iPad, Droid pad, or Droid phone?

[AMonger]

This time of year, weather plays a big role in choosing whether or not to take a load to a given place. Being with small carriers, we don't have a Qualcomm (Side note: why do so many people insist on pronouncing it "quail-com?"); I get my bid offers over the phone, and one of my companies is practically yelling, "QUICK! QUICK! Tell me!" It's like a Dalek going "ANSWER! ANSWER! ANSWER! ANSWER!" Ok, that's a limited-appeal reference, I know.

I currently have a Blackberry, and surfing so much as a radar map is positively painful on it, and being that I'm not with the Evil Empire, I can't talk and pull up weather data at the same time, and really wouldn't have the time anyway. They want an answer right away.

So I'm thinking if I had a Pad computer, it would speed up the process considerably. As soon as the phone rang, I would hit the refresh button and start downloading the latest weather map before I even answered the phone. So when they say, "Fargo, ND delivering tomorrow morning?" I'll have the latest radar map coming in and can make an informed decision quicker. The iPad's data comes from the Evil Empire, of course, but it's separate from a phone plan.

A Droid-powered pad, otoh, can get data from Verizon, so coverage would be better, and I hear there's a Droid-powered pad that had telephony capability, so it could do double duty.

A Droid phone, though, has the portability and all-in-one aspect, but I doubt I'd be able to pull up a weather map while on the phone, isn't that right? Sure would like that nice phone, though...I do a lot of email on the phone wherever I go. So that would be an upgrade there, and I could surf more discretely anywhere, like in a meeting, while a pad computer wouldn't be nearly as discrete. And I could use the Droid phone as a wireless hotspot, too.

So I don't know how to make this decision. Has anyone else weighed the options, and how did you decide?

 

[easyrider2697]

We recently, made several changes to the internet situation in the truck..I cancelled my monthly contract with sprint( out of contract)..purchased a virgin mobile wifi hot spot. It is unlimited hot spot for up to 5 devices and uses sprint 3G network( same network that I just cancelled and $29 a month cheaper)...purchased a color nook nad use it to browse the web when in a hurry...definatly worth looking into..really happy with it. The Nook is a useful tool as it can be used as a browser and a reader and a digital picture frame and plays music as well..well worth the money..reading on it is not too bad either.W

 

[scottm4211]

Any smartphone has the ability to jump away from the call, pull up the weather online, and then return to your call. If you're happy with your blackberry, why not check out the Torch?
The new OS 6 they use finally has a solid web browser. And you can't beat Blackberry for email.


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[greg334]

It's like a Dalek going "ANSWER! ANSWER! ANSWER! ANSWER!" Ok, that's a limited-appeal reference, I know.

Another Doctor fan?

 

[AMonger]

Any smartphone has the ability to jump away from the call, pull up the weather online, and then return to your call. If you're happy with your blackberry, why not check out the Torch?
The new OS 6 they use finally has a solid web browser. And you can't beat Blackberry for email.


Posted with my iPhone EO Forum App

Truly simultaneous voice and data is network dependent. Last I heard, only the Evil Empire could do that.

 

[AMonger]

Another Doctor fan?

Not for a while. The last pair I enjoyed watching was Tom Baker and Sarah. I've never warmed up to any of the successors.

"Back off, or I'll kill him with this deadly Jelly Baby."

"Go ahead, kill him."

"I don't take orders from anybody." (pops Jelly Baby in his mouth and eats it)

 

[Turtle]

No cell phone on a CMDA network can jump away from the call, pull up the weather online, and then return to your call. You must disconnect the cell call in order to send or receive data via the network. You can only surf and talk at the same time with a CDMA phone if you are online via WiFi. Like, when I'm at home, my phone is connected to the net via the WiFi at the house, and I can talk and surf at the same time without problems.

It's not just the Evil Empire, but rather any and all GSM networks in which you can talk and surf at the same time. The 4g LTE will allow talking and surfing at the same time, at least eventually even on CDMA networks, once the infrastructure is complete. Also, look for the Verizon iPhone announcement on Tuesday, but you won't be able to talk and surf at the same time with that one, either, unless you're online via WiFi.

For me, my laptop is generally on when I'm parked, so quickly getting the weather outlook is easy (I also have an aircard for mobil broadband). In addition, I have a couple of weather apps on the Droid, both of which allow you to set up "favorites" which lets you see at a glance different cities on a single screen. I have set mine up with various cities in different regions of the country, which lets me get at least a good idea at a glance of what's going on in different parts of the country. And I check the weather frequently so as to be semi-aware of general conditions. When I get a call on a load, I usually already have a good idea of what the weather is like.

Beyond that, the weather wouldn't prevent me from accepting a load in all but the most extreme weather conditions, and the extreme weather conditions are things I'm likely to know about without having to check the weather as part of the decision-making process of a load offer. If the weather en route is too bad to drive though, I'll pull over and wait.

But, if weather conditions plays a big (or critical) role in choosing whether or not to take a load to a given place, then you may really need a more specialized approach than what I do with my Droid and laptop. Similar to using a GPS unit for a GPS and using the laptop as a laptop, you may want to use a phone (even a Droid) as a phone, which also allows some surfing, and then a Pad as compliment to or replacement for the laptop. I'm not sure if I'd replace a current phone with a Droid and a Pad at the same time, tho, especially if I already has a laptop with an aircard. If you don't have an aircard and have to rely on WiFi for Internet, then that changes things, obviously, and replacing both might be warranted.

 

[scottm4211]

Ok my bad then. Turtle, that's what I've been doing at home, on the Internet via wifi when a call comes in I switch over.


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[Turtle]

Ok my bad then. Turtle, that's what I've been doing at home, on the Internet via wifi when a call comes in I switch over.

The funny thing is, most people didn't even know you could do it at all, until AT&T started advertising "Ohhhhh, sorry, you can't do that on Verizon!" LOL

Most people hold their phone to their ear when they talk, so they're not gonna be surfing the Web at the same time anyway, so they never thought about it. I usually use a BT headset, and every now and then I'll be talking and will grab the phone to look something up online, but, ooooh, sorry, I can't do that because I don't have A Teee and Teeeeeeee.

Then again, you can't do it on AT&T either if you are on EDGE.

When Verizon goes to LTE (so will AT&T) they will still use the CDMA for voice for several years, and will eventually migrate voice onto the LTE network, but initially the 4g LTE will be for data only, and Verizon will use a GSM-like sim card for data, so you'll be able to talk and surf the web at the same time. Yay.