laptops

We Post, SONY Replaces Long-Languishing Laptop

We Post, SONY Replaces Long-Languishing Laptop

After Daniela’s SONY laptop was stuck in a warranty repair purgatory for months and a SONY tech screamed at her over the phone accusing her of warranty fraud, her story appeared on The Consumerist. Now she happily writes:

Almost immediately after my article was posted on the consumerist, I received a friendly and extremely apologetic call from a Sony exec. Before even calling me, he had reviewed my case and agreed fully that they were in the wrong. He apologized and offered to have my notebook repaired immediately!

Intel To Sell Ultra-Cheap Classmate PC To Americans

Intel To Sell Ultra-Cheap Classmate PC To Americans

Great news, America: Intel’s ultra-cheap Classmate PC isn’t just for impoverished third-world schoolchildren anymore! The chipmaker today announced plans to sell the notebook domestically in the coming months. Intel insists its sub-notebook isn’t designed to compete with the non-profit One Laptop Per Child project, which is powered by chips from Intel’s rival, AMD, but they have aggressively moved to undercut OLPC wherever possible. The laptop will likely cost Americans less than $500.

HP Replaces Missing Laptop After 3 Months

HP Replaces Missing Laptop After 3 Months

Remember N? He last saw his laptop in December after shipping it to HP for desperately needed repairs. After posting the story HP reached out to N, who tells us that he just received a spanking new machine. Read N’s reaction and his tips for handling similar situations, after the jump.

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Heavens, another Macbook has exploded. Apple is sending him a new one. [Appeltell]

Dell Is "Too Cheap To Realize That I Have A Defective Laptop"

Dell Is "Too Cheap To Realize That I Have A Defective Laptop"

Reader Jake says he just opened his 45 day old laptop and the LCD cracked for no reason. Now Dell doesn’t believe his story and won’t cover it under his warranty. That sucks.

Apple Replaces Lemon Laptop As Promised

Apple Replaces Lemon Laptop As Promised

Our intern Alex’s lemony MacBook Pro finally went out with a spectacular graphical display of what it looks like when a robot’s brain dissolves. Fortunately, Apple made good on the promise they gave him last month when he asked about their replacement policy, and a new replacement MacBook Pro is on its way to him. They’re also refunding a portion of his AppleCare. Is this just typical Apple follow-through or above and beyond treatment because Alex’s story was posted on Consumerist?

Man Haggles With Dell Over Laptop Since 2005

Man Haggles With Dell Over Laptop Since 2005

There have been several business article written about how Dell is changing its bad customer service ways, but after you read Anthony’s horrible tale, you will know that Dell hell is very alive and very real:

In April of 2005, I purchased a Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop computer. Approximately a year later, I was given a replacement for ongoing issues with the computer, and that replacement served me fine for approximately another year before it too had ongoing issues and was replaced under warranty. However, this is where the problems began…

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A traveler reports that the TSA freaked out over his new Macbook Air when he brought it through security. Apparently the guy manning the x-ray was alarmed at the alleged laptop’s lack of a hard-drive and ports on the back. [Engadget]

SONY Doesn't Repair Your Laptop For 3 Months, Accuses You Of Warranty Fraud

SONY Doesn't Repair Your Laptop For 3 Months, Accuses You Of Warranty Fraud

UPDATE: We Post, SONY Replaces Long-Languishing Laptop

7 Lies You'll Hear From Salesmen At Electronics Stores

7 Lies You'll Hear From Salesmen At Electronics Stores

Future Shop is a Canadian consumer electronics retail chain. Charlie used to work there, and has now passed along the 7 most common lies he heard salesmen use on unsuspecting customers. Whether you have a Future Shop in your area or not, you’ll find these lies familiar.

Apple's Semi-Official Computer Replacement Policy

Apple's Semi-Official Computer Replacement Policy

Yesterday we noted that our intern Alex Chasick was told by an Apple Genius that Apple will not automatically replace a defective laptop after the third hardware failure. Alex followed our advice and called Apple’s Executive Customer Service line for some official answers. Here’s what he found out.

Woman Sues Best Buy For $54 Million Over Lost Laptop

Woman Sues Best Buy For $54 Million Over Lost Laptop

Raelyn Campbell is suing Best Buy for $54 million for losing her laptop and lying to her for months about it. She bought a laptop from Best Buy with an extended warranty, it broke, she sent it in for repairs, months later she didn’t have her laptop and after getting the runaround the store finally said it had lost her laptop and offered her a $900 gift card. She paid over $1,100 for the laptop, she paid for software on it, and it had irreplaceable photos, music, and personal information, including her tax returns. She freely admits she chose the high figure to attract media attention. She tells the Red Tape Chronicles “I can’t help but wonder how many other people have had their computer stolen (or) lost by Best Buy and then been bullied into accepting lowball compensation offers for replacement expenses and no compensation for identity theft protection expenses.” She also has a blog.

Customs Searching, Seizing, Gadgets

Customs Searching, Seizing, Gadgets

Amir Khan, a Pakistani-born US Citizen, has had his laptop searched by US customs agents on five separate occasions when returning to the US from overseas. It’s no longer just rifling through your luggage, Customs is now going through laptops, Blackberries, and other gizmos, sometimes confiscating them, and sometimes never returning them. Please bend over and spread your laptop. Transcript, inside…

Best Buy Hikes Price On Popular Budget Laptop, Gets Caught

Best Buy Hikes Price On Popular Budget Laptop, Gets Caught

If you were eyeing the “budget-priced” Gateway P-6831FX and thought about picking one up at your local Best Buy, you’ll want to wait until this Sunday, February 17th, when Best Buy says it will lower the price again.

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What’s Apple’s replacement policy for hardware failure? Our intern is having ongoing problems with his MacBook, and thought that after three large hardware failures in a row, Apple replaced the laptop—but “some dude at the genius bar just told me that was absolutely not true.” Does anyone know the official Apple party line on this issue?

Best Buy Switches Laptop Cover, Then Accuses Customer Of Fraud

Best Buy Switches Laptop Cover, Then Accuses Customer Of Fraud

Jed’s Gateway MX6030 laptop worked pretty well for a couple of years, then the problems started—faulty power adapter, kaput motherboard, dead hard drive. Luckily, he’d bought a 3-year extended service plan. Unluckily, when his motherboard was replaced, the bottom of the laptop—where the serial and model numbers are located—was swapped out with one from a different model, so that when he brought it back for the hard drive repair, the store manager accused him of fraud.

Man Haggles With Dell Over Failed Laptop For 3 Years

Man Haggles With Dell Over Failed Laptop For 3 Years

Ethan writes:

I purchased a laptop through my company in 2005. The laptop I bought was the Dell XPS (Gen2). I had several issues with the DVD burner right off the bat. Within months Dell was replacing my 6800 Ultra laptop video board due to video artifacts. This happened again and more parts were replaced. In Late 2006 Dell swapped my Gen2 system for a M1710. In my book, both the customer service and the quality hit the fan. They sent me a laptop with less memory and poor video.

Reader Pries Price Drop Refund From Dell's Claws

Reader Keith just bought a Dell computer last week. Right after he bought it, the price dropped $60. He wanted Dell to give him $60 back. The basic customer service reps he called “couldn’t/wouldn’t do anything,” so he ended up calling the returns department. There he met with success and got his money back. Good on ya! So remember, if you can’t get in the front door, trying going the side door. Sometimes you’ll have more luck calling a different number than the standard 1-800 line.