I’ve suspected, at the barely conscious level that when we all grab our ‘driods and tap into “all you can eat” web surfing, the networks will begin to wheeze.

What next?  Well, as consumers, we shall begin to talk bad about the services that served us well, until we could chop on large heaps of bytes with essentially miniaturized computers in our hands.

At the ARS Technica site, they say this:  How SmartPhones are bogging down some carriers:

Even though AT&T has made improvements to its network over the last couple of years—including moving towers to an 850MHz spectrum that can more easily penetrate building walls, as well as upgrading to faster 7.2Mbps HSPA+ protocols—those improvements have done little to stem the tide of complaints from consumers in larger urban areas. Those users experience frequent dropped calls and an inability to make data connections, and in general they feel that service is spotty.

Just think, the iPad is going to be coming in large numbers…and the Slate, to join the many new phones which are the all in one digital tether to the net we seek like crack.

The pure technical facts are, the “bandwidth” (think of how many lanes in the road) can be used faster than more of the capability can be added. It’s not like we all haven’t experienced this with road construction sometimes in our lives.

If you’re in the mood to get that next system, there is a way to save money, yet still come away with a full warranty from Dell. If you go to the Dell Outlet page, you can search for a computer (or any other item they sel: TVs, monitors, projectors, etc) that suits your needs, and saves.

What’s there?

Refurbished units: Someone else had issues and they fix it and on the shelf it goes for resale.

Open Box: Fancy name for we had a contract, we built a few extra, and have some left overs. By consumer protection law, they can’t be sold as “new.” They can be sold as “opend.” You win.

Scratch and Dent: Something cosmetically is wrong, and, once more, you win. We bought one for a paster we support via church and it took 10 mnutes to find the cosmetic damage: A scrape thtough one of the bar code labels on the bottom of the unit, and the scrape was hardly detectable.

All come with full documentation, accessories and a full Dell warranty.

My workhorse laptop is a refurb. works great.

Inside baseball: If you see a unit you like, in capability and cost, BUY IT! It’s on the shelf and 10 minutes after you see it, someone else might snag it, while you decide to come back tomorrow and get it.

Do your homework and know what each unit can do, so as you see the right one appear, you’ll get a deal and you’ll get a Dell and you’ll be ahead. recommendation? Spend the savings on adding to the length of the warranty at check ut (they go up to three years).

Disclosure: I get nothing from promoting this other than happy freinds, family and customers who I advise. Cold you be one of those?