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Laptop vs Tablet

problem is at least around here a 'decent' Android tab is as much if not more the cost of an iDevice.

Yup, you get what you pay for. iPad 16GB in the US is $499, iPad Mini is $329. No doubt you've seen our forum sticky about cheap tablets.

BTW I thought Jellybean wasn't supposed to be laggy. Guangdong Pisen Electronics Co., Ltd. :rolleyes: managed it though. Saw one of their new Jellybean tablets yesterday in a local store, it was terrible. We're starting to see some budget Jellybean devices now, this will be interesting.
 
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Jelly Bean on a Kindle Fire (my best spec tab at this time) seems to be lag-free on transition and other eye candy (using Nova Launcher Prime with Widgetlocker) but the keyboard has a noticeable delay. probably not for most folks but remember i am able to tap out 100 wpm on an iPad. the difference is better than with ICS but i can only manage a lousy 45 wpm at best on it.

Memory tweaks have landed me a perfectly smooth ZTE Merit, despite still using a themed Go Launcher EX Security on it. but it's only used occasionally and that is the pattern that Android GB on it is using. using it too often will still crash it
 
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I'm not sure how things are working in Europe, but in the US a decent laptop will sell for around the same as a high end tablet, and for around 3-4 hundred US dollars you could get a 2.4ghz i5 processor laptop (4gb ram). For less you'd be looking at an i3. However it'd still be faster and more functional than a tablet.

For that money you might as well go with a full sized laptop
 
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this Toshiba laptop only set me back $399 which is still $100 less than the price of an iPad (or Nexus 10)

i did some price checking around town and sadly you will be out $699 (wow!) for a high-end Android phone, even with the same screen size as a ZTE Blade. the cheapest was $79 but only if you like Froyo--can't believe they're still selling them! forget that! my Merit is still a rugged, well built abuse-taking little mite, it seems to take abuse with the best of them with narry a scratch. it was only $59 when i got it new, i plan to hold onto it.
 
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When I used to build all of my computers from parts, ASUS motherboards had the reputation of being the best quality of any brand. If I wanted a bulletproof computer for myself or a well-heeled client, I'd buy ASUS. It's still pretty much that way, although Supermicro makes better server motherboards IMO. I would expect an ASUS brand computer to be every bit as good as an ASUS motherboard. So far I haven't been disappointed.
 
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AFAIK Asus is a good quality brand. Asus is from Taiwan, not Mainland China.

Their PC parts and laptops always seemed to be top notch. I don't think their tablets are excessively expensive. Transformer Prime is in about same price range as the Apple iPad, and that's in the US and UK. Asus 7inch tablets can be had for about $300 USD, which is similar price to the iPad Mini. That's from places like Best Buy, or PC World in the UK. I'm sure their tablets are much better quality than the $50-$60 things you might buy on Ebay or a market stall. :rolleyes:

Bose is overpriced everywhere. And Sony is not the premium Japanese brand, producing top quality products that it once was, although they pretend to be. Think we had a recent thread about the decline of Sony.
 
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Bose is overpriced everywhere. And Sony is not the premium Japanese brand, producing top quality products that it once was, although they pretend to be. Think we had a recent thread about the decline of Sony.
Bose is a rip-off for sure. I've read the work of Dr. Amar Bose, and although he had good ideas in theory, his original loudspeakers (like the 901) with "one size fits all" 3" drivers and direct/reflecting radiation patterns weren't very good when compared to more conventional speakers of the same price.

Today the Bose brand is for suckers who have more money than common sense. Kind of like how Bang & Olufsen has always been. They're for people who want "the best" but wouldn't know true excellence if it bit them on the backside.

Sony does come up with the occasional gem, but overall it's a shadow of its former self.
 
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I feel bad that I have Bose On Ears. And think they're really good...
Don't feel bad over something that you can't change. Enjoy them, and when it's time to replace them, remember that you can get a better deal by not buying the heavily hyped brands. Advertising costs money that could have been spent on R&D and materials. The trick is to find the companies that spend the most on making a good product, and the least on hyping it.
 
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the only Bose products i own were given away. one of my trailer home's speakers blew so i stuffed one of those 3" Bose ones in there and fixed it.

What is your opinion of the other brand like Bose? you know, Beats Audio? they are almost as overpriced as Bose, and i heard they're no different than average headphones? either way i'll trust my $25 noise-cancelling Sonys than blow $100 on some Dr. Dre brand any day.
 
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maybe for some they think if it's expensive it must be good? sorta how some folks see merit in Rolex watches despite their obscene price, even though even a two-dollar Wal-Mart watch will still tell time just as well. it's the 'hey i bought a rich brand i'm special' mentality. even with my iPad, people seem impressed. but i did not buy it to show off. i bought it as i knew it was a quality product. Plus, i can do a lot more with a $499 iPad than i could with a $499 speaker

there was a time when you could find Bose Wave Radios in Goodwill for $15 each. the CD was not working but the radio did. from what i recall, it did not really sound that impressive.
 
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maybe for some they think if it's expensive it must be good? sorta how some folks see merit in Rolex watches despite their obscene price, even though even a two-dollar Wal-Mart watch will still tell time just as well. it's the 'hey i bought a rich brand i'm special' mentality.
You know, I was going to mention the whole Rolex myth, but never got around to it.

A lot of people think that Rolex makes "the finest watches on earth." The reality is that Rolex is one of many "mid-range" watchmakers. They can't hold a candle to truly high-end watchmakers like Patek Philippe and few others. The Rolex movement is grossly overpriced compared to other brands' movements that are equally good. The only reason they get away with it is because of the myth.

Aside from snob appeal, the best use for a solid gold Rolex watch is to have something that can be pawned for the value of the gold. Back in Chicago I knew some traders who pawned their gold and diamond encrusted Rolex watches every time they had to meet a margin call.

I was a teenager when I was introduced to the make-believe world of high-end consumer audio products. Because I couldn't afford such costly stuff, I spent many hours "auditioning" at the local hi-fi boutique, but I did my buying of much more reasonably priced brands at the local big box audio retailer. As I gained experience, I realized that the power of suggestion was quite strong, and that "golden eared" people who claimed to be able to hear nuances that regular people couldn't were actually paying great sums of money to have their egos stroked.

By the time I became an engineer it was plainly obvious to me that no amount of voodoo could reveal more content in the music than the professional gear that was used to make the recordings. (The high-end crowd conveniently forgets that part.) These days some very good pro audio gear is dirt cheap, thanks to ISO 9000 manufacturing standards and the digital revolution. Nevertheless the part of the industry that peddles hype above all else is doing better than ever! It just proves the P.T. Barnum adage that "a sucker is born every minute."

Please note that I'm not saying that anyone here is a sucker. On the contrary, I believe that hard-learned lessons are often the best way to learn. But for those who want to avoid buyer's remorse, my hard-learned advice is free. :D
 
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These days some very good pro audio gear is dirt cheap, thanks to ISO 9000 manufacturing standards and the digital revolution.


I have worked for several ISO certified manufacturers and they always put production numbers ahead of whatever standard they proudly tell us they follow. So I assume the certs proffered by manufacturers likely mean less than they should mean.

I have worked for manufacturers that required solder techs be IPC certified, yet they do not follow the current standards.

I was on the committee that went through our ISO certification process. We never followed the process if it got in way on the numbers. In fact, one Representative spent his time skiing rather than investigating our standards and practiced.

As for Rolex, I might agree to a point. Their Repeaters were very good watches. I do agree with you. Some people pay for the bling because of the name. Rolex watches are costly and there are "better" watches. You mentioned one. I could mention a dozen others that are "better."

Depending on what you consider better.

I just want accurate time and a cheap $1,200.00 watch will do that for me. As does my old Westclox pocket watch that was five bucks many moons ago.

As for hearing the nuances, I am one of those people. I can tell if a trumpeter or Coronet player is playing the passages correctly and how off key he or she might be. I can also tell quite a bit about a banjo and banjo player from listening.

Finally, we will all purchase expensive goods and services if we could afford to do do. And generally speaking, if it is costly, it is likely worth toe cost. Especially if it is an old line brand.

there is one particular fountain pen I would purchase if I had the money and it is $35,000.00. ans yes, a Bic Click will get the job done, too,
 
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maybe for some they think if it's expensive it must be good? sorta how some folks see merit in Rolex watches despite their obscene price, even though even a two-dollar Wal-Mart watch will still tell time just as well.

But a cheap ass watch from Wally Marty is clearly not as good. For so many reasons. I always look to the craftsmanship and the device complexity. A Rolex--despite its high price--is well made and they have always been well made.

Are there more costly watches? Hell sure. I favor pocket watches with lots of complications. I find compled watches much more interesting if they keep good time. I have owned old pocket watches that kept perfect time. Complex mechanical watches are simply better and sadly, they are often very costly.

I took a look and found this: "The Patek Philippe Calibre 89 has 33 complications, using a total of 1728 parts. It was released in 1989 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the company. The complications include the date of Easter, sidereal time, and a 2800-star celestial chart."

There are many reasons why a $250,000.00 watch is "better" than one from Wally Marty and there are many reasons a twenty buck watch is perfect for many people. All they need is the correct time and they prefer to wear a watch.

But for some of us, we appreciate the tecnhnology and craftsmanship. We see the high cost in the parts fab and assembly. We appreciate that some watches made in 1800 and earlier are as accurate or more so than many modern watches.

And in the world of horology, a watch selling for a quarter of a million dollars is dirt cheap. Really depends upon your cash flow. Most people would not know that a pocket watch was worth ten million bucks if I showed it to them. All they would know is people must be crazy to spend ten million on a watch.
 
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