Anselm

I think this is more to the point than the whole debate above about plastic vs. not-quite-plastic, etc. There is an intangible quality that people are looking for.

At the same time, that intangible quality is subjective, and these are mass-market devices, so it’s natural to gravitate toward blah rather than taking an aesthetic point of view too strongly.

I cant tell this means a lot to you.

My wife has a pixi on a page plus (verizon prepaid) account. It’s a great deal, touchstone makes it unique/premium, and reminds me of how much I loved my Pre.

Humanist is right; that’s exactly how it feels. Luv ya webOS

My wife uses Yahoo mail and represents the mean user much more than you or I. Yahoo aggressively funnels you into their news/“my yahoo” page, and consequently, all internet grazing she does starts at Yahoo. Axis seems to build on that and embed it a little deeper, for the true average internet user.

BTW it is those users who make up a significant part of the iPad market, as they really don’t need laptops. So no surprise that Axis looks good on iOS (not able to confirm this for myself). My very rough theory is that iPad users represent the low and high ends of the computer-saavy bell curve: the high end being users who have laptop and iPad, and the lower end being those who have only an iPad.

Yeah, I may be naive, but this is like the touch equivalent of the right-click in Windows, which opens up common options relative to the selected text/item.

Could MS have patented the right-click? Should have been allowed to?

It all depends on iPhone 5, which sits amid the sweet spot of Sprint’s contract term with Apple. I’m going to go out on a limb and say the iPhone 5 is met with great acclaim, Sprint’s LTE goes live in a dozen cities by Halloween, and Sprint does ok in this deal, long term. Not bad considering how weak their bargaining position was in making the deal in the first place.

Can anyone explain to me specifically what’s different about a business ultrabook vs consumer ultrabook…besides one is pretty and one is “serious”?

To be sure, I would not waste an upgrade on the Arrive, but if I were shopping for something to tide me over til late 2012, I would consider buying it unlocked; it’s a good value.

How is the Arrive terrible. I am fairly picky and have had the Arrive since launch last March. Even now that it’s old and undistinguished, it is a very capable road warrior that I will eventually trade in, only because the new phones this fall will simply be hot.

I use the keyboard somewhat seldom, but it’s a good one and I appreciate it for longer messages, typing passwords (shift and dedicated number keys help a lot), and when I’m feeling lazy.

Never had a problem with the slider either. It fell out of my pocket from the top of the tilt-a-whirl, hit the metal deck, and suffered no real damage.

Yeah it’s more complex, but not by much. If every feature this obvious (or a single step beyond something that is both obvious and ubiquitous) can be reserved by a single owner, the advancement of mobile tech is pretty much crippled.

Congratulations Apple, you’re evil, and it will catch up to you.

But they could do it now: Win 8 laptop / WP8 phone / Zune pass bundles. For all the money MS has wasted on ineffectual marketing, they could give the next Lumia away on contract with a laptop. with 3 months Zune pass, and come out ahead. That just might cause a swift and certain migration back on to the MS plantation.

Hell, you could get a $50 credit just for watching a video tutorial on Win 8, for the fact that you are more likely to appreciate it and talk it up once you use it.

Yes, it’s a pity MS had to get burned on the Zune in order to get WP7 right (albeit, a little late again). But clearly it had that effect.

I will always love a dedicated PMP, but it is more of a commodity, kick-around device than a smartphone. With good quality products that play very nicely with Windows for $50-80, Sansa puts any other comers in a tough spot.

That almost underscores the point, though. Despite having a quality device with certain advantages over Apple, the timing and the marketing doomed Zune from the git.

ugh, I just hate fiancees