Originally Posted by jdsemma

I have a slightly different perspective -- I've had a cell phone since Voicestream was a carrier in the US (late '90s?). And, get this, I still have the same phone.

Funnily enough, it makes and takes phone calls just fine.

I've thought about upgrading to a camera phone, or something I can SMS with (I can receive 'em but sending I've never figured out). Except a) I don't like being tied to a contract (although I could get around that with an ebay buy), and b) I don't want a monthly bill.

I went pre-paid a couple of years back. I just don't talk that much to warrant the monthly fee, and I emphatically do not relish the idea of an expensive monthly dataplan fee. (Anything over $20 a month I'm going to consider expensive.)

On the other hand, a one-time purchase of a useful IT is reasonable. If it were married with a phone, though, I'd much more hesitant about purchasing, for fears of functionality being impeded if I didn't also spring for a monthly phone and/or data plan.

Originally Posted by pixelseventy2

In the UK I tend to find that people either keep their phones until they die completely (and these people wouldn't be buying an IT in the first place) or change them annually. Most UK contracts are 12 months, although 18 months is starting to appear more often.

Originally Posted by devaler

So you're the guy!

Originally Posted by devaler

But seriously, I think you've done a good job highlighting why so many of us don't want to have our internet tablets be an all-in-one convergence device. As long as we have bluetooth, we can tether our tablets to whatever data plan gets rolled out and incorporated in our cellular service (if that's what we desire). And with Linux, we don't have to worry about platform lockout; we can do pretty much what we will with our hardware.

Originally Posted by devaler

Yeah, good point. I believe that most consumers (at least in the US; can't speak for elsewhere) view their phones as somewhat disposable, in that they assume they are going to upgrade every two years or so. I like the idea of holding onto my IT for a few years longer.

Originally Posted by Hedgecore

I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?

Originally Posted by Hedgecore

I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?

Originally Posted by Hedgecore

I need to ask this question... If it were *any* other company that made the 770, n800, or n810, would the cell issue be such a hotly contested one?

Originally Posted by SD69

I largely agree with you. The IT should be judged on its merits as a handheld computer. A small part of this though depends on it being an always connected device. There are some handheld computers that have the advantage of HSDPA chips, but the vast majority do not.

Originally Posted by ldrn

When I think of handheld computer, I think of Nokia's IT series, the OQO computers, and Sony's UX series. The IT is the only one of the three without cellular internet... I think "does it have integrated WWAN?" is a perfectly reasonable thing to look at when considering a handheld computer.

wireless & networking

* Wireless LAN: Atheros tri-mode 802.11a/b/g with diversity
* Bluetooth technology: Integrated Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
* Ethernet protocol: VGA/Ethernet adapter (included)