

John Doe wrote:
I suppose the only thing one buys into here is the operating system.
And since Microsoft is gung ho for H1B visa outsourcing, it's not
going to be Windows. Not that the makers of android are any better,
but I suppose android is the next most popular operating system.

Microsoft is willing to compete head to head.
And this is how they'll do it. That's a slide
from the recent "Build" conference.

http://i59.tinypic.com/33yhp2v.jpg

When Google gives away Android, a $15 or so license
fee has to be paid to Microsoft for the patents. Whereas
now, a manufacturer building a Windows small device,
can get their OS for less than that (fewer licensing
issues, no $50 OEM fee). Microsoft is probably making
more money off other people's OSes, than their own, via
the patents.

And with the recent Nokia purchase (splitting the Nokia company
into two pieces), the second half of Nokia will be
turned into a patent troll. And you can imagine
for what purpose. Microsoft purposely did not
acquire the patent portfolio, so the second half
of Nokia could collect more fees. Otherwise, any
umbrella agreements Microsoft has negotiated in the
past, would mean the new patents would be part of the
package.

That's how Microsoft will compete openly and
honestly with others... Just like the Microsoft
of old, the one we all know and love. /s

You can try your price check in a years time,
and see where things sit then.

Paul

On 4/9/2014 10:44 PM, Auric__ wrote:
John Doe wrote:

Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 (7-Inch, White) with Wi-Fi

$180

No contract?

I bought a no-name Droid tablet for ~$40 a couple months back. Got a
different model at the same time for ~$30 (clearance; I got the last one).
Wi-fi support included with both.


Big Lots often has off-brand tablets for about $50.00.

Lenovo Yoga...

That is a cool design. Cylindrical batteries are probably cheaper and
better. Provides a place to grip it. Provides a kickstand for better
viewing. Might be better for the circuit board not having the battery
in the area. And adds a convenient place for the left and right
speakers.

I went with a factory refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8" plus a
64 GB micro SD card for a total of $200. I'm certain that the
Galaxy is legitimately factory refurbished. I'm wondering whether
it will have the plastic cling on the front and back and whether
it will include the $10 Google Play credit. I suppose the greatest
concern with it being refurbished is the battery.

One reason I went with the Galaxy is because it includes $3000
worth of software... It appears to include some Nuance speech
recognition stuff and maybe some other speech related payware like
text to speech. That will be fun, at least finding out whether
such a small device can facilitate speech. Text to speech should
be usable given half decent sounding voices. Speech to text is
probably usable for command-and-control, but dictation requires
significant hardware. That is, unless they pipe dictation to a
Nuance server for translation, in which case Wi-Fi must be
present. Most fun would be setting up a system of speech activated
scripting like on my PC. It probably wouldn't take much more than
what's already there, but I suppose it's unlikely.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Gala...item35d31c8792

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Samsung-...item258db77faa

Brand-new Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8 GB Tablet - 7" - White

$114 total (USA)

Shipping was extremely fast (two days). The shipping packaging was
minimal and risky. There was a 1/4 inch crunch on one side of the
sturdy "refurbished" box. Fortunately it wasn't on the side where
the device is right up against the cardboard cover. There is a
tiny almost unnoticeable scratch/dent on one of the device
corners. It obviously was hit or dropped by a user or worker. Zero
scratches anywhere else, pristine. Not all of the clingy plastic
was removed, some of the thin plastic strips along the edge and
the large piece on the back were in place. No Google apps $10
certificate. I sense nothing wrong with how it works. It's a
a very good deal IMO if that turns out to be correct.

In ,
John Doe typed:
I went with a factory refurbished Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8" plus a
64 GB micro SD card for a total of $200. I'm certain that the
Galaxy is legitimately factory refurbished. I'm wondering whether
it will have the plastic cling on the front and back and whether
it will include the $10 Google Play credit. I suppose the greatest
concern with it being refurbished is the battery.

One reason I went with the Galaxy is because it includes $3000
worth of software... It appears to include some Nuance speech
recognition stuff and maybe some other speech related payware like
text to speech. That will be fun, at least finding out whether
such a small device can facilitate speech. Text to speech should
be usable given half decent sounding voices. Speech to text is
probably usable for command-and-control, but dictation requires
significant hardware. That is, unless they pipe dictation to a
Nuance server for translation, in which case Wi-Fi must be
present. Most fun would be setting up a system of speech activated
scripting like on my PC. It probably wouldn't take much more than
what's already there, but I suppose it's unlikely.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-Gala...item35d31c8792

My iRulu $50 7-inch Android 4.2 has speech to text and it uses the
Google servers to do the process. My Windows XP, 7, and 8 tablets do
too, but it does so in the machine itself. My Motion Computing Windows
tablets (LS800, LE1600, LE1700) have three mics. Thus the software knows
if you are talking to the tablet or to somebody else.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Kingston 120GB SSD - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz - 4GB - Windows XP SP2

On Mon, 5 May 2014, John Doe wrote:

Shipping was extremely fast (two days). The shipping packaging was
minimal and risky. There was a 1/4 inch crunch on one side of the
sturdy "refurbished" box. Fortunately it wasn't on the side where
the device is right up against the cardboard cover. There is a
tiny almost unnoticeable scratch/dent on one of the device
corners. It obviously was hit or dropped by a user or worker. Zero
scratches anywhere else, pristine. Not all of the clingy plastic
was removed, some of the thin plastic strips along the edge and
the large piece on the back were in place. No Google apps $10
certificate. I sense nothing wrong with how it works. It's a
a very good deal IMO if that turns out to be correct.

They say a lot of refurbished stuff is simply stuff that got sent back
when the buyer changed their mind. I'm not sure if that reflects reality,
but it does make sense. The refurbishing just being a minor act of making
sure it's all there, and clean.

When I got a netbook, it was refurbished, though sadly it didn't mean a
lower price, just the regular price with an extended warranty tossed in.

Michael

In xample.org,
Michael Black typed:
On Mon, 5 May 2014, John Doe wrote:

Shipping was extremely fast (two days). The shipping packaging was
minimal and risky. There was a 1/4 inch crunch on one side of the
sturdy "refurbished" box. Fortunately it wasn't on the side where
the device is right up against the cardboard cover. There is a
tiny almost unnoticeable scratch/dent on one of the device
corners. It obviously was hit or dropped by a user or worker. Zero
scratches anywhere else, pristine. Not all of the clingy plastic
was removed, some of the thin plastic strips along the edge and
the large piece on the back were in place. No Google apps $10
certificate. I sense nothing wrong with how it works. It's a
a very good deal IMO if that turns out to be correct.

They say a lot of refurbished stuff is simply stuff that got sent back
when the buyer changed their mind. I'm not sure if that reflects
reality, but it does make sense. The refurbishing just being a minor
act of making sure it's all there, and clean.

When I got a netbook, it was refurbished, though sadly it didn't mean
a lower price, just the regular price with an extended warranty
tossed in.

Wow! Extended warranty on refurbished is truly rare. Usually it is just
the opposite and you end up with just a very limit warranty, i.e. 30,
60, and 90 days are very common. And the reason refurbished sells for
less is because the warranty is so much shorter. So where did you get a
refurbished with an extended warranty?

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Kingston 120GB SSD - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz - 4GB - Windows XP SP2