Guest FourAces Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Just wondering if anybody is using the new or first generation Kindle Fire? If so what are your thoughts about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JKane Posted October 21, 2012 Members Share Posted October 21, 2012 I think it's interesting, but I didn't need another underpowered device with a conventional laptop LCD in my life. Really like the e-paper of my older-school kindle though! I might get a MS surface device, or maybe an Android-based alternative in a bit, and run the Kindle software on it. Rather than be limited to what Amazon allows and their device can handle... but Kindle does sound pretty cool for the price. Will be interesting to see how it compares with the Google Nexus. There will always be people paying twice as much for iPad/iPad minis though--for not much more capability... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EXPAT Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 You couldn't pay me any amount of money to buy something from Microsoft. I would eliminate them completely from my world if I could. And I hope that I will be able to eventually when office software from "others" mature. But until I can password protect documents with other software, I'm stuck with MS office for Mac - - that is the only reason I'm using that particular piece of software. I definitely see the world now through a more perfect and stable Apple environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FourAces Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 I'm not a big MS fan but I feel their Windows Phones have made a huge leap forward. I wish they would have named them something else though as the MS name puts a damper on the device. Metro which is the name of the OS might have been a much better name. As for the Kindle Fire HD I am tempted to give it a try however the more I dig in I will probably pass. Over all it looks good but has a few quirks I can do without. Now a like device is Google's new and first branded tablet the Nexus 7. I probably am gonna give that a try soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EXPAT Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 My iPhone though acts as a server hub for every device in my house. So it's more than a phone for me now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NCBored Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 My iPhone though acts as a server hub for every device in my house. So it's more than a phone for me now. I still haven't made the jump to a smartphone, tho capabilities like this intrigue me. But is there a financial consequence of this service? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EXPAT Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Well, you do have to invest in an Apple TV, an airport extreme (and maybe an airport express) and either a MacBook or iMac. I have them all integrated so I can view anything on any TV from my iTunes movie library and I manage it via my iPhone. I can also play my music in any room from my iMac iTunes library and I can also manage that from my iPhone. I can also display anything from my MacBook or iPhone on my TVs via the Apple TV's. So I have it all integrated. The software to do it is a free app that integrates with all of the devices I mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NCBored Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Well, you do have to invest in an Apple TV, an airport extreme (and maybe an airport express) and either a MacBook or iMac. I have them all integrated so I can view anything on any TV from my iTunes movie library and I manage it via my iPhone. I can also play my music in any room from my iMac iTunes library and I can also manage that from my iPhone. I can also display anything from my MacBook or iPhone on my TVs via the Apple TV's. So I have it all integrated. The software to do it is a free app that integrates with all of the devices I mentioned above. Sorry - I was wondering if the network traffic is billed as usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lookin Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 NCBored, my setup is similar to EXPAT's, although not as extensive. Having just got my first smartphone, I had the same question you did regarding how much data I'd use and how much it would cost. Here's what I've learned so far: . When I'm at home, playing music and video that's already stored on my iPhone is done over my own wireless home network and there's no data usage charge for that. . Also, when I'm at home, downloading new video and music onto my iPhone is done over my cable modem which is connected to my wireless home network. I pay Comcast (my internet service provider) a flat monthly fee of $30 for unlimited data over the internet. So I don't worry about data usage or extra charges.. When I'm away from home, I often find a free WiFi hotspot that connects me to the internet and lets me download new video and music with no data usage charge. (Free hotspots may be slow.). When I'm away from home and can't find a free WiFi hotspot, only then do I connect to AT&T's network and pay them for the data usage required to download new music or video. I pay AT&T $30 a month for 3GB of data usage and $10 for every 1GB over that. As a rule of thumb, downloading a standard definition movie would use about 1GB per hour and a high definition movie would use about 2GB per hour. Downloading music is a small fraction of that, as is downloading email unless it contains a video file or lots of pictures.. That means the only time I'd really have to worry about data usage is downloading a movie when I'm on AT&T's network, away from home and away from a free WiFi hotspot. So far, I haven't been in a situation where I've needed to do that and would try to avoid it. So the short answer to your question is "No, you probably won't incur any data usage charges using your iPhone as a digital hub for your home entertainment system." Hope the other info was helpful. TotallyOz 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EXPAT Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Just don't use Grindr on 4G. That uses a ton of data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FrancoisP Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 We use them in my financial investment products classes... Im just old fashioned. Paper will always be better to me. The Fire is improved in my opinion though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FourAces Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 We use them in my financial investment products classes... Im just old fashioned. Paper will always be better to me. The Fire is improved in my opinion though I agree that its much improved for the original Fire. But the deeper I look into it I think waiting for the next one might be best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NCBored Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 NCBored, my setup is similar to EXPAT's, although not as extensive. Having just got my first smartphone, I had the same question you did regarding how much data I'd use and how much it would cost. Here's what I've learned so far: . When I'm at home, playing music and video that's already stored on my iPhone is done over my own wireless home network and there's no data usage charge for that.. Also, when I'm at home, downloading new video and music onto my iPhone is done over my cable modem which is connected to my wireless home network. I pay Comcast (my internet service provider) a flat monthly fee of $30 for unlimited data over the internet. So I don't worry about data usage or extra charges.. When I'm away from home, I often find a free WiFi hotspot that connects me to the internet and lets me download new video and music with no data usage charge. (Free hotspots may be slow.). When I'm away from home and can't find a free WiFi hotspot, only then do I connect to AT&T's network and pay them for the data usage required to download new music or video. I pay AT&T $30 a month for 3GB of data usage and $10 for every 1GB over that. As a rule of thumb, downloading a standard definition movie would use about 1GB per hour and a high definition movie would use about 2GB per hour. Downloading music is a small fraction of that, as is downloading email unless it contains a video file or lots of pictures.. That means the only time I'd really have to worry about data usage is downloading a movie when I'm on AT&T's network, away from home and away from a free WiFi hotspot. So far, I haven't been in a situation where I've needed to do that and would try to avoid it. So the short answer to your question is "No, you probably won't incur any data usage charges using your iPhone as a digital hub for your home entertainment system." Hope the other info was helpful. Lookin, thanks very much for this information! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
