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TabletPCBuzz.com - Another Acer Horror Story
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Acer TMC302x-mi, bought in August 2004 I bought it back in August, when it was the best deal around for processor, hard drive, ram, screen size, and battery life there was. I didn't realize back then how fragile it was, and how bad their service would be. Now is time to rant.
It arrived with a dead pixel. There was the characteristic drift near the edge of the screen. The calibrator didn't quite work right, as it would sometimes jump back to where it was as soon as I hit OK. The wireless never functioned properly when I was within 15 feet of a WAP (too close)-- I'd be fully connected, but no data would come or go. The graphics chipset was crap-- certain types of rendering it would refuse to do, and OpenGL 3D would run ridiculously slow. Directx games would spatter random squares in my view.
Their support was too clueless to know about Wacom Penabled drivers when I asked. After installing them, Flash left thin tails on the front of my pressure-sensitive paintbrush lines, due to a slow response to touching the screen. I still don't know how to fix this, and they've told me they don't support Flash (How can you sell tabletPCs and not support flash?). If anyone has a clue how to fix this issue, please tell me. I'm using Flash 7.2 and it still does it. It's also pretty unresponsive in comparison to regular Wacom tablets when used in Shi-Painter (Oekaki).
My first repair wasn't so bad. My left Alt key suddenly became unresponsive. They told me it would be $200, but I was able to convince them with photographs that my keyboard looked completely normal, and told them I'd studied the ram-replacement instructions so I could put it in myself, and they mailed it to me for free! hurrah.
My second repair didn't go so well. Eventually, I dropped the thing (don't ever use a bag that zips around all 3 sides. Forget to zip it just once and.. bam) and the little plastic hook that holds it closed got bent (see Toshiba M200 review http://tabletpcbuzz.com/features/article.asp?ID=21). Shortly after, the Fn key stopped working, and after leaning on my headphone jack too often, the green plastic audio port ring broke (not that it wasn't loose and defective to begin with). The machine was still in warranty, so I didn't think it would be all that bad to send it in. And besides, I'd lost my stylus.
Acer sent the courier to pick it up to the wrong address, so I shipped it myself in lots of bubble wrap. When it arrived, they told me the damage to my audio port was abnormal, and they'd have to charge me $450 to replace my motherboard! I was irate. That piece of plastic could be replaced for 50 cents! So I said don't fix it. But they "won't do partial repairs", so I handed over $450 on my debit card, because I didn't want this to be a complete waste of time. And besides, they were giving me a free stylus.
When I got it back, I took it out of the box and the hinge cover fell off. I opened it up and let the other loose side fall off too. I was surprised at its new shiny finish (yes, the silver paint rubs off quite easily on your palms, and everyone notices it and asks you, and it's very embarrassing), and checked the report. Seems they decided to replace the entire front panel, as well as the touchpad, just to fix that bent hook. And it still doesn't hold closed very well.
The keyboard, they claimed, was thoroughly tested, but when I turned the machine on, the Fn key still didn't work. The only difference was that the spacebar now had a big scratch across it, and the keyboard wasn't locked in properly. My green audio port was now much more firmly in place than it had ever been since I'd owned this thing, making me doubt it worked right in the first place. And guess what, they'd stolen my multi card reader.
I called them, told them to send me another keyboard, and find my card reader, and I'd try to stick the latch cover back together with mounting tape (there was sticky evidence that this is what had been used before). But before I'd even attempted that, I discovered it was worse than I'd imagined. The metal hinge was actually rent apart on one side. After turning it to tablet mode and back a few times, it is now sticking out and pointy when I'm trying to draw, exposed wires wrapped around it, an obstacle whenever I turn the screen. I'd got the thing back with worse problems than when I'd sent it.
Fortunately, they're going to try again. I really feel gypped out of my $450 for those repairs, and hope no one else buys another one of these awful things.
Oh, and for completeness: Pros: Runs 2D applications faster than my desktop, has a nice cushy keyboard, and is quiet.
Cons: No bundled software, crappy graphics chipset, falls apart, clueless tech support, repair crew will screw up, "won't support" anything not made by M$FT, warranty doesn't cover the screen or parts connected to the motherboard-- hell, you've gotta be clever to get anything out of the warranty; and it WILL break.
Moral of the story-- if you are having problems with your laptop, don't make it worse by dropping it. If you drop it, then you have no leverage to fight them about warranty and repair work.
"make it worse by dropping it"? I didn't do that on purpose. Perhaps I was a bit harsh with the warranty part there, but that doesn't mean their repairs were reasonable. And I wasn't having problems to begin with-- I was actually quite thrilled with my new toy, being the first tablet pc I'd ever had. I just listed the initial problems for completeness, and to ask for help if anyone has the same. I'd assumed everyone with an Acer has my second and third paragraph problems. They're all things the support people wouldn't answer.
United Kingdom
211 Posts My Tablet PCs: Acer C302XMi
Posted - Dec 20 2004 : 1:17:43 PM
skeptic,
As far as your dead pixel issue is concerned, here's what it says on the Acer U.S. site about that: " TFT displays commonly exhibit a small number of discolored dots, so-called “nonconforming pixels.” This phenomenon is a limitation of TFT LCD technology, not a product defect and, as such, is not covered by the limited warranty or by the upgrade programs."
As far as your dropping it is concerned, I'm sure you didn't purposely drop it, but I'm puzzled as to why your warranty doesn't cover you for accidental damage if you only bought it in August. The extended three year warranty does cover for accidents. Maybe you only get that by buying the extension, but $450 to repair it seems alot, seeing as how you haven't had it for long.
When I had to send mine in for the inverter repair, Acer U.K. told me to send just the computer. No pen, no multi-media card. I guess those bits can easily go "walkies".
With reference to your gripe about the lack of support for anything not M$FT, I don't think very many computer manufacturers will give you support for third party software. I remember not long ago having a problem with my Dell desktop. When I called software support, a recording preceded my talking to someone with a message saying "If your computer is more than 30 days old, please have your credit card ready."
Some people have had good experiences with Acer tech support, some haven't. You can probably apply that statement to every computer manufacturer. My own experience with Acer has been mixed. I hope your trying again gets it fixed to your satisfaction without it costing you any more.
Gypsy
"I had a great night, but this wasn't it." Groucho Marx
Pixels-- A "limitation"? More like a common defect. Stupid spin-doctors. I already know they won't do anything about this.
They should cover me for accidental damage? I need to read that warranty again and maybe complain. Probably too late now though.
Anyway, perhaps I should make another thread about this-- I really want to use Flash, but the input sucks. Has anyone else had this problem? Anyone else here use MM Flash?
United Kingdom
211 Posts My Tablet PCs: Acer C302XMi
Posted - Dec 21 2004 : 2:38:59 PM
Don't shoot the messenger. I only pasted a quote from the Acer site.
The extended warranty definitely covers accidental damage. If the one year does, you should be entitled to be reimbursed, but you'll have to check, or maybe someone else in the forum knows.
I use Flash on my website, but it's a program I bought to do banners for my pages, and it seems to work fine. It sounds, though, that you want to do more. At the end of the day, the OS is WinXP Pro, so it should work. Maybe you need to contact Wacom if you're trying to use Flash with your pen.
Gypsy
"I had a great night, but this wasn't it." Groucho Marx
I've noticed a tendency for paintbrush lines to have a tiny "tail" in Flash if I draw really quick lines in rapid succession. (Acer C303 here.) the fix, of course, is to slow down a bit. You might also check that you don't have a lot of extraneous processes gobbling up processor time.
deadpixels are common things for LCDs. as far as i remember they are not covered by ANY warranty.
video card supports D3D for sure. besides, you must have known what you are getting--it's in the specs. intel extreme graphics is not the best stuff out there, but still bearable.
if you cannot find an OEM driver, go to manufacturer's website (that regards wacom's driver). i've used pressure sensitivity with Alias Sketchbook--it's awesome!
not working keyboard was a legible complaint. and as i see it got solved nicely.
the drop voided your warranty. period. unless you have accidental damage protection or insurance. so do not blame anyone except yourself. same goes for the lost stylus
the broken audio port--that's what i dont understand. how in the world could one break it?! i smell abuse.
the fact that you sent unneeded accessories (card reader etc) is your own fault as well. unless it's stated that you need to provide something, you send just the laptop (even keep the battery).
the fact that they didnt repair is properly is the only thing you could complain about. you paid money and expected a certain service in return, which you didnt receive.
as for "no bundled software" i personally consider this a major plus since it keeps the price down. besides dont you have certain software from your previous computer purchases or are you being the perfect law-abiding citizen with one license per computer?
the things that you complain about make me believe that you are the typical consumer who thinks that you can demand anything from a company. if they dont provide 100% satisfaction guarantee, you and your attitude are screwed. read the fine print carefully and use some common sense, that will make your dealing with companies much easier.
PS sorry for sounding disdaining, but i get really pissed when people rant about YMMV. PPS i have a nice horror story about commonly-loved D3||. yet, this doesnt mean that i wont abuse their sales and buy from them again.
I agree with skrp. I do not like to see forums filled with baseless ranting. Cut out the part about dropping your laptop and blaming Acer for making droppable computers, and you have a rant that I will listen to. If you are persistent, MAYBE the drop can be covered by warranty. But, Acer has to protect itself from people who abuse the system, so they do not have to honor anything but what is EXPLICITLY detailed in the warranty in regards to accidental damage. If I were an Acer tech, I would see a dropped computer + broken sound card = abusive customer. I am not saying that you threw this computer around in a fit of rage, but that is how Acer or Toshica or Gateway or Dell would likely see it.
Um, the drop was as accidental as possible. I picked up my bag without having it zipped all the way. I'm not blaming them for that. The sound port was wobbly to begin with though, and my headset jack sticks out pretty far and presses against things sometimes. It still worked-- it just cracked a bit, but it was just a piece of plastic anyway. In fact, I just noticed the central hinge isn't even metal-- it's plastic too! Weak plastic... As for the card reader, what, you want me to take out my optic drive too? That's silly. I didn't really need the thing-- it just showed me more of how disorganized they are, which was what I was actually complaining about. And to make matters worse, I called in and asked why my microphone port STILL didn't work, and the guy told me I'd have to give him $35 to answer that question!
The no bundled software jab was because, perhaps you haven't noticed but, normal software doesn't grab input right in this operating system. Tried Jasc Paintshop? Wobbly awful lines. Oekaki's pressure sensitivity lags, as do any other java applet art programs. I got this thing primarily to animate in flash, and I can't even do that. Here's what it looks like, in png form so it's actual size.
I've tried changing priorities, updating the driver and using the latest version of Flash possible (trials), but it still doesn't apply pressure sensitivity to the first slight moment of the line's life. Drawing slower still yields tails. I bought this thing for some extreme animating, not to draw slow. It has a gigabyte of ram, and 1.7ghz pM processor, so it should be able work speed-wise.
Oh yeah, and Alias Sketchbook was made for this, needs no additional driver, and is pressure sensitive by default. I use it all the time, mainly because it's the only thing that works besides Corel Painter (omg isn't killed by Tablet PC Edition) and msn messenger.
Oh yeah, and I already knew about the dead pixel policy. Didn't want to make that so much of an issue. sorry. If it were my company though, and I were selling a product an artist would buy, I wouldn't allow any of them to have that kind of defect.
Sorry to be griping, but this magical new technology can't do most of the things I'd imagined I'd do with it (isketch.net, oekaki, flash, paintshop) as well as an old wacom tablet on an old computer it pwns in every aspect except for the geforce4 graphics card (and support can't explain it). If anyone can help me out with this flash problem, I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.
Sorry you are having those problems skeptic. Hopefully, you will get an answer to your flash problems. Sometimes people post when they are really upset, and that is ok for me. Good luck and do post what you find out.
A consumer of a $2000 piece of equipment is perfectly within his rights to complain if it fails to hold up to everyday use - including a drop.
On the other hand, a manufacturer has every right to refuse to service it if it fails to meet the conditions of the warranty. The risk it runs is that boards like this will be filled with disgruntled owners. If I was an Acer tech, I would be more concerned about keeping my buyers happy than "protecting" Acer from "abusers." Happy customers are your best advertisement, disgruntled ones your worst. (Actually, Acer's biggest mistake would be if it was allowing techs to make the decision about whether to repair or not.)
I've dropped and damaged a lot of portables. I see this as a problem with me. This is why I purchased accidental damage coverage, so if I drop my TPC, I really DO have a right to expect service. I can not find anything that states that the OP purchased an extended warranty, and he says he doesn't hold Acer responsible. The warranties I've bothered to read state protection from manufacturing defects, and who here can say not being immune to blunt force trauma is a manufacturing defect? At least one warranty I read said dropping a machine was abuse and wasn't covered; I wanted to look at the Acer warranty, but can find only the International Traveler Warranty, not the standard one.
Expecting a computer company to fix (free of charge) a non-ruggedised computer you dropped is like expecting a car manufacturer to eat the repair cost after you bang your truck into the garage wall (it's a $17,000 truck; why not?). Burn your brownies while watching the game? No problem, call up Betty Crocker and make them send you a new batch!
However, after the OP gave Acer $450 to effect repairs, I do believe it was reasonable to expect that his machine wouldn't fall apart when removed from the box, and that it would function normally.
I just sent my unit into Texas for repairs (might as well have them patch it up while I relax over the holidays) on the digitizer, for some odd reason my pen stopped working reliably a few weeks ago. And I included the multimedia card-reader, and the pen, and the battery, and a smart card.... I hope it all comes back! I should have read this thread before packing it. The guy (I always get Charles Jackson on the phone when I call in the US?) told me to send "just the unit, not the AC adapter" and I didn't include the AC adapter, but didn't take "just the unit" that literally.
jst Dropping your tablet is not everyday use. Even if it were, what would the criterion be? On or off? Open, closed, or in tablet mode? Screen up or screen down? Damage could be different in each of these. And if you consider dropping it normal use, do you consider spilling water on it normal use? I don't consider a car accident to be normal use, which is why I insure my vehicle.
I don't think this forum should be rant free, it should just be logical rants. Otherwise I could start ranting about the poor battery life, since it only gets about 5 hours. I want 20.
I'm not exactly in disagreement with your points, but some things need to be clarified:
First, the insurance example is interesting, but it doesn't always work. For example, if you back into a light post and your headlight falls out, maybe you should look to the manufacturer instead of your insurer. In other words, if the damage is to be expected from the accident, you should look to insurance. If the damage exceeds what would be expected, maybe the manufacturer is the problem. In fact, some years ago this very issue came up with respect to demands that auto manufacturers make their vehicles resistant to low speed collisions. Eventually, this became expected and even, I believe, required under law. In addition, when your insurer pays a claim, it steps into your shoes and can collect from the manufacturer if the damage is the manufacturer's fault.
The question in the case of the tablet is whether we should demand that a device that we carry around with us be resistant (at least to some extent) to a drop. I don't think it's an unreasonable demand. (All this being said, I note that each of the persons who disagrees with me has a 302, which is a big ol' tablet, not the sort that I'd carry around with me, so maybe it is a matter of the differences in our tablet experiences)
As to battery life, I think that all of these forums have been lax in not asking why Toshiba and Acer and HP have not jumped wholeheartedly into licensing Electrovaya's battery technology.
I know y'all disagree, and that's ok, but I do insist that my points are logical.
Another Acer Horror Story 
Posted - Dec 19 2004 : 4:51:28 PM
I hope it all comes back! I should have read this thread before packing it. The guy (I always get Charles Jackson on the phone when I call in the US?) told me to send "just the unit, not the AC adapter" and I didn't include the AC adapter, but didn't take "just the unit" that literally.
