Poll: Tablet Tethered to a Smart Flip Phone, Yea or Nay?

[mathelm]

Bluetooth would be fine if you could get the bandwidth up a bit. Not sure about the 4.0 standard, but BT= 800k where as wifi is 11M, which makes it around 14 times slower....

Flip phones seem to be the only design missing from the wifi capable lineup. Other shapes are already available. Plus there design is naturally tougher ( think armadillo)...

 

[Jeremy8000]

1. I've got a tiny little straight talk samsung flip here running bluetooth who's battery last 3 days. Nexus is 10 hours at best. And it would only need to be a 5' hotspot, 10mw at most...

2. Stop talking out of your a$$. There is no one who doesn't KNOW that a flip is more durable than any bar phone. I ran over my old I580 with a truck... 2 different times. Have dropped this cheap samsung 40 feet, with it open even...

3. You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. I couldn't even finish the paragraph....

I didn't want to answer because your points are so far from reality that it's a waste of time...

This is friendly, I have a high tolerance for a lot of things. But BS isn't one of them, especially while trying to debunk one of my ideas...

Save yourself, delete your post....

http://www.dilbert.com/dyn/str_stri...100000/70000/6000/100/176195/176195.strip.gif

It's difficult to debate with someone when their stance is evidently based on desire rather than facts. I'm hoping further responses on your part will consider providing some foundation on which you are building your argument.

1. You don't support your argument by using a non sequitur. Your 'tiny little straight talk samsung flip' with a battery lasting 3 days isn't continually and actively running WiFi - power requirements for bluetooth are relatively trivial. And that's not 3 days of running data. Also, it is unlikely that a manufacturer would want to offer a hotspot that didn't provide what they deemed sufficient range for the bulk of the clients they expect would want it. That you would be fine with a 5' range does not make it the norm - I, for example, appreciate the fact that I can have my phone at my desk and take my tablet into the next room with no issue.

2. Show me evidence beyond your own assertion that flip phones are inherently more durable. I've owned several flip and slide style phones over the past 20 years, and in my experience have found that the hinge mechanism wears over time as the material is fatigued, making it prone to loosening or breaking. I'm not saying they're not durable, but you don't have that type of built-in predisposition towards damage (not to mention that of dropping it open, where the hinge isn't designed to take a high level of shock in that position, sitting on it, etc). If you are prone to running over your phones with trucks and drop-testing from 40', though, you should probably consider some sort of heavy duty 3rd party protection for any electronics you may have. The single most durable phone I've ever owned was a Nokia 5160, closely matched by a BlackBerry 7290. Far, far more durable than any flip I've owned (including the StarTac, Phone of the Broken Antenna).

3. I'm no expert on phones, though 10 years working with their manufacturers and vendors leaves me far from being brandable as a novice. You have not given an actual fact or piece of evidence or even argument to counter a single item I have raised. With two posts to this effect, I'm inclined to take your emotional rather than rational response to indicate that you do not have any thing with which to begin to refute those points factually, beyond your own opinion, and prefer to call "BS" on anything counter to it.

So I encourage you to either back up your argument with a fact, rather than an emotion based on what you would like to be a fact, or let it go. My responses weren't meant as an attack or to aggressively debunk the idea you suggested, but rather only to point out some of the technological and fiscal limitations that make it difficult and unlikely to come to market in the near future in the form you expressed.

If you don't like that, I'm sorry, but facts are facts. If you feel you do have some you want to bring to the table, I'd enjoy the opportunity to review them - perhaps you can enlighten me to things I've overlooked (that is, for what it's worth, one of the great things that forums can offer).

I did enjoy the cartoon, by the way. It's quite representative - someone proposing a product they might like that in essence isn't technologically feasible and wouldn't drive high enough demand for sales, and someone else indicating the issues (though I'll argue that I expounded on why rather than what the outcome would be).

 

[gizmochicken]

This thread seems to be no longer active, but I'll just add that I found this thread while searching for a non-smart phone that could be used as a 4G LTE hotspot (or more accurately, a 4G LTE hotspot that could be used as a phone). No such animal seems to exit. But if it did exist, especially if unlocked and cheap enough (about $100 without a contract), I'd certainly buy one (or more).

 

[mathelm]

Good to know there's more than one of us..lol And with the latest rash of smart watches, I think my math has been proven correct.....

Being that I went through the pocket computer phase before most "candy bar" type smart phone users ( PPC's back in the 90's m early 00's), I can only hope that the current fade dies down at some point and people get back to a more phone centered concept. While the phone part was never tied to my PPC, I know how much better an arrangement it is to have my smart phone stuff separated from my media needs. Point really is that I miss the best most convenient phone I ever owned. My little digital startac.... If you've never owned one, you have no idea what a great thing a tiny phone is...

 

[binaryhermit]

BT= 800k where as wifi is 11M, which makes it around 14 times slower....

For what it's worth, BT4 has a theoretical maximum of 3 mbps, though speeds in practice are closer to 2.1 mbps. It is theoretically possible to use BT to negotiate a 802.11 (WiFi) connection, with a 24 mpbs theoretical maximum. Not sure what the speed is like in practice on the BT-WiFi hybrid connection.

 

[twh4]

Yea. I always want my phone with me. I sometimes want my tablet with me. I occasionally want to tether my tablet to my phone. I'm carrying around a 5+ year old flip phone and I'd buy one with hotspot capability in a minute. And will as soon as I find one...

 

[JoseMendoza8]

Why a flip phone? Why not just any dumbphone? My sister's old LG Vu could Bluetooth tether for free. That was neat, since unlimited data only cost like $10/month on dumbphones.

You pretty much said the same thing.
A dumb phone is the same thing as a flip phone.
Dumb phone is just a slang for a flip phone.

 

[roguetrader]

At that point why not have the phone built into the tablet like the upcoming Samsung Note 8

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

My original Note 10.1 3g is a phone too, which I think must be the biggest cellphone going! Of course it's a brilliant tablet, but I do use the phone sometimes, with my Bluetooth S. Pen, or a headset.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[Channan]

You pretty much said the same thing.
A dumb phone is the same thing as a flip phone.
Dumb phone is just a slang for a flip phone.

Lol what? No it isn't. There are plenty of dumb phones that aren't flip phones. There's even a Samsung flip phone that's a smartphone now.

 

[willyluddite]

I like tethering my 10" tablet to my TM506 using bluetooth. Up until end of December, Gmail Java worked great for email, opera and the native browser worked great for doing a google search, and the tethering worked fine for the few times when I was not within wifi range and wanted a larger screen on-line experience.

Now that Gmail java has been turned off, and my TM506 started failing in hardware, I'm looking for another t-mobile dumbphone to replace it.

 

[SparksinTexas]

Love my Note 8" tablet with phone service. Only have to keep up with one device. Would HATE to have to link my flip phone to my tablet every time I needed to get a bit of info off the internet or check my e-mail. Easier just to turn on the tablet and have internet service available instantly along with all my texts and phone records.

 

[anon(924308)]

ASUS has a line of 'Padfones', which are basically 4-5" phones that dock into tablets--either a 7" or a 10". A bit of a niche market, but if you don't intend on using your phone and tablet as separate smart devices, it might be worth looking into. Just curious, have you tried 5" phones? My mom has pretty bad vision due to old age, but her Note 2 has a plenty big screen (and you can always change accessibility options for larger font). There are lots of great apps (e.g. keyboards) which make them easier to use. The huge benefit of having a smartphone is that the smaller form factor allows for instant access on-the-go; I didn't think I'd use my phone as much as I would, until I got it. Of course I could live without it, but I use it all the time now.

My original Note 10.1 3g is a phone too, which I think must be the biggest cellphone going! Of course it's a brilliant tablet, but I do use the phone sometimes, with my Bluetooth S. Pen, or a headset.

That's actually really ingenious! With a wearable bluetooth headset like this that you don't have to have constantly in your ear, there's literally no need for a separate phone--you could answer your calls without having to pull out your tablet, so the larger form factor wouldn't even be an issue. With an even more eloquent bluetooth headset design--something you could have on at all times--tablets could easily be an all-encompassing phone alternative.

 

[tombetz]

A small flip phone with an e-paper screen could easily have a battery big enough to provide a useful wi-fi hotspot, especially if it is designed for that purpose.

Really, what we want is a pocket LTE wi-fi hotspot with a screen that flips up providing access to a dial pad, mic and speaker. Maybe add bluetooth so it can just stay in your pocket most of the time.