What is it with you people and phones? My Droid is going to be 3 years old soon and it still works. I can still use it to make phone calls. I can even access Fark with it.

I've seen a couple of nicer phones, mainly because they have bigger screens but hey - they lacked the keyboard that mine has and I like that feature.

And besides (in the words of Boris the Bullet Dodger) "Heavy is good. If it doesn't work you can hit him with it."

Now all the hipsters will get one.

Happy Hours: What is it with you people and phones? My Droid is going to be 3 years old soon and it still works. I can still use it to make phone calls. I can even access Fark with it.

I've seen a couple of nicer phones, mainly because they have bigger screens but hey - they lacked the keyboard that mine has and I like that feature.

And besides (in the words of Boris the Bullet Dodger) "Heavy is good. If it doesn't work you can hit him with it."

You obviously don't value smug very highly.

It figures.

dealing with Dell customer service is what drove me to build my own machines.

What...genuinely...Dell made Smartphones?

When? What? Where could you buy these things?

Dell is still making stuff? Haven't seen anyone with a Dell product in ages.

Completely off topic, but holy gawd anyway.

A little perspective on just how rich billionaires really are.

A link from that page to the "Real -Time Billionaires" tracker on Forbes shows what some of these guys made in ONE DAY!

Mark Zuckerberg- 317.54 million dollars
Sheldon Aldeson-250.19
Carlos Slim- 180.28
Larry Page- 134.42
Richard Schulze- 130.24

I feel poor.

turbocucumber: Dell is still making stuff? Haven't seen anyone with a Dell product in ages.

Their business laptops are great. Their consumer laptops, not so much. Companies tend to have multi year support contracts on stuff like laptops and dell doesn't want to keep fixing them so the business models are built to last.

Now that i really think about it, I'd say the majority of their profits isn't in the consumer PCs but the businesses that buy from them. Sell 1 PC to a normal person and you can expect several support calls over the lifespan of the machine. Sell 300 desktops to a company with their own IT department and you can skip most of the tech support and just issue return labels for the stuff that is still under warranty.

moel: What...genuinely...Dell made Smartphones?

When? What? Where could you buy these things?


The Dell Streak.

I believe that AT&T had them.

Reading the Dell news stories over the past few years almost all seem to be about them finding their way. They read strikingly similar to those about the Republican party during the same period. Basically "What we've been doing wasnt working and we're not doing it anymore. But, wait and see what weve got in store! This is the new and improved strategy and it's the best!"

"Dude, you're gettin' a Dell!"

"Hello? Hellllooo?"

Years ago (circa 2004), I shared an apartment with a roommate who hated all Apple stuff, and for some reason was a Dell fanboy. Only one I've ever met.

One day he came home all excited to show off his new Dell DJ MP3 player. "These are going to be huge. They're going to replace iPods soon," he informed me. I think Dell discontinued them a few months later. I still get a chuckle thinking about that.

I have no idea where he is now, but I'll bet he got one of these Dell smartphones.

TNel: czetie:

A couple of months back I took my dead Dell desktop to the monthly recycling collection. They had stacks of desktops and towers, and it looked like about 80% or more were Dells. It was striking.

Why's that? Dell sells a ton of laptops and desktops like 5 or so years ago, so it would be normal to see a crap ton of them around now. It doesn't speak about their quality as every brand is going in that pile eventually it just happens that those that sell the most will be the highest percentage in a recycle bin.

Management loves to buy cheap Dells in bulk to fill up their offices, only to end up in bins a scant 2-4 years later with burst capacitors and dead power supplies. Thanks, China!

twat_waffle: The Dell Streak.

That reminds me, I need to throw out my old underwear.

turbocucumber: Dell is still making stuff? Haven't seen anyone with a Dell product in ages.

I like dell. All 3 computers in my house are dells and I've never had a problem with them. My work laptop on the other hand, is an HP and it's a giant piece of crap.

/haters gonna hate

abhorrent1: turbocucumber: Dell is still making stuff? Haven't seen anyone with a Dell product in ages.

I like dell. All 3 computers in my house are dells and I've never had a problem with them. My work laptop on the other hand, is an HP and it's a giant piece of crap.

/haters gonna hate

Odd... my experience in the complete opposite.

For the flat 3-4 years, every Dell I've dealt with is a pile of crap and the HP have all been rock solid.

I've lost all sympathy for HP since they dropped WebOs devices mind you, but still, I'd still go with HP before Dell.

Happy Hours: What is it with you people and phones? My Droid is going to be 3 years old soon and it still works. I can still use it to make phone calls. I can even access Fark with it.

I've seen a couple of nicer phones, mainly because they have bigger screens but hey - they lacked the keyboard that mine has and I like that feature.

And besides (in the words of Boris the Bullet Dodger) "Heavy is good. If it doesn't work you can hit him with it."

It's called "consume" for a reason... (cue the proper Rodney Piper movie).

My phone is close to 2 years, and I plan to keep using it for as long as possible, I've even got myself a spare... since they aren't made anymore (Palm Pre2).

Every time I look at other phones and compare, I"m hard pressed to find anything new of value in the newer phones.

The camera works great for quick snapshots, the internet access is fine, very few sites are a problem, there enough apps to keep me happy, the interface still is the best as slowly Android and others are mimicking it more and more, the battery life is ok (lasts me through the day easily) and I can change it if need be, and the physical keyboard is great.. With 16GB, it's enough for a good amount of music and other files..

A newer phone would be... have to rebuilt my Apps library (and rebuy some), a camera that's a bit better, no keyboard, no removable battery, maybe a bit faster.

But after comparing it to two much newer Android phones, my Pre2 outdoes them easily.

Happy Hours: What is it with you people and phones? My Droid is going to be 3 years old soon and it still works. I can still use it to make phone calls. I can even access Fark with it.

I've seen a couple of nicer phones, mainly because they have bigger screens but hey - they lacked the keyboard that mine has and I like that feature.

And besides (in the words of Boris the Bullet Dodger) "Heavy is good. If it doesn't work you can hit him with it."

My G2 was great after two years, but my OneS can do more, and I had the money for it.

I didn't let the old one go to waste, though; I put a fresh battery in it and passed it on to my mother.

Wow, to think I came close to buying a Dell phone!

Doc Daneeka: Years ago (circa 2004), I shared an apartment with a roommate who hated all Apple stuff, and for some reason was a Dell fanboy. Only one I've ever met.

One day he came home all excited to show off his new Dell DJ MP3 player. "These are going to be huge. They're going to replace iPods soon," he informed me. I think Dell discontinued them a few months later. I still get a chuckle thinking about that.

Dell used to be the very best at their distribution model, and that was around 2002 and 2003. I was a bit of a Dell fan then, but that wouldn't have translated well to MP3 players and such.

But times have changed. Other PC makers have caught on to that distribution model and followed suit, while, on the other hand, consumers are caring less and less about custom PCs and just want something with a model number on it, and even that's for good reason. Windows 7 and 8 are a lot better than Windows XP, so you don't have to worry too much about tuning your PC *just right* to work well. Just about any recent PC works well, especially when you're mainly using a web browser.

My last two jobs (small businesses) have been Dell shops. One job where we would buy stacks of desktops 10 at a time, and my current job where we use rack-mounted Dell servers. I have never had a single complaint in 8 years about their small business customer service, and very very little hardware issues with anything we've bought.

czetie: And to TNel: it's striking because I'm pretty sure Dell doesn't supply 80% of the computers people buy, but it does seem to supply 80% of the junkers people were turning in for recycling.

Sure, Dell sells/sold a metric crap tonne of units, but even when it was No. 1 (five+ years ago) it was never more than 17% of the market, which is wildly disproportional to its share of the junker pile. Looking purely at unit sales, there should be just as many HPs in that pile.


Every used computer store I've seen always have tons of refurbished Dells.

From what I've seen, there's a good reason for it.

At the office, they go with buying in major bulks and what I've seen through the years:

Many years ago: HP then IBM, both with the defective capacitor issue that hit manufacturers. 2-3 years of crappy hell.

Back to HP, no problems for a few years.

Then some Dell started showing up... can't really say much but they were switched to more IBMs, and back to HP fairly fast, so I never get any rundown about them... just that they were replaced the fastest for any machines we've had.

Right now, my network machine is an HP and it's been pretty flawless, while my micro network (that I manage) are all Acer machines and been rock solid. At home, I have Acer machines pretty much all around aside a few built-machines, and one HP that died after over 8 years... might be the power supply, but haven't really bothered as it's old, not really worth the money and had a replacement anyways.

Dell quits the smartphone business.

The first step in shutting down the company and returning the money to shareholders.

turbocucumber: Dell is still making stuff? Haven't seen anyone with a Dell product in ages.

I am forced to buy people them at work, so they are all compatible with the docking stations and they can switch stations easily and have interchangeability. It a pain in the arse to deal with the business side of Dell. Dealing with the consumer branch leads me to sobbing in a padding room.

Oh and when I ordered my own replacement laptops for work I went with Lenovo Thinkpads. The advantages of being the guy in charge of IT.

Hacker_X: turbocucumber: Dell is still making stuff? Haven't seen anyone with a Dell product in ages.

Their business laptops are great. Their consumer laptops, not so much. Companies tend to have multi year support contracts on stuff like laptops and dell doesn't want to keep fixing them so the business models are built to last.

Now that i really think about it, I'd say the majority of their profits isn't in the consumer PCs but the businesses that buy from them. Sell 1 PC to a normal person and you can expect several support calls over the lifespan of the machine. Sell 300 desktops to a company with their own IT department and you can skip most of the tech support and just issue return labels for the stuff that is still under warranty.

This. Their consumer stuff gets a lot of crap (probably deservedly) but if you need full-throttle enterprise support, they are very, very hard to beat.

I'm sort of interested in their new Windows 8 tablets. Maybe they'll bring things like swappable batteries to the form factor. Most underrated feature on mobile devices today.

twat_waffle: The Dell Streak.

I believe that AT&T had them.

Well there you go. Nobody wants anything AT&T is selling.

moel: What...genuinely...Dell made Smartphones?

When? What? Where could you buy these things?

The year was 2002. Wireless internet on the cheap. Thanks Dell and Sprint.





 

/10 year old handle because of that

My friend used a Dell Streak 5 for a month then bought an iphone cause the streak is too large to use as a phone. She gave me the Streak, I pulled the sim card and loaded up a custom rom and gave my wife a pretty solid mini-tablet.

alywa: Here's the thing... for many people (myself included), the phone is the item we use the most on a daily basis. Web, email, texting, maps, voice... I use it much more than I use any other computer or device. It is pretty damn cheap to change phones, and if a new one comes out that is better and serves your needs, why not change it out? Service isn't going to cost any more.

Pretty much. I buy a new phone every year since its essential to daily living.

/and my old phone goes to my boyfriend

Doc Daneeka: Years ago (circa 2004), I shared an apartment with a roommate who hated all Apple stuff, and for some reason was a Dell fanboy. Only one I've ever met.

One day he came home all excited to show off his new Dell DJ MP3 player. "These are going to be huge. They're going to replace iPods soon," he informed me. I think Dell discontinued them a few months later. I still get a chuckle thinking about that.

I have no idea where he is now, but I'll bet he got one of these Dell smartphones.

I have never heard of a dell fanboy, I can be a bit fanboyish with my ms stuff but...I still respect other forms/vendors of technology and their innovations

limeyfellow:
I am forced to buy people them at work, so they are all compatible with the docking stations and they can switch stations easily and have interchangeability. It a pain in the arse to deal with the business side of Dell. Dealing with the consumer branch leads me to sobbing in a padding room.

I have nothing but great things to say about Dell's business end of things. They always respond quickly, and if there's a problem it gets taken care of quickly, and the devices are great.

In fact, that's the reason why I stopped building my own.

StoPPeRmobile: The year was 2002. Wireless internet on the cheap. Thanks Dell and Sprint.

No, they had Windows Phone 7 devices too.

TheGreatGazoo: I have lenovos at home. The netbook survived a knife edge drop off of a hospital bed onto vinyl tile 3 years ago and still works.

Thinkpads and Toshibas are the workhorse laptops. I don't travel for a living, but if I did I wouldn't pack anything that wasn't Lenovo or Toshiba

I saw one at Best Buy a few years ago. I wasn't sure if it was a big phone or a small tablet.

gingerjet: alywa: Here's the thing... for many people (myself included), the phone is the item we use the most on a daily basis. Web, email, texting, maps, voice... I use it much more than I use any other computer or device. It is pretty damn cheap to change phones, and if a new one comes out that is better and serves your needs, why not change it out? Service isn't going to cost any more.

Pretty much. I buy a new phone every year since its essential to daily living.

/and my old phone goes to my boyfriend

I've still got my Dell Streak 5 right here. I love the form factor (it's my tablet and my phone), but it's starting to show its age compared to this year's crop of droids with their snappy dual cores.

I want the 5" screen form factor with some modern guts. Willing to wait for an HTC J

alywa: Happy Hours: What is it with you people and phones? My Droid is going to be 3 years old soon and it still works. I can still use it to make phone calls. I can even access Fark with it.

Here's the thing... for many people (myself included), the phone is the item we use the most on a daily basis. Web, email, texting, maps, voice... I use it much more than I use any other computer or device. It is pretty damn cheap to change phones, and if a new one comes out that is better and serves your needs, why not change it out? Service isn't going to cost any more.

Same thing with cars... sure a 20 year-old Kia will get me to work and back, but I like having a nice car... difference is a phone is cheap, a car is not.

/different strokes, etc

Did Kia even exist 20 years ago? Sure a new phone is cheap, but to get it cheap I'd have to renew my contract and while I'm satisfied with the service and probably won't switch carriers I like the option to do so.

As for cars, I bought an okay one to begin with. There are many nicer cars out there but there were many nicer cars out there when I bought it. The seats are still comfortable though and it still runs reliably. When I punch down on the accelerator it goes. When I hit the brakes it stops. It's got dents (from a hail storm, not an accident) but I decided they add character to it. It's over 10 years old. Would I like a new one? Well, that depends on what the new car is. If you offered me a brand new Kia I'm not sure I'd trade it in.