new lead in computer hunt

[ghostjmf]

someone who was advising a friend also advised me; I don't have this down perfectly but the jist is:


Buy a Nexus 7. With wifi. Their life-partner has the 2012 version, but they say the 2013 is even better for this purpose. Then get a 4G-something-something sim card from T-mobile that fits in a slot on the Nexus 7.


This gives you 4-G connectivity without paying a monthly fee. There's a deal with the card that you get a certain amount of data-coverage free at 4-G; if you exceed your quotient, all that happens is you get slower data, not charges.


But, not surprisingly, they say that the people selling me the Nexus 7 (since I told them I want to buy from a store with a return policy, not from Amazon, from whom I've been burned on bad not-computer electronics with no decent return policy) & the people selling me the T-Mobile sim card will try to sell me different stuff that costs monthly fees, etc. The whole point is avoiding monthly fees.


Of course this won't have the possibility of connecting to a real keyboard, looks like. Decisions, decisions.


Great; a quick lookup tells me the 2013 Nexus 7 is no longer being sold by Google. So I'd have to pick one up from a source I don't trust (Amazon, e-bay). Or find out if the Nexus 9, now available, does the same magic.

[Bob Juch]

someone who was advising a friend also advised me; I don't have this down perfectly but the jist is:


Buy a Nexus 7. With wifi. Their life-partner has the 2012 version, but they say the 2013 is even better for this purpose. Then get a 4G-something-something sim card from T-mobile that fits in a slot on the Nexus 7.


This gives you 4-G connectivity without paying a monthly fee. There's a deal with the card that you get a certain amount of data-coverage free at 4-G; if you exceed your quotient, all that happens is you get slower data, not charges.


But, not surprisingly, they say that the people selling me the Nexus 7 (since I told them I want to buy from a store with a return policy, not from Amazon, from whom I've been burned on bad not-computer electronics with no decent return policy) & the people selling me the T-Mobile sim card will try to sell me different stuff that costs monthly fees, etc. The whole point is avoiding monthly fees.


Of course this won't have the possibility of connecting to a real keyboard, looks like. Decisions, decisions.


Great; a quick lookup tells me the 2013 Nexus 7 is no longer being sold by Google. So I'd have to pick one up from a source I don't trust (Amazon, e-bay). Or find out if the Nexus 9, now available, does the same magic.

Do not buy a Nexus! If it breaks no one will fix it for you. I had to toss-out a Nexus 10 that wouldn't recharge because Google doesn't repair them, neither does Samsung who makes them. In fact Samsung makes no mention of them on their website. If you want an Android tablet get the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 8.0.

[ghostjmf]

Great. Well, my friend's friend's partner's Nexus hasn't broken yet. Neither has their mom's. They've researched this as the best solution to being connected at high speeds for low cost. But my problem here is that the Nexus they recommend is not available new anymore. Well, there are probably some dealers on Amazon saying what they sell is new, but they're not always telling the truth. I have found that out the hard way with VCRs. And what you have said makes me very much not want to buy a reconditioned one.


The Nexus 9 is made by a diff company that made the Nexus 7. I will have to look up which one Samsung makes/made. Problem is that I don't know if the 9 has a sim card slot compatible with T-Mobile's magic sim card, & I've been told in advance that both Nexus sellers & T-Mobile are unlikely to be able to tell you. My friend's friend is a techie themself & had to wade through all kinds of sludge to find this all out about the Nexus 7. I'm a little dim on how T-Mobile will sell the $25 sim card but not charge you monthly connectivity rates. Will be double checking that with them anyway.