Amazon tipped to launch three new Kindle tablets in 2012

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

OK, I'm just going to sum this "Kindle Fire on Vacation" thing up before this becomes a dead horse.

IF YOU GO ON VACATION FOR A WEEK TO A LOVELY SCENIC VISTA AND DON'T SPEND THE **ENTIRE TIME** GAZING AT THE SCENERY, PREFERABLY WHILE WEARING VICTORIAN-ERA CLOTHES, YOU ARE A BAD PERSON.

Because if you just want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and drink in some clean air while maybe catching a flick that you didn't have time for whilst at home, you have failed to live up to other peoples' expectations of how to live your life.

And you all need to get a haircut and get off my damned lawn.

You left out the steampunk accessories. Victorian era clothes need steampunk accessories.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

That is what Steve made you believe --- but that is not the reality.

No i think for myself that was rude.

this is the trend and sorry you dont like but there will be something for you to buy. maybe not much choice but something because as you sayspecial niche cases uses around like dot matrix printers (not in my job) used in auto shop for receits. no one use dot matrix at home.

Stilus not returning still used a minority of cases and is very small among all smartphone and tablet users. only samsung and its 5 million tabs but that is a small number compared to market

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

No i think for myself that was rude.

this is the trend and sorry you dont like but there will be something for you to buy. maybe not much choice but something because as you sayspecial niche cases uses around like dot matrix printers (not in my job) used in auto shop for receits. no one use dot matrix at home.

Stilus not returning still used a minority of cases and is very small among all smartphone and tablet users. only samsung and its 5 million tabs but that is a small number compared to market

Sorry, I had no intention to be rude, and I don't think I was. But even if YOU don't need such things (and I am sure you could find them very useful if you actually had them), then it wouldn't hurt you either if (for example) the very same iPad3 had an expansion slot hidden somewhere? How would that be bad for you?

Samsung brought the stylus back on one device and it has been a rousing success (5 million phones in just a few months). So much so, that they now will bring out more devices. Give it another year and you will see more and more. Having a stylus is just so much better, taking handwritten notes, hitting small links without zooming in and out. Increasing DPI and seeing more on screen.

And look at the 10s of millions of styli that are being sold for phones and tablets. Sorry, just because Apple decides to do away with something doesn't mean that there aren't 10s of millions of users who don't want or need it. Quite often you like a device and you say "no stylus, no mircoSD? Sigh, I wish this device had it but I will buy it anyway".

Again, if you had the very same tablet (same size, same look, same specs) and there were a stylus and an expansion slot integrated inside, how would that not make for a better device? Not everybody would see a need, but many do. We shouldn't accept device makers "my way or the highway" to force us to accept inferior products just so that they can make a few more bucks.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

How would that be bad for you?

Arguably by adding cost and complexity.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

Again, if you had the very same tablet (same size, same look, same specs) and there were a stylus and an expansion slot integrated inside, how would that not make for a better device?

price

complexity

oother part to replace o repair

Most touchs screen phones do not use stylus. not android not apple not windows 7.5

most never will. only minority

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by ScotiaBurrell

price

complexity

oother part to replace o repair

Most touchs screen phones do not use stylus. not android not apple not windows 7.5

most never will. only minority

All these never were a problem before the first iphone, Windows had it, Palm had it. Everybody had it and it never cost more. Android ICS actually is specifically designed to make full use of a stylus's capabilities. So it is coming back. And my maint point being --- they are not charging less now that they have taken the styli away? And Samsung isn't charging more for giving us one.

[petermillard]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

All these never were a problem before the first iphone...

Yes they were! I lost three phones in a year due to dust ingress through a card slot, the company I worked for at the time replaced dozens of phones because of this problem, and had to bulk buy replacement stylii because people were always losing them.

AFAIK Samsung only quote units shipped (into the sales channel) rather than sold (to customers) and whilst personally, my days of pointing at a screen with a little stick are long past, if people want that then it's good to have the choice I guess. Never seen one in the wild though.

[HappyMartin]

I have finally come to the realization that the issue around those who do and those who do not require expansion slots is about movies. Never watched a movie on my tablet or laptop. Cant imagine I ever will but then I watch a movie about once a year.

I can see how an expansion slot would be important if you watch movies. I was wondering what all the storage space was for. Call me slow

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

I have finally come to the realization that the issue around those who do and those who do not require expansion slots is about movies. Never watched a movie on my tablet or laptop. Cant imagine I ever will but then I watch a movie about once a year.

I can see how an expansion slot would be important if you watch movies. I was wondering what all the storage space was for. Call me slow

Actually we use old laptops to hook them up to TVs and watch InternetTV that way. Also a great way to watch something off the hard disk or an SD card. I even do that in hotel rooms with my phone, since local TV usually stinks to high heavens and some hotels charge like US 20.- a night for internet access (that is what we pay for a whole month of 15MB down/2MB up fiber optics service at home).

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by petermillard

Yes they were! I lost three phones in a year due to dust ingress through a card slot, the company I worked for at the time replaced dozens of phones because of this problem, and had to bulk buy replacement stylii because people were always losing them.

AFAIK Samsung only quote units shipped (into the sales channel) rather than sold (to customers) and whilst personally, my days of pointing at a screen with a little stick are long past, if people want that then it's good to have the choice I guess. Never seen one in the wild though.

So shouldn't we demand that the manufacturers make decent quality devices instead of just leaving out items? Besides, it is not easy to lose a pen when it has a good slot inside the housing. I never lost mine on such a device (and on those screens anything could be used to control the screen). And let us take the case of the Galaxy Note. In case you do lose the stylus, even if you don't get a new one, the device is still as good as a device that came without stylus in the first place!

In Asia the Samsung note is all over the place. It is an absolute hit among the Chinese since many of them prefer handwriting input over keyboards.

[plib]

Originally Posted by petermillard

Yes they were! I lost three phones in a year due to dust ingress through a card slot, the company I worked for at the time replaced dozens of phones because of this problem, and had to bulk buy replacement stylii because people were always losing them.

Then you've either had extraordinary bad luck or their employees were extraordinarily careless. Devices with card slots have been around for years and I've never heard of anyone having to replace "dozens of phones", or any other card slotted device because of "dust ingress".

Sorry, I call FUD.

[ScotiaBurrell]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

So it is coming back..

Shaky proof time will tell.

[HansTWN]

Originally Posted by plib

Then you've either had extraordinary bad luck or their employees were extraordinarily careless. Devices with card slots have been around for years and I've never heard of anyone having to replace "dozens of phones", or any other card slotted device because of "dust ingress".

Sorry, I call FUD.

If someone's phone broke down due to dust in the microSD card slot then he is just as likely to have a major malfunctioning from dust getting into an iPhone style SIM slot.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

So shouldn't we demand that the manufacturers make decent quality devices

"We?" If by "we" you mean the broad consumer market, "we" have already spoken loudly and clearly: We want it cheap, quality be darned. Else, Panasonic Toughbooks and Dolch like we used in the military, would be the best selling laptops, and most device casings would be made of metal, not plastic, and new generations of devices would come out years apart after long and thorough test cycles funded by the high prices we are willing to pay.

We have spoken: "We want inexpensive stuff that's just good enough!"

Some things get cheap by sacrificing overall quality, some do it by trimming out features. I personally prefer the latter, hence I have a Fire, and not some $99 no-name tablet found on ebay.

ApK

[ApK]

Originally Posted by HansTWN

If someone's phone broke down due to dust in the microSD card slot then he is just as likely to have a major malfunctioning from dust getting into an iPhone style SIM slot.

If the SD slot was inside the phone, under the battery, rarely exposed, and almost NEVER touched, like the sim slot is, then yes.
But if the slot is on the outside, and people actually use it by taking a card out and putting one in from time to time, then no.

But I am curious as to why an external SD slot would make a device any more vulnerable than a much more frequently used USB port.