Riding a Tablet for a Buck and a Half
Riding a Tablet for a Buck and a Half
By Akosua K. Albritton
Call me a techno fool but I got pulled into the commercials and magazine ads
when it came to the tablets. For years, I kept a tablet on my wish list
but never went into a big box like Best Buy to get the skinny on my options.
It seemed iPad Air (about $500) and iPad Mini (about $400) were pulling the
consumer strings but I wasn't forking over the "four or five bucks"
to own a piece of heaven. I guess the ostrich in me stuck her head and neck
deep deep into Terra Firma. To cement my misconceptions, my experience
with a Kindle had me wanting my tried and true desktop. Yeah, the big
screens on the desktop have me hooked. I don't want to squint and love
the dependability of the keyboard. The Kindle I handled gave me Internet
access but the screen narrowed my Facebook experience.
Then, I saw the Amazon Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 priced at about $380; Microsoft
Surface Pro at $900; and the LG G Pad (talk about comeuppance with Apple) at
$320. Still the tablet stayed on the wish list because different tablets
had differing functions. I want one that let's me work on the fly but I
wasn't doing my old tech journalist research to uncover it.
Quite recently, I came upon a man named Jermaine Jones sitting at a corner
table of a large cafeteria. It looked like he was set up to watch DVDs
but once in front of his table, before me was an array of compact tech
gadgets. There was an ASUS 16G Tablet. He purchased it at a Walgreen's
for $150 (Hey, isn't Walgreens a pharmacy?). There was a cookie-shaped
CLEAR Voyager Mobile 4G Wi-Fi. Jermaine explained that since CLEAR had
been bought out, the device was no longer on the market and now, consumers had to
buy mobile Internet access by the gigabyte. I couldn't conceive of how the average web
surfer could estimate his Wi-Fi needs in lots of gigabytes. This cherished piece gave him
24-hour mobile access to the Internet using the monthly contract price
structure. He paid $50 for the cookie-shaped CLEAR Voyager Wi-Fi and $50
a month for the service. The third piece on his table was an It wireless
bluetooth portable speaker which can be used with cellphones, tablets, and MP3
players. He paid $30 for it. All items used an USB charger.
He had dozens of apps on the ASUS tablet that he downloaded from Google Play.
All apps were free. He had a GMail account which meant he had
access to Google's cloud apps such as Calendar, Wallet, Docs, and Translator.
This Walgreen buy had two-way camera shots.
His ease of explaining the gadgets and the apps had me ask Mr. Jones the type
of work he did. He said he was into security and open to other
suggestions. I asked him had he thought about working at an electronics
store. It was obvious that he liked technology and knew how to scour for
great and practical tech deals. No, Mr. Jones hadn't thought about it
before. Sometimes....we need a third party to point out a few of our
strengths.
Labels: affordable, ASUS, consumer electronics, economical, Google Nexus, Google Play, iPad, Microsoft Surface, mobile Internet, tablets, technology, USB
CES Unveiled 2009
I really enjoy the press preview for this event. For one, I get to see product that most won't see unless they travel to Las Vegas or until it gets to the market.
The press conference included some good questions for
CEA CEO Gary Shapiro. One was about the closing of
Circuit City. Yes, this economy have boards cutting people off at the knees to maintain their salaries. Shapiro looked at from the point of people losing jobs and reduction in competition. Overall, consumer electronics will weather this crisis because it is the cheaper alternative to travel, amusement parks, going to the theater or cinema. Ultimately, as more product gets the Green seal, energy consumption is reduced. In fact, more makers are returning to biodegradable packaging.
Diana Ross is the 2009 act for the Las Vegas show. After Mary J. Blige, CEA scratched it head to come up with another solid crowd pleasure. Shapiro said why not a stellar act with staying power like Diana Ross to mark three decades of existence.
The exihibit hall was the usual wonderfully party atmosphere. Great hors d'oeuvres and desserts. This year they included rice noodles which is great substitute for wheat-intolerant diners. Great bartenders and media schmoozing with industry people to handle gadgets and make deals.
I took a break in the
Inada Sogno Massage Chair. It really is a cut above other massage chairs because it not only rolls up and down one's back and vibrates, it stretches your back and squeezes your toes and hands.
The first thing that caught my eye was
JAWBONE earbuds. They're these sleekly darling bluetooth earclips, rectangular and textured leather. The company uses a long-necked black model to show it off. Could it be that research reveals the people hot on bluetooth are black women or did this model win "best silhouette?" While I don't know the answer, the product and model look hot.
Sorry, no photos. Click on the links.
Labels: CES, consumer electronics, Diana Ross, Las Vegas, media, society
Don’t Miss DigitalLife Ever Again
DigitalLife is a major consumer technology trade show. In its fourth year, technologists and consumers visit Jacob K. Javits Center the fourth weekend in September to watch, handle, sample, experience and click the latest HD TVs, cellphones, PCs, digital cameras and virtual life gaming products. This year it was open from September 27 – 30. Products were organized around five DigitalLife Lifestyle Zones: Digital Defense Zone, DigitalKidz Zone, Digital Memories Zone, Mobile Living Zone and Web 2.0 Zone. There is also the Tournament Area, meeting rooms and keynote address/conference center area. Great picks include M-Audio music recording products, Toshiba’s HD DVD player, Squawkers McCaw. The DigitalKidz Zone featured products for girls six years and up that would shame some women. Girl Tech’s IM-Me and Video Journal put young girls on the fast track for life planning and communication. IM-Me is a wireless messaging system that communicates with only other IM-Me devices. Video Journal is a digital camera and software combo that creates a calendar and digital journal. MediaFlo USA ‘s FLO TV puts live TV on cell phone. So remember: late September means DigitalLife at Jacob K. Javits Center.
Labels: consumer electronics, DigitalLife, interactive, media, society, Squawkers McCaw, technology, trade show
