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leftyrightfoot
Tablet PC Trainee
46 Posts
My Tablet PCs: |
 Posted - Nov 03 2004 : 3:04:25 PM
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I test equipment that our business is evaluating for purchase and I rushed out to Costco and bought one a few weeks after they became available.
My LONG TERM test results.
1) Technical support coverage can be spotty.
2) Warranty coverage can be dicey as well, we get different messages from different people on what things are covered by warranty.
3) Warranty repairs sound like they could be troublesome as well. Slow return times, can't swap good machines for bad, they tell me that we would violate the warranty if we swap out hard drives from good hardware to bad.
Now for the HARDWARE problems
NOTE: Though I have been testing it for my company I have NOT done any of the possibly destructive testing that I normally would as the machine seems to be fairly fragile. I have treated it pretty gingerly and better than I suspect that field techs or our sales people would.
1) The machine puts off a lot of heat. Much more than other low power utilization tablets or laptops. This seems to be causing problems with other hardware components.
2) Battery life is taking a nose dive.  Battery life on the thing was not stellar to begin with but after having it only 3 months is has measurably been reduced by 40%. Lithium Ion batteries are very sensitive to heat, excess heat not only makes a given charge last a shorter period of time BUT AS WELL accelerates the aging process of the battery reducing capacity. The batteries in the thing get unacceptably hot.
3) 2 Weeks after I had the thing a crack showed up in the hinge connecting the lid to the keyboard. I was being careful with it.
4) There is a problem with the display, it is getting occasional horizontal lines in the display. Perhaps heat related.
5) When the machine has been on for about 30 minutes, gotten warmed up... The sound will start having very loud clicks sneak during playback. Heat Related.
6) At 2 months another crack has shown up, this time in the case above the battery charging mechanism. Heat again.
7) The video card has problems displaying moving objects, movies, flash, animations, in any orientation other than the "normal" landscape.
8) It takes a proprietary pen, not a standard Watcom digitizer. Alternate pens are not readily available from 3rd parties and replacement pens are difficult to get from Averatec. DON'T LOSE YOUR PEN!
I could go on and on. My summation of this product from the symptoms that I have seen and my several years of experience evaluating laptops...
It gets too hot in normal usage... This will cause components to fail and batteries to wear out faster.
Cheap components were used, they will fail quicker than high quality components. The high heat will make this even worse.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT... They used cheap plastic and poor injection molding techniques to make the case. Especially considering that it is a convertible tablet over time the case will virtually disintegrate. I have seen this happen time and again with poorly designed laptops.
Don't just run away from this product, run away fast. You would be much better off spending more money on a product that is reliable or buying a used product.
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Edited by - leftyrightfoot on Nov 22 2004 09:05:25 AM
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Jaster
Tablet PC Trainee
12 Posts
My Tablet PCs: |
Posted - Nov 03 2004 : 4:37:42 PM
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| Um, can anyone else confirm any of this? I have read a great many forums about the C3500 and haven't read half of what he is saying. Can people using the computer in actual normal use give some comment? |
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ra_naes
Tablet PC Philosopher
USA
202 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Scribbler 2000 (work)
Toshiba M200 (home) |
Posted - Nov 03 2004 : 4:42:37 PM
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I don't know about their tablets, but did have a lot of problems with one of their laptops. The hinge on the casing broke less than 3 months after I had it. Granted, it was after a plane trip, but I carry on all my electronics and handle them gently. Then, when I called tech support, they told me the case wasn't covered!! Supposedly only the hardware inside the device is covered for 90 days -- but if you can't get the screen to light up (the laptop always thought the top was closed), then I don't care about the hard drive, it's still not useful.
Plus, I would be skeptical of any company who releases their tablets in Costco as a new thing (usually this is the discount, becoming obsolete store for things). |
 To err is human, to really screw things up you need a computer.
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jeffp3456
Tablet PC Trainee
USA
14 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Averatec 3500 |
Posted - Nov 03 2004 : 6:33:24 PM
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Glad i got the 2yr enhanced warranty from CC. it even covers the battery.
dont notice a heat problem but always leave power setting on max battery, this throttles the cpu to 383mhz and honestly i dont notice any difference except that the fan almost never comes on.
not sure about battery, afaik the suspend mode drains a lot of power. i am playing around with it to see if hibernate would be better.
Nothing is perfect, and for the price i am completely pleased with the Av
also seems to me that most quality complaints are about the units from costco not sure if that is a real issue but it is an observation. |
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amartins02
Tablet PC Ponderer
USA
89 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Toshiba 3500 |
Posted - Nov 04 2004 : 07:05:53 AM
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| I agree with the original poster. I bought one on the condition that I could return it with no restocking fee's just based on the information I recieved off this site. The manager agreed as long as it was within 14 days. I bought it because of the price despite what I had heard. Well, I had it for 4 days and returned it. Same thing, heat, 1.5-2 hour charge, finicky digitizer. I ended up getting a used Toshiba 3500 (just for taking notes) off ebay with a 3 year warranty for 950.00. Way better deal if you ask me. |
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amartins02
Tablet PC Ponderer
USA
89 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Toshiba 3500 |
Posted - Nov 04 2004 : 07:07:01 AM
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| Oh, it was from Circut City too. |
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Jaster
Tablet PC Trainee
12 Posts
My Tablet PCs: |
Posted - Nov 04 2004 : 07:44:36 AM
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| So... does anyone like this computer...? |
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motion1
Tablet PC Advocate General
USA
1360 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Had 4 tablets - now have Fujitsu ST5011D-M1400VA |
Posted - Nov 04 2004 : 07:52:54 AM
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| Look around and you will find some users who like this unit BUT....I had one for 3 days and returned...no use to re-state the litany of complaints. The high return rate is what caused Costco to discontinue this unit. I had two major complaints...and probably neither will bother those who have...and like...this unit. First..the digitizer is NOT wacom compatible..Second..after having lighter units, the 5.5 lbs was more than I wanted to lug around and I guess following that is that the build quality seemed sub standard...but then what do I know about that..just a feel I had in handling the unit |
If you havent walked the trail, you can't be the guide |
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jeffp3456
Tablet PC Trainee
USA
14 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Averatec 3500 |
Posted - Nov 04 2004 : 8:41:14 PM
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Why would people frequent the Averatec forum if they neither own one nor plan to?
Just curious
JP |
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motion1
Tablet PC Advocate General
USA
1360 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Had 4 tablets - now have Fujitsu ST5011D-M1400VA |
Posted - Nov 05 2004 : 07:35:14 AM
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| Jeff... why we visit....for me two reasons...... first I DID OWN one...okay...and curious about others experiences...second..most of those of us who post regularly visit ALL the forums...We do learn from others. After all the tablets all have similiar origins....and sometimes we learn things so we dont make a mistake and sometimes we help others not to make a mistake....Isnt this what this site...all forums...is all about?? |
If you havent walked the trail, you can't be the guide |
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motion1
Tablet PC Advocate General
USA
1360 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Had 4 tablets - now have Fujitsu ST5011D-M1400VA |
Posted - Nov 05 2004 : 07:36:37 AM
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| Jeff... why we visit....for me two reasons...... first I DID OWN one...okay...and curious about others experiences...second..most of those of us who post regularly visit ALL the forums...We do learn from others. After all the tablets all have similiar origins....and sometimes we learn things so we dont make a mistake and sometimes we help others not to make a mistake....Isnt this what this site...all forums...is all about?? |
If you havent walked the trail, you can't be the guide |
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minimage
Tablet PC Guru
USA
1059 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Viewsonic V1250,
Fujitsu Stylistic 2300,
Fujitsu Point 510 |
Posted - Nov 05 2004 : 2:31:48 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jeffp3456
Why would people frequent the Averatec forum if they neither own one nor plan to?
Just curious
JP
I use the Active Topics link frequently. This one caught my eye. I look for knowledge on TPCs in general, not just on my own device. |
Hi there! I believe the Buzz is the best Tablet PC-oriented forum there is. I believe this is in part due to the fact that most Buzzers:
-read the forum guidelines before posting
-use the forum search function (found on the left) before posting a question
-do not start identical threads in more than one forum
-keep the language clean and civil
-recognize that I am not an authority. |
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rbushway
Tablet PC Advocate General
USA
4137 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Current: ThinkPad X41, Gateway M280
Owned: TC1000, M1300, M1400VA, M200, TC1100, LE1600
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Posted - Nov 07 2004 : 07:31:05 AM
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| I frequent this area because I have customers who have expressed interest in this product. My advice: stay away from it for now |
Rob Bushway
Tablet PC MVP
www.GottaBeMobile.com |
Edited by - rbushway on Nov 09 2004 8:46:33 PM |
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tekchic
Tablet PC Ponderer
USA
95 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Toshiba M205, Hitachi 7K60, 1GB RAM |
Posted - Nov 08 2004 : 6:01:49 PM
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I must say, I too was one of those that bought a C3500 & returned it the next day. It just seemed like really poor construction and I didn't like the heat coming off the tablet, and how hard I had to press on the screen to get the digitizer to register.
I went right out the next day and bought an M205. It was considerably more, but the quality was well worth the price of admission. I no longer have to press extremely hard my normal light script is all it takes. And the unit doesn't cook my lap, either!
Having a wacom digitizer was a must, since I do a lot of graphics work. I know if I kept the Averatec I'd always be wishing that Id bought the Toshiba. |
http://www.tekchic.com |
Edited by - tekchic on Nov 08 2004 6:13:35 PM |
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clamchowder
Tablet PC Trainee
10 Posts
My Tablet PCs: |
Posted - Nov 19 2004 : 1:05:14 PM
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Don't like mine...had it for a few months and returned it to Costco fed up...spent a little more on a Gateway from HSN.com and have had no complaints, works great.
Plus, on hsn.com you can make payments over 6 mos, and not have to pass a credit check or financing charges. Very nice.
Bottom line, if you can, i'd drop the Averatec or at least make sure you can return it if you don't like it.
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DrNeil
Tablet PC Ponderer
Canada
62 Posts
My Tablet PCs: Acer c301cxi |
Posted - Nov 19 2004 : 7:31:03 PM
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My wife recently got the c3500, and actually she is very happy with it.
I can see it's not perfect, especially with a battery life that's not great, and with it running pretty hot. But otherwise, it seems to me that it's a decent unit for the price. We've had it only a couple of weeks, so time will tell, but I think it's worth keeping in mind that for almost every tablet out there, you can find threads where people love it, and others where some hate it. For those who are on a tight budget, who want a convertible with optical drive, and who aren't doing professional graphics work, the c3500 may be quite reasonable, IMHO.
I'll post again in a month or two to update our experiences with it. |
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I feel sorry for all of you buying Averatec Tablets 
