The Stock Market and Investing

gagrice

Utilities seem high here. Water about $100 per month. We have Septic or that would add another $100 for sewer service. We averaged $92 last year on electric. We are very frugal with the AC and our home is super well insulated. My neighbor with a smaller home averages over $200 per month on electric. Propane is a killer if I try to keep the house at 70 degrees. We are definitely in a cooling trend. Averaged about 10 degrees below normal all summer and now in the fall. It may get to 65 degrees today. 44 degrees over night. No frost yet. We pay right at $6000 a year property tax on an appraisal of $575k. We eat pretty healthy. Lots of fresh veggies. And the prices are fairly low. Lettuce rarely over a buck a head or bunch. Most of the time tomatoes are under a dollar a lb. Our sales tax in the county is 7.75%. Some areas as high as 9.75% in our local shopping area. Eating out can be expensive or downright cheap. My wife and I love the breakfast Burrito at the Alpine Taco shop. Same family run since the 1980s. One Burrito is plenty for the two of us. Breakfast $4.30 total for two. The Marine Room in LaJolla $150 average for two.

anthonyp

I have often wondered what a `tip` should be, when the meal is say six dollars?? I usually leave a fifty percent tip, as three dollars doesn`t go very far.....For a regular sized bill, say forty dollars, I leave a twenty to twenty five percent tip......Most of my reasoning is ` That could be me doing the waitering` Tony ps or one of my children

houdini1

Pretty much the same here. One good thing about getting old is we tend to eat a lot less. My wife and I usually will split breakfast, etc. If the bill is $6 or $7 we just leave a $10.

michaellno

Wow, I had no idea it had gotten so expensive to live in CA.

Here in Colorado, we've got a 1600sf house on a 5000 sf lot (tract home) .. our utilities are:

Natural Gas (furnace, hot water) - $70/mo average (hi - $140, low $20)
Electricity (A/C) - $117/mo
Water - $120/mo

My property taxes are $2500/yr ($200K home value). Sales tax in my town is 7.5% and the state income tax is 4.63%.

fintail

Affluent Seattle suburb, typical modern 1BD apartment, single person: w/s/g average $50-55 month. Electricity maybe $30-35/month - all electric household. No income tax, sales tax 9.5% or something. Property tax and maintenance subsidized by owner as it isn't a condo - add these to a mortgage compared with subtracting them from rent makes the rent very low. And I am not tied to a supposed asset which in some cases doesn't even appreciate. Food and gas here can be steep, along with actually buying a place.

robr2

North of Boston

Gas - ranges from $20 to $300 for heat, HW, stove and dryer
Electric - average about $150 a month including central air
Water/Sewer - about $300 a year without irrigation
Property Tax - $11.50 per $1K of assessed value and is town based so it'll range. Typical home in my neighborhood is $450K
Sales Tax - 6.25% for the entire state. No tax on clothing, prescriptions, home heating fuel, electricity, unprepared food or services.
Income Tax - 5.3%

gagrice

This always makes for interesting reading for me. I think about moving and then settle back in my easy chair on the deck and forget about it.

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bpretire/2011/

robr2

It all depends on what's important to you. We're 20-25 years away so things can change a lot in that time. But we've already discussed it. We want to be that 75 YO couple hiking up Mt. Washington and skiing down Killington that folks will look at and say "I hope to be doing that someday." We look forward to auditing classes and reading and volunteering. I actually want to work a bit in those retirement years maybe as a lot boy/shuttle van driver/car mover at a dealership.

I have little interest in golf courses or sitting on a porch all day or hiding inside a house because it is hot and humid AGAIN.

houdini1

Hey, that's Kansas, not California. Our house is about 3900 sqft and is assessed at $650,000. We just got our tax bill today. We own another house valued at $200,000. and a third one valued at $119,000. Luckily they are all paid for. Property tax for all 3 is a little over $12,000.

Our biggest utility bill is electric. It gets hot here in the summer. I didn't think to include the utility bills for the other two houses, so you can probably increase those from $600. to about $1,000.

tagman

Tony...
You are a generous tipper. I also tip generously most of the time. But, for me, the percentage depends on the meal. If it's just a basic breakfast, there's no way the typical 18%-20% is enough. Heck, A $10 meal would only be a $2 tip @ 20%. I am definitely more like you, at breakfast, I leave around 50%. But, if it's an ultra high-end expensive restaurant, I usually tip between 20%- 35%, depending upon the usual variables. Average restaurants, I tip 25% - 35%. I don't expect a lot from a waiter/waitress. I feel sorry for them when I see some people trying to bust their butts. I just like them to be reasonably polite and check on our beverages often enough so they don't run dry for all too long. Can't stand needing a drink and waiting too long. That's really all I ask for. Heck, if they can't do that, then they have the wrong job, and maybe they ought to try delivering pizzas.

BTW, been doing some of the home improvement landscaping project this past week. It's a mess... yanking out all the old stuff before the new stuff can go in.

Haven't paid much attention to the markets or news recently. Frankly, I don't even care that much. The only thing I heard is that the employment picture has improved, and that the economy may be improving. I guess if it's true, it could spell some trouble for Republicans wanting to win in 2012. Anyway, I'm not about to invest in the market right now... I'm more likely to wait until next year and then invest in some real-estate anyway.

On a seperate note: I am going to install a new gas barbeque in the backyard. The last one I had was a built-in Fire Magic, and it was a terrific grill... but after looking at grills recently, this time I think I am going to install a built-in Lynx. The Lynx grills seem to me to be very nice, and they seem to have quality construction and all the necesary features. Anyone here have any input?

TM

anthonyp

Hi Tag

Nice to hear from you...Missing your posts....but it sounds like you are having some fun, redoing the garden......It does your soul good to have some beauty around yourself, and give pleasure to others..

I had no idea a bbq grill would be a detriment to others, until just the other day I was reading about how certain communities have banned them---I guess due to the smoke etc..

I enjoy the nice aroma myself, and they usually only grill for a few minutes, but I guess in some places it could be problem....

On the political front, I do believe Newt could win if he were able to get all the Republicans to sign a pledge to specifically cut back certain parts of the gov expenditures, in a responsible way---sort of as was done a long time ago....I maybe just hoping though......I am afraid we are all going to pay almost four percent on all investment income....That for me is a new tax, and I might add a hefty one.......Good Luck on the project Tony

anthonyp

Just thinking of yourself Tony

2001gs430

I'd love to get into some beach front condos in St Pete or Clearwater.

tagman

I'd love to get into some beach front condos in St Pete or Clearwater.

Two decades ago, the Sarasota area was chock full of bargains, and now you can once again Florida has numerous areas that where there are amazing deals on real estate.

Florida condos in good locations represent good investments, especially as more and more East Coast baby boomers age and retire in Florida.

If I lived on the East Coast, I would definitely buy some real estate in Florida.

TM

2001gs430

It's currently a perfect storm for these condos. Bank won't lend on many complexes that have high fore closures rates, unless you had at least 50% down payment. A lot of them have high maintenance fees because there are less number of owners to cover the costs, and the bank owned units are typically very far behind in paying their shares.
I believe that the slow economy also reduces the number of vacation renters, and their willingness to pay the going price.
So it is certainly a buyer's market there if you can overcome these issues.
Regarding Sarasota where I bought my first property, the real estate market there is recovering very nicely. Their beach front condos are 50-100K more expensive than comparable ones in St Pete and Clearwater. Their inventory level is back to pre crash level for a few months in a row now, so this is one area that has seen the re bottom.

kyfdx

Interesting.... do you live in the area?

ljflx

Anyone thinking of buying one should read this pretty scathing article. The problem with the razor/razor blade strategy that Amazon has used on this poduct is that you need to have a real good razor for it to work. Amazon is losing a ton per unit on the Fire and comments like this from the article are going to make it worse.

The device does do one thing well, he said. Shopping on Amazon is a breeze. “If I were given to conspiracy theories, I’d say that Amazon deliberately designed a poor Web browsing user experience to keep Fire users from shopping on competing sites,” Mr. Nielsen said

Full story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/technology/personaltech/amazons-fire-some-say-- may-become-the-edsel-of-tablets.html?_r=1&ref=business

gagrice

I sent mine to my Grandson. He and his dad like playing games and watching videos on it. I just really did not need it. Typing on a pad is just not me. I will stick with full size computers and get a lighter laptop soon. Probably a smart phone. Though I hate paying for services I really don't need. Like cell phone service. I really just want live NAV GPS and occasional web browsing capability, while on the road.

Looks like butter should be a good investment. :shades:

Norway butter shortage threatens Christmas treats

Last Friday, customs officers stopped a Russian at the Norwegian-Swedish border and seized 90 kilos (198 pounds) of butter stashed in his car.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/world/2011/12/12/norway-butter-shortage-threatens-chr- istmas-treats

robr2

The device does do one thing well, he said. Shopping on Amazon is a breeze. “If I were given to conspiracy theories, I’d say that Amazon deliberately designed a poor Web browsing user experience to keep Fire users from shopping on competing sites,” Mr. Nielsen said

I'm shocked!!

Amazon introduces a money losing that is designed to generate business for it's web site and discouraging users from shopping others?? Shocked I tell you.

Looks like the NYT is about a month behind everybody else. I think it's pretty clear that the reason Amazon introduced the Fire was to direct shoppers to it's website.

tagman

Len,

Agree 100%!!.

When I thought about buying the Fire, I went to the store and tried it first on the demo model. It was horrible. I didn't post because I didn't want to hurt any feelings. The Nook is clearly a superior product, but I am fairly certain the iPad3 is what I will want to get next Spring. I am waiting for it. Otherwise, it will be the updated MacBook Air, a Galaxy tablet, or an UltraBook.

TM

gagrice

Yes it led you to Amazon marketplace. What I was not happy about was all the Android apps that would not work with the modified Android 2.2 operating system. I could not find an app that I could import my Outlook contacts directly into. And customer service was not really on top of what was available.

On that same note. I was just in our local Riteaid store. Right in front they were selling 7" no name tablets with Android 2.2 for wifi @ $99 each. Also a 10" netbook running the same operating system for $99.

gagrice

I may have to go try the Nook. Just don't think I like the 7" size. I played with the 8.9" Samsung Galaxy Tab at AT&T while in AZ. I liked it better than the 10.1" Galaxy Tab. The reviews have ASUS sitting on top the Android heap now. When to jump back on????

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime: The First Android Tablet That'll Make You Consider Ditching Your iPad

http://www.businessinsider.com/asus-eee-pad-transformer-prime-review-2011-11

PS
I did like the screen on the Kindle Fire. And playing Mahjonng was good. Just not quite what I want.

tagman

I have a leather case that my Nook Color snaps into, and it is just like holding a leather-covered thin book. The size is perfect.

I just downloaded the new "media" update. I now have movies, tv, & tons of enhancements. I might actually enjoy this thing even more now. It's screen is magnificant, and the Nook Tablet is even faster than the Nook Color, which I bought before the Tablet was released.

Posting this from my Nook Color.

Yes, you should take a look at the Nook Tablet.

TM

robr2

And playing Mahjonng was good.

Hmmm gary - I never pictured you to be an little old Asian lady??

gagrice

I got hooked on the game in the early 1980s. It was available for my Atari 1040. We played a lot at work until the IBM compatibles became mainstream. When I saw it as a free game app for the Kindle I loaded it and played a few games. I am not really a video game player. I also liked Age of Empires until I got bored with it.

cyclone4

Anyone thinking of buying one should read this pretty scathing article.

Hi Len! "Long time, no talk". I've been very busy with the MF Global crap and other important things in my life. It looks like we will be getting 72% of our money in a bulk distribution in the next few days probably. That's a lot better than nothing. We have filed the claim form to hopefully get 100% back one of these days. It's hard to keep my sanity with what has been happening. But this too shall pass.

No wonder AMZN has stunk up lately. I use Amazon to buy all sorts of things, but I would never buy a Kindle fire. As TM already stated, I can't wait for the iPad3. I heard it will be available in Feb./March time frame. It looks like it will be nothing short of amazing. I'm glad I decided to wait and not buy the iPad2 even though the iPad2 in itself pretty awesome.

I have not sold one share of AAPL. I have faith that it will reach much higher levels in the not too distant future.

anthonyp

That`s shameful of them....I would think the government, whom we pay so many taxes to, would step in, refund 100% to innocent victims , and then step in and settle all the wrongdoing ---right up front---

I swear this is getting to be `everyone for themselves`....as the sheriff (plural) is not doing his job (or her), yet getting paid as though they were..

Just read an article in Barrons about the NYSE possibly starting a `dark pool` to compete....Tag I particularly think you would enjoy it.....Just gets into the nuts and bolts of what is going on behind the scenes....Tony

houdini1

I have had my Fire for about a month now and about the only gripe I have is you need a fairly strong WI FI source for the thing to work properly. If I take it downstairs my connection is spotty at best. While sitting in the car waiting for my wife to do her shopping I can use my phone as a "hot spot" for the Kindle.

Having had an original Kindle for over 3 years, the Fire seemed fairly intuitive for me to take to. As I have mentioned before, you don't really need any of these gadgets...a good 4G phone is all most of us need...but they are fun to play with.

While I was typing this a guy on Fox Business just compared the Nook tablet and the Fire. He favored the Fire slightly.

gagrice

That was another issue for me. When I took the Kindle Fire to our bedroom the signal was very weak. Our house is about 80 feet long so I did not think much of it. However my 6 year old Dell Inspiron works well back there. No big deal as it has already made my grandson and son in law happy. It also made my daughter happy as she gets to use a month of Amazon Prime for her Christmas shopping. The more I read early reviews, I believe I will wait for the ASUS Eee Transformer Prime to come out with Android 4.0 operating system. It has builtin GPS so it should make a great NAV. If it is offered by Verizon with the Galaxy Nexus Smartphone I will have moved into the 21st century.

houdini1

That Asus looked really nice.

tagman

So far, the vast majority of reviews between the Kindle Fire and the Nook tablet show that the devices are fairly equivalent, but have a few differences. One of those differences that is typically mentioned is that the Nook displays noticeably smoother video than the Kindle. The Kindle, however, has much better speakers. In my opinion, video is one of the most significant reasons to get these devices... otherwise folks could just get the basic black & white e-reader.

When using the devices for video, the audio is often played into headphones or earbuds, so the Kindle's speakers aren't as big an advantage as is the Nook's video advantage. The slightly jerky and stuttering video playback of the Kindle Fire compared to the Nook's smoother video playback is a big reason to consider the Nook, IMO, in addition to the Nook's SD card (which is non-existent in the Fire) and twice the RAM in the Nook. Also, the Nook has physical buttons for volume and function, just like an iPad, while the Kindle does not have them at all, and the Kindle user must navigate through the software to even control the device's volume and primary functions.

So, if video is a consideration, then it makes good sense to get the Nook. Also, when it comes to books, Barnes and Noble has a massively larger selection of books compared to Amazon... it's not even close. Amazon, however, offers more magazines.

At the end of the day, it gets down to a personal preference, of course. But for me, since I already have the Nook Color, I have little reason to get the Nook Tablet... it's only advantage is that it is slightly faster. If my wife still wants one of the devices, I'll get her a Nook Tablet. As I posted earlier, I'm waiting for that iPad3... it's going to be awesome, and I predict it will totally blow away every other tablet on the market. It will set a new benchmark and will be used more by business than any of the other tablets. Also, some of the apps that are already exclusive to the iPad will be much more powerful when they can take advantage of the iPad3's greater processing power, enhanced display, and improved connectivity. I fully expect the iPad3 will be a much more powerful productive device as well as an entertainment device. I truly expect that the iPad3 will be "the" tablet... and it will appeal to almost everyone, everywhere... young kids, schools, students, adults, business people, and industry worldwide.

TM

cyclone4

As I posted earlier, I'm waiting for that iPad3... it's going to be awesome, and I predict it will totally blow away every other tablet on the market. It will set a new benchmark and will be used more by business than any of the other tablets. Also, some of the apps that are already exclusive to the iPad will be much more powerful when they can take advantage of the iPad3's greater processing power, enhanced display, and improved connectivity. I fully expect the iPad3 will be a much more powerful productive device as well as an entertainment device. I truly expect that the iPad3 will be "the" tablet... and it will appeal to almost everyone, everywhere... young kids, schools, students, adults, business people, and industry worldwide.

TM, with this glowing review of the upcoming iPad3, what are you waiting for? You better buy about 1000 shares of AAPL immediately. Seriously though, I totally agree with you. I can't wait for the iPad3. It will be SO awesome.

gagrice

This looks like a site to keep you posted on the upcoming iPad3. It looks like the iPad will have an impact in schools as you mentioned. My 5 year old niece is a whiz on the iPad2. She is being home schooled with her two older sisters. Her scientist dad was not convinced until he listened to her reading from the iPad. I really think it should help with the cost of college required books.

http://www.ipad3-release.com/2011/technology-changes-%E2%80%93-ipad-now-in-class- rooms/

tagman

Hi Charlie...

I read your post earlier about the corrupted and compromised return of your money. Theft, IMO. I sure hope it works out for you... and soon.

As I'm sure you know, I am still not invested in the stock market, and I have no intention of doing so for quite some time. I should point out that there is an exception to this. I have two college tuition accounts for my children's college that are tax-exempt, and they have been invested in the market in some type of mutual fund that is designed for these types of scholar accounts. I haven't touched them since I initially opened them several years ago. I contribute to them every two weeks, as a direct distribution from my salary, so I know that the balance on the accounts goes up due to my contributions, and perhaps not due to the market's performance. But, if the market takes off, I suppose the accounts will grow even faster.

I'm sure AAPL will do well over the long run, and I suppose I could have owned a lot of shares recently when it took that nosedive, but I REALLY don't want to be in the market for now. I am looking forward to trying real estate as an investment next year. I've always wanted to try that. I sure hope it's a good experience.

I imagine that your Christmas is going to be terrific with all those "little ones" running around. Enjoy every precious moment. My wife's sister just had a baby recently, and I am looking forward to meeting my new nephew this Christmas when we spend a week visiting with her family.

And... my wife and I will celebrate 22 years of marriage this January 1st. I am amazed she has put up with me for that long... but she has. Guess she loves me enough. I know I sure do love her, and can't imagine life without her... well... at least most of the time.

Our wedding anniversay on New Years Day is sometimes a challenge. So many places are closed. But the parties... well, we just have a good excuse to enjoy them a little bit more than the rest.

TM

cyclone4

TM,

I wish you all the very best. You deserve it.

I don't blame you for losing interest in the market. From one day to the next or even one hour to the next, this market can drive one to lose his/her mind. I am SO sick of hearing about Europe every hour of the day. But, I'm afraid, it will not go away any time soon.

I truly believe that you, Gary, and some others here are doing the right thing by looking into real estate investing at this time. I bet we have already either reached a bottom or are very close to a bottom in many parts of the country. I don't have the make up to invest in real estate. Oh well. Good luck to all of us!

robr2

It looks like the iPad will have an impact in schools as you mentioned.

It already is. I think I've mentioned it before, my son's high school issued iPads to all students and faculty this fall. It's a bit of an experiment as faculty gets used to incorporating it into the lessons. The kids got over the novelty of them by mid October.

My son and I were going to his Boy Scout meeting and he was finishing typing his French homework on his iPad. When we got there, he brought it inside and "submitted" his homework via the wifi and he was done. All their planning is done on it, they access teacher blogs with it and communicate via a private e-mail network that gmail set up for them.

The goal is to get the kids working with the tools they'll be using daily in college or in the workforce.

cyclone4

Awesome stuff. I love reading about new technologies.

cyclone4

This is the latest news on the iPad3 from slashgear.com.

http://www.slashgear.com/ipad-3-in-february-2012-tips-analyst-09201139/

houdini1

For anyone who subscribes to Consumer Reports, I just got my Jan. 2012 edition. It has a good comparison and rating of all the current tablet computers.

They say the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet are both very good in virtually all respects and rate them as practically identical. They give the Kindle a slight edge on their rating system with 65 points to 63 points for the Nook.

They rate the ipad 2 as king of everything !

It is amazing how far we have progressed with all types of computing devices in such a short time. Makes you wonder where we will be in 50 years.

I bought my first "laptop computer" from radio shack about 1984 for about $600. It weighed about 7 pounds and was basically an electronic address book.

gagrice

I remember those days very well. I bought an HP laptop with a separate 3.5" floppy drive and a printer. All came in a carry case that weighed 22 lbs. I am sure my back trouble is a result of lugging that monster through airports every 3 weeks. The difference was, I paid $4500 for the package. It had a mono screen and 272kb of ROM with all the programs on it. My son sold it years later to a collector for 25 bucks. I wanted a Grid Compass, but did not have the $8000. My we have come a long way in less than 20 years.

robr2

My first job out of college, some folks used these:



Compaq "LUGABLES". 28 lbs. of Intel 8088 fury!!

gagrice

That was a very popular computer. Set Compaq on the road to success. Here was the HP110 that set me back financially for a bit.

http://oldcomputers.net/hp110.html

tagman

For anyone who subscribes to Consumer Reports, I just got my Jan. 2012 edition.

This could (but won't) re-kindle (no pun intended) the old Consumer Report arguments that used to flourish in many of the Edmunds forums. I recall being a part of too many of them. To put it bluntly, I hate Consumer Reports. They are flat out wrong too often to be trusted, and they often do not rely on actual data, but on statistically-biased surveys. Their testing procedures are highly-questionable. Their inclusion and exclusion practices are very questionable as well. There are so many irregularities and inconsistencies that it is often nearly impossible to know when their information is good or not.

After a history of decades of blunders (which they always tried to brush under the carpet) I decided years ago to never trust them. Well, recently, my wife and I decided to give them a "chance" (what was I thinking?) and we read their report on washers/dryers. My wife wanted those high-end front-loading machines that do nearly everything imagineable for a washer/dryer. We bought them because CR said they were terrific, and they have been absolutely horrible... probably the worst washer and dryer either of us has ever used or owned... especially the dryer, which has a tendency to snag the clothes because of the stupid design and location of the lint filter, which is placed right in front of the door, and as the clothes spin by it, they sometimes snag the leading edge and get shredded. I have attempted to modify this by grinding down the edge, but ultimately, we are going to have to get all new machines. The company doesn't care. It's not the end of the world, but it's definitely the end for those machines as soon as we have the time to pick out something to replace them. Thousands of dollars wasted, thanks to Consumer Reports.

So, their review of the tablets is another meaningless CR review , IMO, and I would rather read the reviews from technology companies. Just as I prefer to read reviews on automobiles from auto experts and definitely not Consumer Reports.

Sorry to rant on CR, and I am not going to enter into another round of arguing about them... certainly not on this terrific forum. But, I hope you will just accept that I don't like the organization at all, and you and others are entitled to like them or love them all you want. Many folks think CR's opinions have some level of value. I personally think they are totally worthless.

Please understand that I post this with the utmost respect towards you and anyone else here that might actually like CR... it's nothing personal.



TM

houdini1

Certainly no offense taken. I don't treat CR as the Bible either. I just look at them as one of many tools when I am researching a product. My main gripe with them is that sometimes they are not current enough. Some of the products they test/recommend/slam, etc. are not even being made any more.

The current, up to date comparisons, like that between the Nook tablet and the Kindle Fire work for me. Another thing for me is that I think Amazon has a much better chance of still being a viable company a few years down the road than B/N does.

Everyone's circumstances are different. For me, I read a lot. I used to be in our local library a couple of times a week, and I did this for more years than I care to mention. I haven't been in that library once since I got my first Kindle, as a gift, 3 years ago. That thing cost $350. back then....but it still works.

The Fire just works for me, and based on that original Kindle pricing they should be giving away a much improved version of the Fire in a couple of years.

tagman

Well, I totally agree that in just a few more years the improvements to these products should make them nothing short of amazing...provided Obama doesn't cause a world war before then. Maybe our drones ought to have a self-destruct function... duh!

TM

imidazol97

>Sorry to rant on CR, and I am not going to enter into another round of arguing about them... ... I personally think they are totally worthless.

I agree with you. And there have been several rants and flames in various topics about CR. However, your discussions on this topic are interesting because mywife is wanting a Nook or Fire or ... something of that group.

I read CR as just another one person's opinion. AND I find the opinions on sites like Amazon and others where real people enter their opinions. Some of those posts may be plants in favor of the product; some are negatives with a vengeance. But reading will pick up points about the product's weaknesses and strengths. I do not give weight to the number of pro or con posts--I just look to glean information from them.

gagrice

I read a lot of reviews on products I am interested in. I look at all the negatives first off. Those that go into detail are of the most interest to me. When half the people sent a product back right off you can be pretty sure the quality control was lacking. I am more skeptical of paid reviews in magazines. That would include CR.

I am still on the fence with the Kindle Fire as an eReader. I may get the Kindle Touch as I do like reading from the one my wife has. The fire just was not what I wanted in a utility device. I wanted it for emails and blogging as we are doing here. It was not nearly as convenient as I had hoped for. Again if you watch videos and play games the Kindle Fire should be a good choice. As should the Nook Tablet. Our BN closed its doors. Will they survive and be available to get books in the future?

It is looking like my next tablet experience will be the ASUS Eee Transformer Prime. It is twice as fast as the iPad 2 with the Tegra quad core processor. Most brilliant screen at this time. It is running on Android 3.2 with a free upgrade to 4.0 when it is released. It also has built-in GPS which no other pad has yet. Will the iPad3 top it in February? Who knows, as TM has said we are going ahead at warp speed.

tagman

It's about the experience, and some of the proprietary apps that are exclusive to the iPad and'or iPhone can be significant. Most of the apps out there are now available to most of the different platforms, so it's not a massive difference to most users, but one such example that matters is "Garage Band", which is a phenomenal application that can record music tracks at a professional level, and uses file formats that can be used in the professional application Logic Pro. There are many music devices that are built specifically to work with these software applications and the Apple hardware. Some of the best music production in the world is done with Apple's music software. So, this potentially makes the iPad far superior than any other tablet, and the MacBooks far superior than any other notebooks... when exclusive applications are important to the end user.

TM

kyfdx

I decided on the Kindle Touch.. My wife wants an eReader, and from everything I've read about it, the eInk technology makes for a better reader than the backlit screen of the Kindle Fire.

She isn't a game player, or even someone that tries to stay electronically connected, outside of work...

We'll see how it goes.... birthday is next week..

gagrice

You are right about job specific apps and Apple. They are ahead in seamless media applications. However, I wonder if they are up to speed on business or engineering programs. I remember BP buying 150 Macs for the engineering department in Alaska. They could not run the engineering software in spite of assurances by the Apple rep. They ended up in a Warehouse and eventually dumped. Probably ended up in people's homes. That was the late 1990s. I still prefer the open architecture of the compatibles. Though I am not at all happy with the last two versions of Windows. I just wiped a hard drive clean of Win7 Pro and loaded WinXP Pro. Just a better OS in my opinion. Vista was the ME of the decade.

I am banking on Android 4.0 being the one to beat over the next couple years. So I want a pad and smartphone that are compatible. As cool as the Mac Air Pro looks, I am not ready to dump that much cash with NO built-in GPS. I want a pad/laptop that will work as a NAV while traveling. And the smartphone capable of mobile hotspots. Then only then will I open my wallet.