Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

[LEDAdd1ct]

I don't think support really matters if I get something used off craigslist.

I will continue to look into the Amazon tablet but I think 7" is just too big to slip in a pocket. If I am meeting someone at the train station I want to hop on WiFi, check something, and then hop off again.

Also, I am confused. This article says you can turn Apple devices off.

 

[Str8stroke]

I carry a USB 18650 battery stick. I use to recharge my phone on the go. I always carry spare 18650's that I can swap out.

 

[Mr Floppy]

Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

the new Amazon Fire 7". I second that. For $50, it is unbeatable.

Isn't that if you buy 5? Otherwise it's 65? Still good though

 

[StarHalo]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

Isn't that if you buy 5? Otherwise it's 65? Still good though

No, buy five get the sixth free. We even put it in a six pack:

 

[Mr Floppy]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

No, buy five get the sixth free.

But you can't buy just one? Or you can for 65

 

[StarHalo]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

But you can't buy just one? Or you can for 65

One is $49.99.

 

[Mr Floppy]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

One is $49.99.

Ahh so there are two options, why would anyone take the higher price?

 

[StarHalo]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

The more expensive model features a stock image or picture of your choice on the starting lock/swipe screen, the cheaper version shows a Google-esque personalized advertisement based on your browsing. The costlier option is good for a kids-use tablet as there's nothing to accidentally click and waywardly navigate, whereas the cheaper model is fine if you don't care what's on the lock screen.

 

[Mr Floppy]

Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

Just been told that the 50 dollar version will display "special offers". So push advertising. The 65 dollar version will not have "special offers". I suppose you can flash it with another rom?

Edit: what StarHalo said

 

[StarHalo]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

I have two copies of the Fire HD7 (the previous generation 7" Kindle Fire), both the more costly non-ad version for my kids; the stock photos on the lock screen are pleasant, but if it were exclusively my tablet, I wouldn't really care what's on the opening screen that I skip past in roughly a second. The reviews say pretty much the same, everyone who saved money is glad they did..

Also, one of my kids found out that if you drop the tablet screen-first directly onto the edge of a brick fireplace mantle, the screen spider-webs just like glass - thanks to the extra replacement warranty, I told Amazon that Sunday night I needed a replacement, which arrived Tuesday with a reminder to mail the broken copy when I got around to it.

 

[Highbandwidth]

I don't think support really matters if I get something used off craigslist.

I will continue to look into the Amazon tablet but I think 7" is just too big to slip in a pocket. If I am meeting someone at the train station I want to hop on WiFi, check something, and then hop off again.

Also, I am confused. This article says you can turn Apple devices off.

Yeah, you *think* you have turned it off. But it has some ferocious battery drain while it's "off." My iPhone 4's I've been charging recently and they'll last about a month when turned off. I just checked one I charged last week and it's down to 90%. I occasionally use them as remotes for my smart TV's, but usually find they're dead when I get them out for that purpose.

As for the Amazon Fire 7" pocketability, I suppose it depends on your pockets. Skinny jeans? Not so much. Chino or khaki trousers? Sure. Jackets? Sure. Recall that's 7" diagonal and its widescreen. The dimensions are 7.5"x4.5" - I wouldn't carry it all the time, but it does fit in my pocket. I don't know yet whether "off" really means off on it.

 

[lumen aeternum]

I've also been wondering about getting a cheap device just to learn what they might be good for.
All I have is a Mac laptop and a pre-paid per-minute cell phone for when the wife has an emergency. Don't do texting at all.

What can you do with a WiFi device if you do not pay a "provider" for a "data plan?"
Can you use a free Hotspot to run a Web Browser anonymously?

How hard is it to connect a WiFi device to your home computer LAN router/modem?

Is it correct that WiFi is a different thing (radio frequency & whatever runs it) than "wireless LAN" such as Apple Airport?

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

1) You can do nearly everything over WiFi you can do over a data plan, with a few exceptions.

2) You can use any free hotspot to surf the web, but you will not really be anonymous, as "they" can always find out who you are with the appropriate amount of sleuthing. But if you are not breaking the law or earning your daily wages as a spy, I would not worry about it.

3) It is extremely easy to connect a WiFi device to a home wireless network.

4) No, it is not correct that WiFi is a different thing than "wireless LAN" such as an Apple Airport.

a) The WiFi at your local library is the same animal as the WiFi/wireless LAN you use at home.

5) If you have used a laptop at home without a physical cord, it is the same technology you would use with the WiFi on a mobile device.

Hope this helps!

 

[StarHalo]

What can you do with a WiFi device if you do not pay a "provider" for a "data plan?"
Can you use a free Hotspot to run a Web Browser anonymously?

How hard is it to connect a WiFi device to your home computer LAN router/modem?

Is it correct that WiFi is a different thing (radio frequency & whatever runs it) than "wireless LAN" such as Apple Airport?

Any device can connect to any wifi source by merely selecting it on the device (and if applicable, entering a password.) On an Apple iOS device for example, you select Wifi, and you are shown a list of every wifi source currently being received. Click one, you are connected. That's it.

Lots of locations have free wifi nowadays, which can come in handy even if you are paying for cell service - my local craft beer retailer has a giant walk-in cooler that blocks my cell signal, but they have free wifi, so I can use their connection to get on the Internet and read beer reviews while browsing.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

I wound up purchasing a used iPhone SE with blacklisted IMEI (will not work on cellular service) and in the process of haggling, asked the seller to include a USB charging/data cable. It ran me $172.60 with delivery, and, while only 16GB, lets me do pretty much anything I could want.

I downloaded the free maps.me application, and while it doesn't have street addresses, I can always press on the screen to select where I wish to go. When hiking, the GPS feature shows me where I am on the map, so I can see if I made a wrong turn, and occasionally also shows actual trails. General locations/landmarks streets are fine for navigating around an unfamiliar place/city, and I paid U.S. $1.00 on e-Bay for a protective case.

The item was in mint condition (as advertised) upon arrival, and includes an Apple warranty through September of this year.

When the battery goes...well...I will cross that bridge when I come to it. For less than $200.00, it does whatever I want, and if I lose it, it is less than some flashlights I have purchased!

I used to power off and power on the device each time I used it, maybe a dozen times a day or more on a trip, but then my friend taught me that just disabling WiFi would be more than sufficient.

Sometimes a week or a month may pass without touching it, but, when I choose to take it with me when traveling, it is just fine.

Thank you all for your recommendations and input.


* * *

Some further thoughts and questions:

1) I don't want to update the device and be nagged, so, I have been charging with WiFi off so it will not check/download the update.
I intend to pay the $1.99 and follow this process as outlined here:

Link

a) Has anyone here done this?

2) Can anyone recommend a WiFi application that will let me browse networks with one click from the "Home" screen? Right now, it takes several clicks to get to where you browse available WiFi networks, and I would like something faster that with one press will take me directly to that screen.

a) I would also be amenable to downloading a cheap/free third-party application that would do this, aside from the one native to the device.

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

Re: Please Recommend 4" to 6" WiFi Device/Max. $250.00/Replaceable Battery

I'm still searching for a simple "one click" solution to access WiFi networks.

Does anyone know of a free/cheap program which will let me turn WiFi on/off with a single press?

Right now, I need to drag up the bottom menu and then tap the WiFi icon. I would like to be able to just tap an icon on the "home" screen and have that toggle WiFi on/off directly.