To: Frustrated Users

[smorvan]

Please stop complaining that Sony is going to come out with new Palm units every month. Had we had only Palm to do it, we would still be stuck with the Vx type designs (which is about 4-5 yearls old now).

Sony is doing a great job at putting some serious energy in this Market. Overall, it raises the bar significantly for the other players, which means that must come out with new machines comparable to Sonys or simply drop their prices.

Overall, I think it is a win-win situation. Those of us who are saying that they just bought their PDA last month and are whining about the new one coming out, have two solutions:
- stick with it, and realize that for the month that you have had it, it helped you a great deal, thus making it worth the $$
- sell it or return it and buy yourself a paper agenda

I know this can be really frustrating, but this is helping us all in the long run.

Stephane

[bjorn]

I have to agree ... I just pre-ordered one (with the wireless card), and am looking forward to it.

I have been limping along with a Vx that has a badly scratched screen, no thanks to Solitaire (but I will accept some blame for not using a screen protector -- I ordered one this time though <grin>) and a broken button, with a second button ready to go any day now.

When these problems began to bother me, I spent some time doing research, and heard last summer about Palm OS 5, and the technologies it would enable. About that time, the NR70V came out, and I thought WOW! How cool is that?

Even though I desperately needed to replace my Vx, I knew that with OS 5 on the verge of being released, it wouldn't take long for something better to come along. And, it looks like I was right.

They don't call it the bleeding-edge for nothing. By doing my research ahead of time, I saved myself a lot of heartache, and I think it will have been worth the wait. I know it may not be long before other companies come out with similar products, but I am sold on Sony and their customer support, based on previous experience with them.

Bjorn

[PDASROCK]

Yeah, I mean, stop complaining! If you got a real problem, just ignore 2/3 releases, and get an update every third release! That way, it's like palm(I know you guys are all just joking)! I must wonder though, bjorn, you have had a good expierience with sony tech support??!! I havn't heard anybody else say such a thing. And yes, competition is great! As long as sony doesn't run palm into the ground(like what a combined effort did to handsprings visors), then the competition is great. I heard that toshiba tried to get a palm os license, but couldn't :( I was sad...

[bjorn]

Yes,

I bought a Sony VAIO through uBid.com (a sweet deal too), and after a few months the hard drive crashed. I had fortunately backed everything up to a separate drive, and after calling their support line and giving them the model, serial # and purchase date, they sent me a box (via FEDEX -- it arrived the next day) with packing materials inside and a return FEDEX label. It was back in my hands and up and running under my desk in two weeks. They had replaced the drive and reloaded the software that came with it, and FEDEX'd it back to me.

Compare that to the Toshiba laptop I purchased last year from Best Buy, who had to send it down to their repair center in SoCal, and then THEY sent it to Toshiba. That was over a month ago, and they claim it was fixed and sent back, but the store keeps brushing me off, saying it will be in "any day now." The latest word was that it "got left on a dock in San Francisco" and that it would be ANOTHER WEEK!

I am thrilled with Sony's support, but disgusted at Best Buy. Not only did they lose my laptop for two weeks, but they didn't bother to try to locate it when it didn't arrive in the stated amount of time.

Sony rocks, but Best Buy sucks!

Bjorn

[smorvan]

Well, I for one had a *very* good experience with Sony Clie Support (this is like a 5 legged sheep).

I have purchased my 710C in the USA in summer 2001, and shortly moved to Europe thereafter. In December I was stupid enough to try upgrading to 4.0.1 myself, and fried the unit. I called in Sony Support, they gave me a hard time being in Europe with a US only warranty.

I sent it in via a friend who lives in the US, who forwarded to Sony repair center. Sony repair center returned to him, and he returned to me. Cost me $100 via FedEx both ways. When I got my unit back, I did try again to upgrade it to 4.0.1, and again, ended up with a dead machine (can you say curse?). Same thing and the unit came back at me.

The good thing: Sony Clie Tech Support
The bad thing: me, stupid enough to try the upgrade twice. Cost me a mere $200 in Shipping, while Sony was making the upgrade available for $50.

Yes siree, I am 'Darwin Award' material.