Is the dust issue related to where the Tungsten has been assembled?

[giacecco]

What do you think about collecting information about where the Tungstens affected by the dust issue have been assembled?

We could as an example discover that somehow european ones (I think Palm produces in Hungary, too) are safe.

So, please, Tungsten owners, have a look at the label behind your Tungsten, and tell us if you have the dust problem and were the Tungsten comes from. THANK YOU!

Giacecco

[Kasia]

Mine was assembled in China & I don't have the dust problem.

[woodworks]

Mine also was assembled in China. No dust. No dead pixels.

[OldBlue]

I personally feel that the whole dust issue has been blown out of proportion by a few vocal individuals, with others jumping on the bandwagon and perpetuating the perception on boards like this one.

We have 6 m505's in this office, 2 assembled in Hungary and 4 assembled in the U.S. No dust in any of them. ... My Tungsten was assembled in China and also has no dust. (I DO have one dead pixel in my TT, but it's not noticeable in everyday use.)

OldBlue

[Stardust]

Old Blue -

You can say the dust issue has been blown out of proportion in the absence of reliable statistics on the number of affected Tungsten units. But can you blame those who have raised serious concern about the problem? It's not like the Tungsten costs a piitance. With all the media hype over the product's launch and Palm's market position, some dust under the screen is not exactly what consumers expect to see after taking out their new toy from its pretty little box.

[slowly_learning]

I was talking to a few tech support agents about this and there really is no dust under the screen. It's just the angle you're looking at it on. And I've noticed that if you look straight at the screen, you can't notice a thing...

[OldBlue]

Stardust

If dust were a genuine and prevalent issue, do you not think that the 3rd party product reviews would have reported it? Also, the media in general would have a field day reporting on it to "spread the word." Look at the posts on this thread. None of the posters (thus far) have dust problems.

I notice that you recently posted:

"I'll be getting a T665C early next year to replace my Prism. I've checked out the Palm m515, which must have one of the lousiest color displays, and the Palm m130, which looks more like a toy than a PDA. As for the Tungsten, it is rapidly gaining notoriety dust under the screen. Whatever happened to quality control at Palm?"

You are obviously not a fan of Palm products. BTW, I looked at a T615 and m515 side by side and the m515 had better color rendition. The Clie's reds were a dark orange.

OldBlue

[Stardust]

OldBlue

Although I've never been a Palm admirer, I was seriously looking to get a Tungsten until the dust issue cropped up. I may be misinformed about the real extent of the problem. That's precisely why I read these messageboards.

I've heard about the T616C color display being less than satisfactory, but I understand it's been improved in the T665C. I'd also like a PDA with a decent speaker.

I recently got to operate a demo model of the Palm m515 and wasn't impressed. Perhaps you can tell me why I should change my opinion. The m515 retails here for US$320 equivalent, which I think is very reasonable.

Peace.

[PDASROCK]

Fighting, fighting, fighting, have you never considered a pocket pc??? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA;) :D The world needs some good jokes I think.

[Stardust]

Well, we can argue about Saddam. But PDAs are a lot more interesting.

[OldBlue]

PDASROCK

The dialog between Stardust and me is definitely NOT a fight and I do not see it as such. We're just debating our points of view and I respect Stardust's opinions, although I obviously do not agree with all of them. ... Stardust genuinely and sincerely believes there is a serious dust problem with the Tungsten screens. I, on the other hand, feel that the reports on these boards about screen dust are exaggerated, sometimes posted by individuals who are only repeating what they have read and who have never even held or examined a Tungsten. I feel that the high visibility of these reports do not accurately reflect the low incidence of dust in the screens. Again, if the dust problem appeared in a high percentage of screens, the computer and general news media would be reporting it vigorously, if not for altruistic purposes, at least for the purpose of increasing market share over competiors. ... While not an enthusiast of Palm PDAs, Stardust appears to me to be open-minded, analytical, and objective. I hope that I appear the same way to him/her.

BTW, if you've got any good jokes, I could use some! :D

OldBlue

[OldBlue]

Stardust

I have not seen the display on the T665C. I will make it a point to stop by a Staples, Circuit City, or CompUSA and fire up my Tungsten next to a T665C. ... I had compared the screens of a T615 and an m515 about 5 months ago when I was seriously thinking about upgrading from my m505. The T615 had wonderful resolution, an MP3 player, and came in a blue version (my favorite color), which would have been a nice plus. The m515 had better color accuracy and would have fit all my peripherals, including cradle, travel charger, SD card, case, etc., so I would not have to buy all new perpherals. I did not like the color accuracy of the T615 and I did not like the low resolution of the m515. Screen "brightness" was about the same with both. I decided to buy neither and opted to wait for the Palm OS5 machines. From my experiences with PocketPC, I knew I did not want to go that route.

The Tungsten's speaker is fairly loud. The Gadgeteer reviewed the Tungsten and commented that "it is the loudest Palm OS device to date." Here's a link to their review:

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/tungstent-m550-review.html

If you're trying to decide between a T665C and an m515, assuming Sony improved the color accuracy from the T615, I would go with the T665C due to the higher resolution and MP3 player. Both are OS4.1 PDAs. ... If it's between a T665C and a Tungsten, I would opt for the Tungsten because of OS5 and processor speed. I've been very happy with my Tungsten, although I wish the list price was $50-$100 lower.

OldBlue

[PDASROCK]

I know you guys weren't fighting, I'm just playing around:) . As for the dust issue, I really have no opinion, as I have never used one(somebody stole it from the local radioshack, and I havn't been to compusa for a while).

As for t665c vs. m515, I'm afraid the t665c whoo[s palms butt in this instance. The t665 is higher resolution(320x320), faster(66mhz), mp3 playing, and really just a beautiful handheld. Oh well.

Want a joke?:
Q: How did the energizer bunny die?

A: He went to the bathroom and just kept going and going and....
:D

[Stardust]

OldBlue -

Your comments have been very useful. Thanks very much indeed. I've decided to keep an open mind in regard to the Tungsten, the dust issue notwithstanding.

[giacecco]

Bought in Milan, Italy, on October 28th. Assembled in China. Apparently no dust, and no dead pixels :-)

Giacecco

[maxinrome]

giacecco,

dove l'hai comprato ?
il mio l'ho preso dal palm store via internet e l'ho rimandato indietro per polvere sotto lo schermo (si vedeva con la luce accesa, quindi sempre)
sfortunatamente non ho letto nel retro dove era stato assemblato. ora sto aspettando il nuovo che dovrebbe arrivare a momenti.

ciao, massimiliano

[maxinrome]

dear readers,

my apologies for writing in italian in my previous post.

[jankjo]

Mine says it was assembled in China...no dust!

[Jss134]

I didn't think I had dust in my Tungsten, but when I used "checkpix" to see if I had any dead pixels, about ten good sized dust particles appeared when cycling through the blue and black screens. Since I can't see them 90% of the time I'm not really concerned... unless more dust starts showing up.

[PDASROCK]

Supposedly from what I heard, the dust will never go away, but it will never collect more either. Well, that's what I heard anyway.

[OldBlue]

PDASROCK, Thanks for the joke! I'll be sure to spread the word!:D

Stardust, I hope you will find the right unit to meet all your PDA needs. There are so many different PDAs on the market that one should not have to "settle." ... BTW, I've sent you a PM about something in which you might be interested.

OldBlue

[pdcparamedic]

Assembled in China......no dust.....getting a new one this week, will let yall know about that one

pdc:)

[Stardust]

I've just checked out the Tungsten in Manila. Lowest price is Pesos 28,200 or about US$527. Assuming the battery will last two years and I can't replace it, that would cost me Pesos 39.60 or US$ 0.74. I am no pennypincher but I'm thinking of what I can buy with Pesos 2,000 a month....

[becomingX]

Mine's from China and I have a dust problem. Tought it was a dead pixel at first but at a closer look, its probably some dust stuck to the bottom of the screen.

[PDASROCK]

Stardust,

Exactly what do you plan to do with your pda? Do you want it simply for organization, or are you a real pda lover and are you going to customize every little thing just for you? Let me know and I'll tell you what I would get in your case. Cheers

[Stardust]

PDASROCK,

Thanks for your offer of help. In addition to the usual datebook and to-do routine, I use my PDA (currently a Prism) heavily for the following:

1. Storing technical and other types of data
2. Word-processing (I am a free-lance journalist and aspiring creative writer)
3. Reading e-news/e-books
4. Viewing photos for reference (e.g., yoga, healing, coffee)

I have learned to accept the fact that any new PDA that I buy will last me only two years as the issue of replacement batteries remains unresolved. Since I use my PDA as a work tool, I am willing to invest a fair amount but would want a unit that has:

1. Good color display
2. Reasonable battery life before re-charge
3. A decent speaker for alarms
4. Compatability with Targus (or similar) keyboard which I can continue using if I switch to another brand or model.

Incidentally, where I am, Sony accessories and after-sales service are not as accessible as those for Palm. This discourages me from getting a T665C, which also seems to have disappeared from local retail stores.

I might eventually go for a Tungsten but will probably wait a couple of months for the price to go down.

Any suggestions?

[PDASROCK]

Hmm,

Sound like you want either a clie or tungsten. I say this because high-resolution really can make a difference with word processing and pictures for sure. The tungsten t, though, is quite expensive, and the t665c doesn't have the best battery life(unless you use it a lot outside without the backlight).
I would recommend either a t615, t665c, tungsten, or sj30. They are all high-res, and all nice and new. I would go for the sj30, it's high-res, 16 mb plus memory stick for storage, small and compact, nice metal case, and I'm sure you could find a keyboard for it(I have a wireless keyboard for my nr70v, and it works perfectly, I wouldn't recommend and nr70v for you because of short battery life).
I think all these models have a decent speaker(the tungsten and t665c anyway), and if you want a good pda while holding on to your Pesos, I would go for a clie.
As far as aftermarket products, try ebay, you can get just about anything you want there for less than retail and have it delivered to your door. Also there is more available for the clie at the moment. Hope you find one you like:D

[Stardust]

PDASROCK,

Thanks very much indeed for your comments. I am now inclined to go for an SJ30 or a T665C. I understand the former doesn't have as loud a speaker as the other Clies, while the latter is hard to find in Manila. Ordering online from eBay or some such site could be a good idea - if not for the extra cost of trans-Pacific delivery and greedy customs people here. I'll see if I can get the PDA through somebody traveling to the US.

Have a peaceful day (night)!