Boxing Day Deal on the Asus G74SX-XA1
Happy Boxing Day! It might be late news but I thought it would be worth mentioning.
Canada Computers is offering the Asus G74SX-XA1 for only $1099.99! That's an instant rebate of $300 off its regular price of $1399.99.
It's available as an in-store promotion today only and are in limited quantity in each store.
I always liked the look and performance of the Asus G74 series and this is a great deal on a very powerful laptop.
Pay-As-You-Go vs Cellphone Contract for an Apple iPhone 4S
With the launch of the new iPhone 4S, the excitement of having a cellphone contract ending is like Christmas in October. Unfortunately, only the lucky few can feel this excitement. But what if we could buy our iPhone 4S from Apple directly and avoid the torture of waiting for our contracts to end, or even worse, terminate our contract early and pay hundreds of dollars.
Since 2010 Apple Canada allowed Canadian consumers to buy their iPhones directly from the Apple Store or Apple Online. The big disadvantage was the price, without the subsidized cost offered by a carrier you were paying 3-4 times as much for the latest iPhone. But, one of the of the advantages of purchasing your iPhone from Apple was the iPhone was unlocked, meaning you can use your iPhone on any carrier at any time, and contract free. To some people this was an ideal feature to have. Having the ability to use any SIM card from any carrier at any time allowed the consumer to use their iPhone in any country. And, buy plans that were contract free, also as known as Pay-As-You-Go plans.
Pay-As-You-Go plans use a banked number of minutes and/or text messaging and/or data expiring over a period of time. In some cases, you can have banked minutes that can last up to one year. And, if you run out of minutes, you buy more minutes through your phone or online.
So let's compare costs between a Carrier Contract Plan vs Pay-As-You-Go:
Carrier Contract Plan (in this example I will use Telus Moblility)
iPhone 4S 16GB from Telus Mobility = $169.00
Activation Fee = $35.00 one time fee
Minimum Monthly Plan for iPhone 4S = $50.00/month + taxes = $56.50/month in Ontario
A Telus agreement for an iPhone 4S is 3 years
TOTAL = $169.00 + $35.00 + ($56.50 * 36 months) = $2238 for the length of the 3-year contract
Pay-As-You-Go Plan (in this example I will use Petro Canada Mobility - yes, they are in the wireless business too!)
iPhone 4S 16GB from Apple Canada = $649+taxes = $739.86
SIM Card purchase = $15.00+taxes = $16.95
The Anytime Plan with 400 minutes + 40 bonus minutes (with up to 356 days of service) = $100+taxes = $113
TOTAL = $739.86 + $16.95 + ($113 * 3 years) = $1095.81
But what about data you ask? For an extra $10/month you can have unlimited data!
So the new Pay-As-You-Go Total = $1095.81 + ($120 * 3 years) = $1455.81
You can save about $782.19 over the length of a contractual contract with a cellphone carrier! That's a savings of 35%! If your contractual plans were priced without including the mandatory 911 service fees, adding extra features, coverage charges, etc. the total of $2238 can raise considerably. Not to say that Pay-As-You-Go plans don't have hidden fees as well, but atleast you can say, "my budget was to spend $100 [plus applicable taxes] this year and I used up my minutes, and now I'll reload my minutes, but only in the new year to stay in budget", or "my minutes are used up, I'll only pay for 60 minutes for $15 this time and not add a data plan this month". In other words, flexibility.
Using the Pay-As-You-Go as a budgetary option is very realistic to me. Why should I spend hundreds of dollars more if I correspond with your friends with Facebook, or other social apps. I don't need 200 minutes a month. I want unlimited data on the go, but I don't want to spend more than $10 a month to get it! I want the option to use my phone on other carriers whenever I want, especially when I travel abroad. And, if I can sell my iPhone to get the newest one, I'll get a really good price for it.
I have onep more year until my iPhone 3GS contract expires. Calculating the cost during my 3-year plan, I will be spending over $2800 for this contract.
Once my contract has expired I will highly consider a Pay-As-You-Go plan with, a brand new, unlocked iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S(?).
What is the most you have spent on a contract?
Things to consider if you plan to go the "Pay-As-You-Go" route:
iPhones are unlocked from Apple so you can use your iPhone on any carrier that uses SIM cards (all over the world!)
Initial cost of an unlocked iPhone from Apple is EXPENSIVE!
Resell value of an unlocked iPhone is high
Depending on your talking habits, it may cost you more
No contracts, no credit checks
The carrier's network might not be as reliable
Use the money you saved to pay down your mortgage/student loan, go on a vacation, buy an XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3, buy an iPad 2, invest in 2 Apple stocks, invest into high interest 3-year GICs...LOL!
Quick Review: Asus eee PC 1018P-PU27
After a few weeks of reasearching the Asus eee PC 1018P-PU27, I went out and got one. I wanted to wait until the PU37 version was released in Canada, but without my Asus eee PC 1000HE, I was desperate on getting another netbook.
My first impression of the netbook is that it looked smaller, thinner andis lighter than my old Asus eee PC 1000HE. I chose the black version over the white because there was more use of the aluminum (screen cover and keyboard inlay) where as the white version only had it on the keyboard inlay. Either way it was more of an esthetic choice because both had the same features. Some can argue more aluminum will help with heat dissipation, but it wasn't a factor in my choice.
The performance is very impressive. A lot quicker than my previous netbook, but I would recommend maximizing the RAM to 2GB for the extra speed. I never used Windows 7 before, but I like how everything seems to work together well. My old external hard drives, a few printers, external monitor, iPhone, connecting to different WiFi networks were recognized without any issues. The USB 3.0 is amazing. I don't have any USB 3.0 devices, but I found that my older USB 2.0 hard drives transferred files faster.
The only thing that seems to bother me the most is the touchpad. I usually use my thumbs to press the touchpad button, but they are too stiff. I end up using my index fingers instead. The lack of actual buttons on the touchpad causes me to look down at my touchpad so I press the right area. Multi-touch is used on this netbook, but I don't find it responsive enough.
My initial experience with this netbook has been good so far. It feels very solid and the performance is very good. Aside from my issues with the touchpad, I am pleased with my purchase.
I will do a follow-up review on my Asus eee PC 1018P in a few months.
Shopping Around: Asus eee PC 1018P-PU37
Ever since my old netbook has been "in the shop" with a possibility of a reimbursement from my credit card, I've been shopping around for a new netbook and the new Asus eee PC 1018P-PU37.
I've only seen it on sale in the US on Amazon.com, but the Asus eee PC 1018P-PU27 has been selling at numerous Canadian stores for awhile.
The reason I like this model is the use of an aluminum body. Most netbooks are built with plastic bodies causing massive wear and tear over time, especially around the hinges. Asus netbooks are not immune to this. Check out the picture of my netbook below.
I was considering on getting an Apple MacBook because of the use of the aluminum unibody that they are famous for. I thought the price was too high and knowing I had to repurchase new software was not very appealing.
So I did a search for an Asus netbook that offered the same durability as the MacBook but without the price, and uses a Windows OS. Resulting in the Asus eee PC 1018P. It's now going into the third version using the Intel Atom N570 CPU.
Aside from the aluminum body, it has a few features I liked: USB 3.0, the newest Atom CPU (in the 1018P-PU37 version), 10.5 hours of battery life (according to Asus), Wireless N, and Bluetooth V3.
I'll inquire some of my local computer stores when they plan to sell the PU37, this should be my next netbook.
More information at Asus.com or Amazon.com
In the shop: Asus eee PC 1000HE, Part 3
More development on my Asus eee PC 1000HE, you could read Part 1 and Part 2 to catch up on my situation.
Anyway, I was checking the warranty protection on my credit card I purchased my netbook with and found out that they double the warranty of all my purchases up to 1 year. I purchased my netbook on May 19, 2009 so that gives my a warranty coverage of May 19, 2011! Awesome!
I called my credit card company and started a claim. I was told to send a few documents to their office as soon as possible. I'm hoping I get a response from them by next week. If my credit card plans to reimburse my purchase, buying a new netbook could a favoured option.
UPDATE: May 30, 2011
I contacted my credit card company to see if they were going to reimburse me and unfortunately they will not But, because of the length of time it took to get a response, I went out and bought a new netbook, the Asus eee PC 1018P-PU27. My old netbook will be shipped back to me from Asus unrepaired and will soon be part of my PC graveyard. RIP Asus eee PC 1000HE.
In the shop: Asus eee PC 1000HE, Part 2
I recently sent my netbook in for repairs and I got a response from Asus. They gave me a repair quote of $200 USD to repair my netbook, the Asus eee PC 1000HE. The repairs will consist of a new plastic body (top and bottom), service charges, and expedited shipping back to me.
The question is whether I should get it fixed and keep my netbook, or try and find a new netbook. Since it's $200 to get my old netbook repaired and average netbook is about $500, it would cost me about $300 for a new netbook. They are giving me a few days to decide what I want to do, but I'll do some research and see if there is something that's worth replacing it with.
In the Shop: Asus eee PC 1000HE
I'm finally getting my netbook, the Asus eee PC 1000HE, repaired after massive wear and tear of the hinges.
The frustrating thing is that the netbook is still working well. This is not the first time this has happened to my laptops in the past and I wish someone would develop hinges that were sturdier.
I should be getting an answer on the repairs in a few days. Hopefully it's not too expensive to repair since the warranty ended a year ago. I bought my netbook in May of 2009 at Canada Computers (but has been discontinued and no longer sold there).
iOS 4.3 released today
Apple releases iOS 4.3 http://engt.co/eclS6O
Sync your iPhone to iTunes on your computer and it will initiate the update.
What I discovered is that the WiFi Hotspot does not work with my 3GS. I contacted Telus via Twitter and they told me that it is only available for the iPhone 4.
The only options you get on the 3GS is basically the same function as the current tethering feature: Bluetooth or USB.
So this update for iPhone users without 4th gen phones will not have the actual "hotspot" feature. The non-4 iPhones will only have the tethering function similar to the previous firmware versions.
This will definitely effect my decision to get the new iPad 2 on March 25 (Canadian release date).
Apple iPad 2 on sale March 11 (March 25 in Canada)
The second generation iPad by Apple will be coming to retail and online stores starting March 11 at the press conference made on March 2, 2011.
How safe are your iPhone passwords? Not much.
According to engadget and PC World, researchers at Frauhofer SIT can jailbreak and retrieve password sensitive information from an iPhone in 6 minutes! Passwords, such as your mailboxes, VPN and WiFi networks can all be compromised. You can watch the Youtube video below.
One way of countering this is to add the "Find My iPhone" app and perform a remote wipe command before any of your information can be accessed. Hopefully Apple can encrypt our information better because this is a major security flaw.
Until then, guard your iPhone. Treat it like expensive jewelry and avoid leaving your iPhone unattended (like we ever do).
[engadget]
[PC World]
[youtube]