Recent Comments:
DirecTV exclusive Sunday Ticket is "in the consumers' best interest" {Engadget HD}
Nov 13th 2009 10:45AM Hashim is right. Here in Fresno we get the Raiders and 49ers on CBS 47 and Fox 26 both out of Fresno. If everyone was able to get Sunday Ticket and the local games (Raiders and 49ers are considered local here, as are the all the Bay Area teams) were not blacked out, those affiliates would be in serious trouble.
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three' {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 7:42PM I understand what you guys are saying, and I don't disagree that it can be cheaper to buy a phone off-contract, however, it is not the gigantic gulf that people make out in these posts sometimes. Usually they act like you are not paying a monthly fee.
James, in your Sprint comparison you forgot to subtract the value of the subsidy from your $480 savings. That brings it down considerably, to $260. Nothing to sneeze at for sure, but also not as much as people are led to believe from the majority of posts above. You also assume that no one needs more than 450 minutes of talk time which may not be the case for everyone. Again, I agree that there are plenty of situations, maybe even the majority, where buying off contract may be the right way to go, but it is clearly not as cut and dry as people make out and the savings is often not nearly as much as implied. Also, don't forget that this is a relatively small subsidy for a smartphone. The Pre for instance seems to be $549 off contract, a difference of $400. The iPhone is similar. There are advantages to buying off-contract, namely no contract, but to act like you always end up ahead by a ton of money is plain false.
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three' {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 2:14PM Ok $10/month savings over 24 months is $240. According to Sprint, the off contract price of the Pixi is $249. So, in this case at Wal-Mart the difference between your old plan and signing a contract for a new plan is a whopping $20. Am I missing something?
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three' {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 2:03PM I see. It was my understanding though that most of these new phones, especially with Sprint, required you to get a new plan anyway. I know for myself, if anything AT&T is offering cheaper plans now than when I signed up with them in 2007. Just seems a little sensationalistic when people post the total cost when you are going to have to pay some sort of monthly rate irregardless. Come to think of it, how much cheaper over the long haul are most people's current plans than any new plan they may sign up for to get the subsidy? Does it significantly outweigh the subsidy on the phone, near $400 in some cases? Serious question.
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three' {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 2:01PM I see. It was my understanding though that most of these new phones, especially with Sprint, required you to get a new plan anyway. I know for myself, if anything AT&T is offering cheaper plans now than when I signed up with them in 2007. Just seems a little sensationalistic when people post the total cost when you are going to have to pay some sort of monthly rate irregardless. Come to think of it, how much cheaper over the long haul are most people's current plans than any new plan they may sign up for to get the subsidy? Does it significantly outweigh the subsidy on the phone, near $400 in some cases? Serious question.
Walmart's $30 deal vaults Pixi from 'meh' to 'sure, I'll take three' {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 1:48PM Question for all of you "total cost" folks. Do you not have to pay the plan anyway? And don't most cell companies require you to sign a contract on any plan anyway (except the new T-Mo stuff)? So, regardless of subsidy, aren't you going to pay anyway?
Facebook app developer rejects App Store, irony ensues {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 12:19PM No, I do. You see, back in 2007, Apple was kind of the underdog still and people loved the iPhone and Apple. Now that Apple is more successful than ever, that does not jibe with the "I want to be different for the sake of being different" crowd that seems to populate Engadget these days, so everyone becomes Apple-haters. Objectivity and reason are sorely lacking in the majority of posters here.
Facebook app developer rejects App Store, irony ensues {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 12:08PM ack is right. This is not news. The app is still in the store, the app will still be developed and improved. Nothing has changed and this puts no pressure on Apple at all. You want to pressure on Apple? You need big companies like Facebook to pull the app in protest.
Facebook app developer rejects App Store, irony ensues {Engadget}
Nov 12th 2009 12:04PM Gus, you are forgetting that the iPod Touch uses the same OS. Back in April, the iPod Touch was pegged at 13 million units sold, and it is obviously much higher now. So the 50 million quoted above is, if anything, a lowball number at this point.
Anyway, people are missing the key line in this article:
"(he's still at Facebook, but the app itself has been handed off to another developer)"
Nothing changes in the end. Facebook is still developing an app and this guy has been reassigned to something else. In other words, this is a non-story. Call me when someone actually stops developing an app because of the policies. Then we can start celebrating.
Zune HD 3D games video hands-on {Engadget}
Nov 11th 2009 2:23PM The problem with that model is that you miss out on really great niche apps. There are tons of crap apps on the App Store for sure, but there are just as many if not more great niche apps. For instance, some I enjoy are Dropbox, SunPower Solar Monitor, Weber's On The Grill, Tom Harrison Nat'l Park Maps, etc. With your type of model, those won't exist. However, the Zune may not want to be that type of device. It actually seems that the Zune HD is geared as a pure entertainment device, while the Touch and iPhone are geared more as mini netbook, do-it-all device. Unfortunately for MS, I don't think, and the numbers seem to show, people don't really want a PMP that plays games. They want more.
