I have, in the past, got really rather excited about the own-brand Android phones Orange punts out, ‘cos considering how nice they are, they’re astonishingly cheap (the one that springs immediately to mind is the Orange Monte Carlo). So, when the news comes through, from

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I have, in the past, got really rather excited about the own-brand Android phones Orange punts out, ‘cos considering how nice they are, they’re astonishingly cheap (the one that springs immediately to mind is the Orange Monte Carlo). So, when the news comes through, from their press room, that they’re releasing an own-brand tablet, you’d expect me to get excited about that device too, right?

Well, let’s not jump to conclusions, here, because the truth is, I’m not entirely sure. Y’see, the Orange Tahiti costs 70 quid, on a 24 month contract, at 25 quid a month, and I reckon there’s a very big issue, there. In fact, I have an issue with buying a tablet on a contract at all…

If you’ve got a tablet, whether it’s an HTC Flyer, or a Motorola Xoom, or an iPad, ask yourself this: when you go online with it, do you connect through 3G or through WiFi? You tend to connect through WiFi, ‘cos it’s vastly cheaper? Thought so. So, why would you want to buy a tablet on a contract, when you’re never going to use the contract you bought it on, that you’re now tied into for two years?

That’s the big difference betwixt tablets and phones, right there. You can get away with selling a phone on a contract, ‘cos phones need that connection. Tablets don’t, and I’ve heard circumstantial evidence to say that most people don’t even use a mobile connection, even if their tablet has one.

So, a cheap phone on contract is win. But a cheap tablet on contract?

Yeah, not so much…

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