Database Info

im done with PDA's

Had enough,
sure i shall miss the stuff you can do but tbh for me most avg phones are closing in fast,on ability and im sick to death of crashes,bugs,reinstall's
it jusy aint worth the headache,im off to find a decent Phone

well the more normal "smart" phones catch up
the more advanced their software will be and
the more issues they will get
:s
we're doomed if we do and doomed if we dont

yer your right just phone and msn n email will do me these days

If I would put the energy that I put into my PDA (to get it work properly to keep in touch with my mates), into the relationsships with my friends, they would like me more than now... Most of them don't care if I call then via VoIP or Skype if at least I DO call...

I had a few of things that bugged me about having a PDA ,but i compromised them in the belief that ,they it will be far more worthwhile to have one and live with the issues
but the faults list grows and the good point just arent enough

TBH I don't know what the fuss is about. I have an XDA mini which is fabulous. Never crashed in 6 months and I'm running Tom Tom aswell. The only problem is that it's not working properly now, but that's since it got soaked in my pocket riding from Newcastle to Edinburgh on the bike in the rain. It's still going and it handles everything I do and more without question. I'm sticking with my PDA phone to save me carrying two things around with me (I need all the stuff when I'm running a business).

I have had my last 3 HTC devices from a friend who has bought them, had problems, and bought the next one that comes along thinking things will get better.
I never have these unreliability issues he always has, and they are the exact same devices he has had.
I put it down to the type of person, and knowledge of the device.
Sure, you shouldn't need to be a technical person just to use a PDA, but it obviously makes a difference.
Maybe you just need to stick to a Palm or Blackberry

Jace - I'm interested to know which device you used.
I used the xda2s and the xda exec and got really fed up with both.
I'm not remotely technical and just wanted a good phone that does email and few other bits when needed.
Got the xda mini in July this year and have never looked back. It is a pure phone that does the few extra things I need without issue.
If possible I suggest you try it as you may be surprisingly pleased with it.
HPJ

In a way, I could understand where the original poster is coming from. But don't get me wrong I love windows mobile devices, but if your like most people, we just want things to work. So when things don't work, your either the type that'll find ways to make it work, or the type that'll just find another device. We have to be honest, those of us that come in and out of these forums on a daily basis with hacks and solutions and those of us looking for hacks and solutions for our windows powered devices are among the few that'll actually take the time out to do so. If you think about it, It can literally take up to 3 months are more to actually get the device operating exactly the way you wanted it. Mabey that's just a little too long for the average person.
I too have felt like the OP, contemplating over and over again, after the countless amount of resets, whether or not I should just go get a fancy nokia n series or something, but I have grown found of my wizard, and its kinda of fun hacking away at its OS to see it become highly operational, kinda like the way M$ should of made it out the box. Just my two cents.

Here is a story about a friend of mine (no point posting my opinion as part of the reason I love my Jamin is the fact that I can tweak it and make little apps for it - so I don't care even if it does require reset on occasion).
Any way this friend has a company phone (a simple Nokia) and he gets a lot of calls on it (part of the job). Trouble is this phone doesn't have BT so my friend complained that at the end of the day his ear heart.
The thing is, this particular friend always told me that Phone edition Pocket PC devices are too unstable, too big and generally useless as phones.
One they he got a MIO a701. At first he told me he was just using it for the BT so he can speak through the hands-free.
Now he just won't give it up. Even when his headset broke he still refused to go back to the regular phone.
Once while on a lunch break 2 minutes walk outside the office, he wanted to log in to his account on our server but for some reason the device couldn't connect (faulty GPRS settings). He begged me to use my Jamin.
I wouldn't let him, arguing that his work station was just an elevator ride away.
Eventually he broke, and admitted that he just couldn't give up the convenience.

HPJ
I have owned a MDA Compact,which was ok but when i up dated the ROM from the TMobile site it fried the unit,
I then got an Exec,i have found that ok for my needs,(being phone,email,msn,web browsing)
but i agree with the above comments for some one not so minded tech wise,then maybe an incorrect choice of device for me
Basically an out the box unit ,is ok,just ok
but to make it decent takes some effort to get the best from the device
Ok they cant make the device suit everyone out the box,i undertsand that
however freezing up and soft resets a plenty,they are just too unstable for me
beofre my job required me to be away for long periods and the Exec fitted my needs ,now i think ill just be happy with less abilitys and more stability
The smartphones and nokias are gaining ground fast,for my needs maye they are better
The upside for me is the way you can alter and personalise the devices
but to be used day in day out as also my main phone there are far to unstable
In my case i had a compact which went tits up after a simple ROM update,
then an Exec which would freeeze and be a bit moody but then when the shutdown.battery problem started ouccruing(got new battery now)i just said to myself
you know what aint worth the hassle
dodgy pics a cheap nokia can match and beng a brick etc etc
maybe id be more suited to a smartphone or just a humble phone but me and HTC Pda just dont work out

I suppose at this point in timei dont have the time to mess around too much with the units
So my ideal maybe my Exec for away from home times and other certain situs but day to day maybe a an all singing all dancing mobile

ntornics said:
its kinda of fun hacking away at its OS to see it become highly operational,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You hit the nail on the head. You find it fun, and actually know how to get into the OS and mess around with it. There are plenty out there like me who haven't the faintest clue. We want our xda's to work out the box, and thats all. We come on this forum to 'take' information: get interesting apps, ask silly questions etc. I've very rarely ever actually contributed as such.
And then, when something doesn't work, we either continue to bang our heads against a wall trying to get a fix (from you guys, not from ourselves), or we move on.
Getting my xda mini s was my last attempt, and I am glad to say that it has never crashed; is never slow on answering a call; does not look like it belongs in a laptop case; and email works perfectly. The only thing I would like would be a today screen like I see so many screen shots of on here, but I haven't a clue and it would probably slow the thing down anyway :wink:
These devices are so young anyway it's no surprise they have problems. Can't wait to see what's gonna be around in 5 years time.....

good point mate

ive just read the hermes prob thread & ive had the exec battery problem
nothing is flawless in life,but it dont help that they release these products with faults
your mayor phone makers dont release units with big issues
i think id seen the light when having the exec battery problem came along and while a new battery arrived,i used a nokia 3250 it was such a nice change to have a device that preformed its functions
i just think we accpet a lot in PDA's that maybe we wouldnt put up with in a PC,Car or phone
we think its a trade of for there many functions for some problems but were do you draw the line
how many soft resets do we do?freezes?
anyone reading this do you feel ive just picked the wrong devices?,if so what do you think may have been with hindsight a better option?

Can't wait to see what's gonna be around in 5 years time.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what today hang around for 5years time?
apart from social deseases ?

Why ‘o’ why will they not learn

After owning HTC phones now for over 3 years, when will HTC start listening to people on forums like this one and htcpedia.com, then start making phones with the features that we are asking & waiting for. And just as important when will they start making accessories for these phones. Now owning a Touch HD for over a year I was looking at getting the new HD2, but it appears the mini usb port still does not support music or porting video through it (this is also true on the Touch HD yes I was disappointed when I found out). I would also like to have a built in FM transmitter. I think HTC are missing out on a great future for their phones.
Jez
P.S come on HTC sit up and take notice.

Contact HTC, if there are enough requests, they'll perhaps listen to you. Better than crying here .

Livven said:
Contact HTC, if there are enough requests, they'll perhaps listen to you. Better than crying here .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello Livven
Not crying just disappointed with HTC and thinking maybe it’s time to change, to a phone producer that is listening ,it appears that’s exactly what apple are doing. Been in touch with HTC direct about a month after I got the Touch HD asking them to include certain things on the next model and a year later the HD2 was launched which appears to be a big screen HD with no more capabilities.
Cheers jez

I got tired of HTC's short-sightedness and bought an iPhone. It's a nice phone but it doesn't have nearly the feature set of a WinMo phone and Apple is a total pain in the ass. I'm still not thrilled about HTC so I just bought the LG Expo and, as I write this, I'm boxing it up to return it to AT&T. The hardware specs look pretty good but there are just too many things wrong with this phone that can't be overlooked. To start with, the UI is just awful. The bland, painful Microsoft stock UI is actually easier to deal with, in my opinion. It takes a dozen taps to do almost anything and you really need a stylus to get anything done. Which leads to problem #2...the stylus. It's like a little tube of lipstick which also means it's not attached to the phone. I wonder how many days would take before it got lost? You can attach it via a little string but it's beyond stupid that this got past QA. Then there's the GPS. It comes with AT&T's GPS app but I have my own that I've used for quite some over on a variety of phones without a problem. It will not recognize the GPS in the Expo, however, and therefore won't work. Strike three, you're outta here. So as I mentioned, I'm boxing it up and taking it back either for a refund or, if they'll do it, a trade for the Tilt 2 or something from...sigh....HTC. Despite some of the dumb things they do on occasion, HTC is still the best WinMo phone manufacturer I know of.

Hello markgamber
I know where you are coming from I had the Samsung Omnia last year for a month and sent it back because it was crap, it had the same idea for the stylus as well, a piece of string to attach it to the phone. Maybe Iphone is not the way to go then. It’s I’m getting politely frustrated with spending a small fortune on phones that do only half of what I want it to do. That’s the thing, these manufactures forget these phones aren’t cheap to us, it just seems to me they are thick and they think they know what we want . I know what I want on my phone
1. winmo
2. gps for satnav
3. fm transmitter
4. tv out.
5. usb port to play music through using a docking station
6. 3.5mm headphone socket
7. a 5+ meg pixel camera that actually works
8. gprs thats is quicker than the old 56k dial up
And so the storey goes on. Hopefully someone from HTC will read our thoughts and do something about it for the next model. If they do read these comments email me HTC and I will let you know what we want from our £500 phones. Bloody hell more money for a phone than a high spec laptop

markgamber said:
I got tired of HTC's short-sightedness and bought an iPhone. It's a nice phone but it doesn't have nearly the feature set of a WinMo phone and Apple is a total pain in the ass. I'm still not thrilled about HTC so I just bought the LG Expo and, as I write this, I'm boxing it up to return it to AT&T. The hardware specs look pretty good but there are just too many things wrong with this phone that can't be overlooked. To start with, the UI is just awful. The bland, painful Microsoft stock UI is actually easier to deal with, in my opinion. It takes a dozen taps to do almost anything and you really need a stylus to get anything done. Which leads to problem #2...the stylus. It's like a little tube of lipstick which also means it's not attached to the phone. I wonder how many days would take before it got lost? You can attach it via a little string but it's beyond stupid that this got past QA. Then there's the GPS. It comes with AT&T's GPS app but I have my own that I've used for quite some over on a variety of phones without a problem. It will not recognize the GPS in the Expo, however, and therefore won't work. Strike three, you're outta here. So as I mentioned, I'm boxing it up and taking it back either for a refund or, if they'll do it, a trade for the Tilt 2 or something from...sigh....HTC. Despite some of the dumb things they do on occasion, HTC is still the best WinMo phone manufacturer I know of.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi Mark
I hear your frustration about the eXpo....I bought a IQ from Telus (the Canadian version of the eXpo) and really didn't like the UI AT FIRST. But the phone has really grown on me. Maybe you should consider keeping it for a couple of weeks, and then giving it back if you still want to.
1) I now find I am figuring out the UI and I am starting to like it. Using Throttle Launcher(free) or Spd Shell($) are both options that are very similar to the TF3D or Sence UI if you really find you want to abandon the S Class UI but I would say try it for a week or two and you may like it...there are things you can do faster than TF3D as well as slower.
2) The stylus situation really sucks. No argument. I have found that after I set my phone up, I can get by without one especially when you figure out how to use the optical mouse functions.
3) GPS I am on Telus, so maybe AT&T has screwed you, but my Garmin Mobile XT software works just fine on my Telus phone. I did have to play a bit though. I installed the Garmin software, and it couldn't find the GPS. I then went into the windows settings, and set up the phone to use COM port 4, and then went into the Garmin setup and selected COM4. STILL no joy. But I then changed the Windows setting back to controlled by windows, and the Garmin software found a "GPS Intermediate Driver". Works great! Locks FAST, and no lag like when I used the Garmin Mobile XT on my Touch Pro.
I have installed Opera Beta 2U, and it with the HSPDA data and the snapdragon it is simply is the best mobile internet experience I have ever used or seen.
Good luck with you Phone hunting,

Hi jez.stix
I have a similar list to you...I got a Telus IQ (Its a Canadian eXpo)
How the IQ compares to your list:
1. winmo
YUP 6.5 (21868)
2. gps for satnav YUP - but check into this (See above ATT may have locked to there software)
3. fm transmitter YUP....sorry! Read this as receiver, Has a FM receiver but no transmitter to go to your car stereo..
4. tv out. YUP
5. usb port to play music through using a docking station ...not sure what you mean here..if you mean like all the docking stuff they sell at Walmart for IPhones..NOPE..of course it has a USB connection.
6. 3.5mm headphone socket NOPE
7. a 5+ meg pixel camera that actually works YUP..works quite well with flash
8. gprs thats is quicker than the old 56k dial up YUP OH YAH BIG TIME
The real down side is that it is not a HTC unit so XDA won't support it the way they do a HTC product. I decided I could live with that but that was the hardest pill to swallow. The build quallity is heads and shoulders above my old HTC Touch Pro
good luck in finding your dream phone.

jez.stix said:
Hello markgamber
I know where you are coming from I had the Samsung Omnia last year for a month and sent it back because it was crap, it had the same idea for the stylus as well, a piece of string to attach it to the phone. Maybe Iphone is not the way to go then. It’s I’m getting politely frustrated with spending a small fortune on phones that do only half of what I want it to do. That’s the thing, these manufactures forget these phones aren’t cheap to us, it just seems to me they are thick and they think they know what we want . I know what I want on my phone
1. winmo
2. gps for satnav
3. fm transmitter
4. tv out.
5. usb port to play music through using a docking station
6. 3.5mm headphone socket
7. a 5+ meg pixel camera that actually works
8. gprs thats is quicker than the old 56k dial up
And so the storey goes on. Hopefully someone from HTC will read our thoughts and do something about it for the next model. If they do read these comments email me HTC and I will let you know what we want from our £500 phones. Bloody hell more money for a phone than a high spec laptop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The iPhone is actually pretty nice, I just had a couple technical problems with it and, being a dev, I grew really tired of Apple dictating what I can and can't do with my phone and my apps. The most notable thing about the iPhone is that it's fast. When you start a program, it's up and running in short order and stays fast unless it has to do something really intensive or relies on a slow network connection. This being opposed to WinMo where it can sometimes take forever to do anything. This is, of course, because the iPhone doesn't do much real multitasking but if that's not an issue, then the iPhone probably warrants a look. Another problem I had was that most of the world uses WMV/WMA for streaming audio and video and the iPhone not only doesn't support it, Apple has stated that it won't approve anything that does support it. Sometimes you can get around that using Orb but not always and that leads to the third big problem I had with the iPhone, Apple's little tinpot dictator attitude. I've been using Slingplayer for years on WinMo phones and yes, AT&T says you can't use it but the practical side is that as long as you're not an a-hole about it, they don't really care. The bottom line is that I can make the choice about whether or not I want to use it. iPhone's Slingplayer simply doesn't have the option to work over 3G. In fact, the only app of that kind which did was Orb and, as I hear it, Orb Networks just removed it on orders from AT&T and Apple. Technically yes, you can jailbreak the iPhone, install a hack that fools programs into thinking 3G is wifi and those various programs work, but it's a hack and not something you can count on working with the next system update since Apple is working hard to prevent those kinds of hacks from working. Plus they're starting to be exploited by hackers of a less than friendly nature. The iPhone also didn't support what I considered some basic functionality such as cut/copy/paste, MMS and bluetooth audio, for quite some time. When Apple finally decided to include that functionality, they acted as though they invented it. That continues today with the lack of quite a bit of multimedia types, refusal to allow Flash or any browser other than Safari, any kind of advanced bluetooth functionality, multitasking and so on. Again, if you don't care about any of the above, you should probably take a look at the iPhone if only for comparison. It's also *VERY* finger friendly, much moreso than WinMo, and you don't like having to wield a stylus at all, I'd definitely take a look at the iPhone.
I don't know why these WinMo companies are so slow to adopt things that seem like basic functionality to many users but they do improve their products, albiet slowly at times, and they're still a magnitude better than the competition, in my opinion. The HTC Titan sold by Sprint was, without a doubt, the worse piece of garbage I ever owned. HTC actually had the balls to put a measly 128mb of ram in there, put WinMo 6 on it and then let Sprint add all it's worthless slop to it. The bottom line was that it took half a day to boot and when it was finally done, it left somewhere between 8 and 12mb free...not even enough to run Slingplayer. Sprint charged $600 for that chunk of s*it and when I raised hell about it, Sprint not only refused to take it back, they wouldn't even cut me a break on what I had to buy to replace it. That's why I'm now with AT&T. So HTC (and other companies) do improve their products. One valuable thing about the Titan was that I learned to buy a phone for what it can do, not what it's capable of doing.
That's my main problem with the Expo and why I returned it. On paper it's a nice phone and there's a lot of potential in the hardware that is either unrealized or lost in the mess LG slapped together. Hopefully LG improves the system over time but right now it's pretty awful, in my opinion, and no update will ever help that poorly implemented stylus and, most likely, the poor battery life.

htc response
thanks for your email. You are correct, The HD and HD2 do not have TV out. Only the Touch PR line of devices has TV out for using with presentations and the like. The TV Out function was not highly requested in the market research that we did, so we concentrated on what the request were mostly for...larger screen, multitouch, standard 3.5mm jack etc. TV out was very far down on the list of wanted features. As for the music abilities, the only thing i know of that was removed on the HD2 was the remote control. This has returned on the HD2 as we needed to develop one that worked with the standard 3.5 jack that the majority of our customers wanted. This was the only thing removed from the HD. We think we must be doing something right as we are selling more handsets than ever, and winning lots of awards for our handsets as well. However, obviously you cannot please everyone, and if we have failed to meet your needs then i apologise, and hope that whatever device you choose, whether it be one of ours or not, i hope that you will be happy with it and it is everything you want. Best regards, Pete W HTC

I once contacted HTC about their lack of attention to this site.
The response i got made a lot of sense sadly.
Because of all the ROMs made on here and all the software that we reverse engineer from them and others, they cannot associate themselves with us at all due to illegality.
But still, this being the case, I think they could still use this site as a good place to do market research upon. Just because xda-devs is the largest collection of winmo users in one place that I know of, it seems to be the perfect place for them to go to see what their end users want.
I am a designer myself and it seems stupid to ignore the biggest resource of research and ideas.

[Q] Is this normal?

I don't know what the heck is going on, but I don't this is is normal. People are buying an excellent device and far from enjoying it, they spend all the time trying to find a defect, whatever it may. It sounds to me like mass hysteria fueled by unrealistically high expectations and highly polarized opinions and advices from false experts.
Not only people complain about behavior that it's perfectly normal and within the acceptable parameters, but also show surprise to design issues that they should very well know way in advance before purchasing the device: no FM radio, no notification LED, no 4G bands, etc. Or about application failing under a new Version ofnthe OS.
It could be me, but it seems this is getting to a level of paroxysm that is not healthy. I don't usually agree with Steve Jobs but I have to admit he was right when he allegedly say: it's just a phone!
I risk sounding like an old man, but I'm going to go on a limb and say that XDA did not sound like that during the windows mobile days, and those devices were horrible by today's standards. What's happened?

I so agree with you I'm coming from an iphone now on the S n 4 was the shi but even that had to be tweaked so much to actually get it to its best ability n ppl still had complains, I think first of ppl who really dont know how to take a phone to its full potential or know how to find a work around for what they are missing or they are just miserable complain about the phone. I paid the full price but I did do my research n knew what I was buying. Since day one I have been happy with my S and after putting Modoca Rom n a few apps n other tweaks n widgets my phone is perfect for me. Ppl want perfect from an electronic device, contradicting to what I said but perfect isnt attainable but the S comes close. Return the phone if u want to complain about these lil issuse or do more research next time before you.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App

Probably something to do with the increased cost of devices and people expecting more for their money and rightly so IMO.
If I fork out premium money I expect a premium device and not one with defects.
It may well be just a phone to some but it's also many other things to many people. If I buy a sat nav I expect it to be fully functional with no defects, likewise if I buy a media player, a camera, a games machine, an internet tablet etc etc... should we not expect the same of a convergence device?

This thread has the potential to get ugly...
Short answer to your question is YES, IT'S NORMAL. Normal in that it's common across the internet, not just on the NS, but on anything (smartphones, cars, computers, etc).
Outside of the development sections of a forum like this, most people who are just happy and loving their device aren't going to come and post about it, so there's a natural negative skew on most forums dedicated to a product. People usually find the forum because they looked for someplace to talk about the problems or dissatisfaction with the device.
No opinion on whether it's healthy or not; for some it's cathartic to vent in public...

distortedloop said:
This thread has the potential to get ugly...
Short answer to your question is YES, IT'S NORMAL. Normal in that it's common across the internet, not just on the NS, but on anything (smartphones, cars, computers, etc).
Outside of the development sections of a forum like this, most people who are just happy and loving their device aren't going to come and post about it, so there's a natural negative skew on most forums dedicated to a product. People usually find the forum because they looked for someplace to talk about the problems or dissatisfaction with the device.
No opinion on whether it's healthy or not; for some it's cathartic to vent in public...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. You have to be somewhat flexible when it comes to issues such as these. For some, spending $500 for a phone equates to months of saving, so yes, they want it to be perfect, or darn close to it. But stuff happens, and you just have to roll with the punches sometimes. If it's defective, exchange it for another one. I purchased an Asus G73 gaming Laptop (high end laptop) and had a ton pf problems with it. I exchanged it and had a problem with the replacement. I returned it and purchased an HP Envy 17 Beats Edition instead, and everything is right in the world again. It is what it is. I'm extremely happy with my Nexus S and my Hp Envy 17. Life is good.

GoodBye cRaptivate

I got sick of this phone. Even though the hardware is not quite what I had in my cRaptivate, I am far happier with my used Nexus One. I sold the stinking pile of fecal matter for $280 to someone and bought the Nexus One on the same day for $325. I didn't even care to hold out for someone was willing to pay more. I just wanted the thing out of my life.
After trying gpsfix #27Br2, with the whiz-bang tweaks and uber-optimized control-plane supl standalone/ms-based cold/hot start lbstestmode bla bla bla, and seeing that it once again made little to no difference in my gps performance I finally gave up on this phone.
It is my opinion that everyone that claims that their gps works fine doesn't really use it. They run google maps once after tweaking whatever setting or flashing whatever fix or rom that claims to have found the magic sweet spot, they get a lock (or even see a wireless network triangulated "lock") and then exclaim that their gps now works "better than ever" ... they never attempt to actually see how it tracks. They WANT their gps to work really well, so they pray to the magic placebo gods who convince them that things are really okay.0
So the nexus one has limited app space and a slightly slower cpu/gpu combo. Big deal. I can install apps to an ext partition on my sdcard with minimal space/performance hit, and I have yet to come accross any 3d stuff that did not at least seem to work at anything less than a butter-smooth framerate. I am sure the captivate jumps all over my phone with benchmark scores, but in the end, that means little to nothing.
Samsung (and the major carriers) should never have let this turd out the door with such a glaring, obvious flaw. This phone sucks donkey balls. They could at least release the source code for their drivers or whatever so the open source community can take a stab at it... More than likely it is some crappy hardware flaw that some exec decided to push through production because the bottom-line was all that really mattered. Anyway, I am done here.

good day sir!

Should of tried a different Captivate.
Don't let the door hit ya.

Rough to see ya go Thanks for not sticking around to post more useless garbage.

People who expect a phone to be a (reliable) GPS always makes me scratch my head. IT'S A FREAKING PHONE!

The grass is always greener on the other side. Good luck.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897

My gps works well. Just did a 150 mile drive never dropped me. I only have gps on no wifi or cell towers. Good bye.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

Just go...quietly. With only 38 posts since 2006 I'm guessing you got more than you gave in here.

^ ive done 400+miles on 2.1. works like a charm if you know what you are doing and you have a clear sky, which really means dont listen to anyone else, and if all you have is trial and error, dont use the settings that give bad results. oh and if you have trouble with google nav, download something else!
lbs test settings often have to match jupiter.xml and gps.conf. poking around in there can give bad results.
but yes the gps thing is blown out of proportion. many phones can nav fine but many can not. my friends have blackberries of various models and almost never get a lock. my friend has an lg something or other with android and it never locks inside a car, my iphone 3g couldnt lock inside a car. tom tom went as far as making a iphone specific dock with it's own gps chip because at the time the iphone only supported bluetooth audio and couldnt be linked to one of those bluetooth gps units.
the captivate actually has a pretty good ability to get a signal even if the positioning can be eratic under certain situations. but it's not the best for sure.
well if the op is happy with his nexus then good for him, it's a pretty cool device, but android devices seem to be moving in the way of powerful graphics chips and we'll see how long the snapdragons can keep up. with all this hardware coming out i wonder what will make its way into the app market in 2011.

Thread Locked

[Q] Asus Worst Support Ever!!! What does it take to reach Lvl 2 or 3 support?

Ok, So I dont really start threads about complaining but I had to on this one. I had the most frustrating experience with Asus support today.
I'm having two issues one with audio and one with the dock both have been reported by MANY users.
Sound issue: The left speaker volume is much lower than the right
Dock Issue: Keeps diconnecting after a few seconds to a few minutes after using and has dropped wifi 3 times. turning off track pad has *SEEMED* to correct this.
So here we go. I call asus support and describe the issues I have and also tell the guy that a lot of other people I knew in user groups were having the same exact issue I had. His first question... "That's running windows 7 right? Are you Fu**ing kidding me???? The about the dock issue "Is the dock manufactured by Asus?" ARE YOU KIDDING????
So I tell him it's obvious he knows nothing about the product and I would like to speak to a supervisor or someone who actually knows the product. He puts me on hold coming back on the line every 2 minutes to tell me he is looking for a supervisor.. He transfers me.. it rings for like 10 minutes straight and disconnects me.. I call back ask for a supervisor right away, Same thing.. transfers me rings and rings and get cut off, call back a 3rd and 4th time. Same thing! Now mind you I have been doing this for about 2 hours now..
I finally get a supervisor on the phone after 5 calls and tell him the issues and he says they can only repair it.. Why should something brand new have to be repaired? you dont buy something brand new and expect that it needs to be repaired, if it does need to be repaired when it's brand new then it SHOULD just be replaced...
So fine, I ask about cross shipping, even offering my CC # as security, He says he cant do it. Fine.. I'm super pissed at this point. He tells me I would get an email with the RMA info in 3 minutes, it's been 15 and still no email.. Then I ask if they ship a prepaid box to send it back in.. Nope they dont even do that! Almost every company I have dealt with has at least sent as box to ship the unit back in.. In all my years I have NEVER had such a frustrating experience with support(and I have had many)
I love the TF, but because of the service I received and this issues I'm experiencing this will be the first and last asus product I buy again!
Great concept, great idea but major fail in QA and launch.. Like I said I usually dont start threads like this but I'm so frustrated!!
Please if you are experiencing the issue with your left speaker volume being lower than the right please call Asus and report it. if it is a sw issue like some suspect then then if a lot of people report it we might see a fix quicker.
If you are having an issue with the dock keep becoming unresponsive report that as well!!! They wont know there is a problem unless people complain about it. And these two issues I dont consider minor or nit picking..
ASUS SUPPORT #'s
US 1-888-678-3688
canada # 1-888-616-2787

I have the speaker issue you mention but it's not a dealbreaker for me. Hopefully a firmware update will correct it. If not, I can live with it. They already know about the dock issues and the next firmware is meant to address them.
While I'd hate to be kept waiting and have to chase up on a support line, that's the way it's been with all companies in my experience over the last 10 years or so. Usually outsourced to some place you can't understand what they are saying from their accent. The best way to get support nowadays is to go via their official forum because that way you air your issue in 'public' and usually that gets a response from the company.

Few things. First, they have 2 new tablet devices on the market, the Eee Pad (That's you) and the Eee Slate that runs Windows 7 so I can understand his confusion. He would also be required to ask if the dock is made by Asus due to third party products such as bluetooth keyboards as well as fakes.
Secondly, you would be surprised by just how many people try and return brand new products even though they fully function. By saying they will only repair it is a way to deter those who just want a new product because the box is slightly damaged or as a way to obtain a full refund if they dislike the product etc. It actually is an expensive process to pay for return shipping, restocking, refurbishing or even replacing a product.
I can understand your frustration but it's hard for any company to take on everyone's issues on a case by case basis. I do wish you good luck on getting your products fixed one way or another.

Calling low level techs wont do you any good with any company.

The sound issue is a known firmware issue (if you read the [info] thread on the firmware it list this as an open issue that will be resolved). There is nothing support can do until the software changes (surprise there isn't an equilizer that would allow you to set the shift manually).
-
The dock is mostly likely a software issue (no clue why it impacts wifi). This is the negative of being on the bleeding edge.
-
You have two choices - return it and wait for the technology to mature or live with it until it is fixed but chances are fixes will take a few weeks.
-
I guess there are a few other choices - gripe to your blue in the face - give it a few weeks till you reach the end of the return period and then make a decision.
-
From what I have read the dock issue is not hardware or at least specific to your instance of the dock.
-
It was like this with the P67 (read the threads on the various motherboards and bios isssues); it was like this with [pick your favorite bleeding edge technology].
-
In this specific case asus is fighting two levels of bugs/maturity. Their firmware/hardware AND honeycomb (which adds its own problem). While the speaker issue is likely asus issue it would not surprise me if the many of hte issues with the dock is honeycomb.

True story: Last week I cracked the face of my new Skagen watch being drunk and doing god-knows-what. I accidentally dropped it face down a couple of days later, and the weakened face completely shattered. I wrote Skagen asking them how much it'd cost to fix the watch, understanding it was non-warranty work and a result of my own idiocy. They wrote back and said they'd fix it for free, I just had to pay $9 S&H. I love their watches anyway, but now I'll never buy another brand.
Point is, I hate where customer service has gone these days. It's refreshing and shocking when a company goes out of its way to keep a customer rather than throwing up roadblocks to keep from helping them. I hope Asus gets it together on the tablet side. Simply rationalizing why they gave this guy a hard time is why it's gotten this way in the first place, no accountability.
*Old man-esque rant over*

jake21 said:
The sound issue is a known firmware issue (if you read the [info] thread on the firmware it list this as an open issue that will be resolved).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I better correct you there before this gets quoted everywhere. It's in my list of "things NEEDING to be fixed". I don't know if it WILL be fixed. Caps for emphasis there. The list at the top of my thread are the things that should be out in the next update.
EDIT: I've now changed my thread around to make it clearer for people, as there have been a few others misquoting it too.

Semi-related:
I purchased an Asus eeepc 1000HE when it launched about two years ago. It started making a terrible noise that I diagnosed as fan noise. A new fan was about $20 and I would have to void my warranty to replace it. I emailed Asus, telling them exactly what the problem was, etc. I had to pay to ship it to them, so I packaged it up and printed out a sheet with my name/info stating EXACTLY what the problem was. I also asked them to replace one of the rubber feet that had fallen off.
I got my netbook back about 10 days later with a note that said "technician heard grinding noise, replaced with (model number) refurbished hard drive". There was nothing wrong with my drive. I also noticed that the other rubber foot had fallen off/been ripped off, so the fool that was working on it just put a single foot in a bag and put it in the box. Didn't even bother to reattach it or fix the other one like I had asked. I ended up with a crappy refurb that is noisy, a still broken fan, and one less rubber foot. When I called to complain and inform them of their stupidity they told me I would have to pay to ship it back, and that I would get another refurb'd drive and hopefully a new fan. I ended up just replacing the fan myself, solving my problem. Should have done that in the first place :\
With all that being said, Asus customer service is TERRIBLE. The technician must have been an idiot, and as mentioned the outsourced phone support is annoying/time consuming to deal with. I have dealt with plenty of company's customer service in my time but Asus is tied with Philips (that's another story) for the worst.
I really hope that my TF doesn't have any problems because I would never want to deal with those idiots again.

Is any of the other companies better ? I've had great service from non-computer companies (similar to the guy's story about his watch). However, tech companies have been a crap shoot for me largely depending on the individual I manage to contact.
Two companies I've been very happy with (for service) have been g.skill and canon both of which have not only given excellent service but also detail technical information that demonstrate deep understanding of products (this is canon-usa; I've heard not so happy things about canon in some other markets).
-
Oh well can't help with asus; can't defend them as i've never required service from them; but they've never screwed me over either (though the shipping policy is harsh and I'd probably avoid them had i realize prior to purchase).

graffixnyc said:
So I tell him it's obvious he knows nothing about the product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You sounded kind of impatient here. He said the same thing about windows seven and pressing F7 to get to safe mode. I just patiently explained to him that we were talking about two different products.
Im coming on here to counter your experience: in dealing with my bricked transformer I've received awesome customer support including expedited shipping although still no cross shipping or prepaid but I wasn't worried about that.
In fact I even got a call from a technician (his personal cell #) and he told me about the progress they made in fixing the issue and he said if I ordered another TF and it experienced issues to call him back first thing.
Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

jake21 said:
The sound issue is a known firmware issue (if you read the [info] thread on the firmware it list this as an open issue that will be resolved). There is nothing support can do until the software changes (surprise there isn't an equilizer that would allow you to set the shift manually).
-
The dock is mostly likely a software issue (no clue why it impacts wifi). This is the negative of being on the bleeding edge.
-
You have two choices - return it and wait for the technology to mature or live with it until it is fixed but chances are fixes will take a few weeks.
-
I guess there are a few other choices - gripe to your blue in the face - give it a few weeks till you reach the end of the return period and then make a decision.
-
From what I have read the dock issue is not hardware or at least specific to your instance of the dock.
-
It was like this with the P67 (read the threads on the various motherboards and bios isssues); it was like this with [pick your favorite bleeding edge technology].
-
In this specific case asus is fighting two levels of bugs/maturity. Their firmware/hardware AND honeycomb (which adds its own problem). While the speaker issue is likely asus issue it would not surprise me if the many of hte issues with the dock is honeycomb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too heard the sound issue was firmware related since so many people I know that have the tf are experiencing it, but there have been two people so far that have said the sound is the same level on both sides, running the same FW as I.
I'm not really upset about the issues, it's a first gen device so they are expected. What got me was the way I was dealt with by support. I work in it and have dealt with many vendors etc.. hell even moto sent me a prepaid box to ship the xoom back in. That's not really the big deal because it's only a few bucks, but it's the principle. I felt like I wasnt treated as a customer should be treated. I dont expect them to kiss my ass but be willing to work with me a little bit, dont make it impossible. I seriously got the run around by them. Every tech I got was a tech in training. When I was explaining the first call to either the 3rd or 4th guy(cant remember which) and saying that the 1st tech didnt know the product he said "I see" So then I asked the 3rd or 4th guy.. "So what OS is in the Asus eee pad transformer?" he was stumped and hesitated then heard him typing. And I then said "you see this is why I need to speak to level 2 or level 3 support or a supervisor, because I need to speak to someone who knows this product well and who can actually understand the product well enough to understand the issue I'm trying to report."
I love the product, I really do but at the same time the way I was given the run around today making 5 calls before I got a supervisor is not acceptable cs if you ask me.. that's what ticked me off the most..
oh well.. I finally got the rma email. Part of me wants to send it in asap and part of me wants to wait a couple of weeks to see if it is indeed a sw issue and will be fixed.
If it was a known sw issue by asus, wouldn't they have known about it when I called in? So I honestly was calling them with the hopes of getting confirmation that it was a sw issue, but the tech told me the opposite that it's a hw thing and that's why they are giving me an RMA..
I dont know. I dont nit pick about little things (creaking, a **little screen bleed etc...) but things like the dock keep disconnecting and sound coming more out of one channel to me are pretty big flaws
on a good note, when it's docked and closed it does feel nice in the hands and everything else except these two issues for me is great

I had some of the same issues with the L1 techs - lack of knowledge and escalation to a supervisor that just rang over and over for 10 minutes until I gave up and called back. I can understand L1 having issues with a brand new device like this -- I had to correct them repeatedly when they asked questions like "did you check the Windows services?". But I would think that, in the next few weeks, they should definitely be up to speed.
My own device is RMA'd and on it's way to California now (problematic touch screen and a smudge / bad pixel on the screen) and we'll see how it goes. If they at least fix my issues then I'll be satisfied. But if it comes back in the same shape it was in (or worse) then I will start yelling. So I have to wait and see what the outcome will be.
Not to defend Apple in any way, but one thing I have to say about them is that they do have very good customer support. But of course you pay a premium for that.

I actually also called today because my brand new transformer has pretty bad light bleed. The rep i talked to said he had never heard of that before in his life. I realized i was just talkin to a moron and hung up. I hope ill get a better rep next time i try calling. There will always be a some clueless people working customer service.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk

I worked for a hardware company doing technical support for several years.
Believe me, they put stuff out there and don't bother to train their support staff on it. Happens all the time. Or we'd know about it, but they would drag their feet for MONTHS before we got any real training. Of course, by then we had learned enough through supporting it that the training was only somewhat helpful.

Just throwing my own unrelated out there... bought an asus 26 inch monitor two years ago, it had a black speck of dirt trapped between the screen and plastic shielding.. anyways I called, sent it in. I got my unit back (I knew it was mine because of some surface scratches I had on my unit) with the dirt removed. I have to say i was impressed.
Sent from my Transformer TF101 using XDA Premium App

Come to think of it.. I wonder if that "supervisor" I spoke to was really a supervisor at all.. Because when he was telling me they would do a RMA for me and I asked about cross shipping he put me on hold for a few minutes like he had to go find out if that was an option. If he was a supervisor wouldnt he have known if that was an option or not? Anyway, I have sent an email to two people in public relations and that Eric liu guy that was here on the forums. I also filed a complaint with the better business bureau. Not for the issues I have with the product but the terrible customer service I received and was given the run around. And when I asked for people's names they only gave me fist names, no badge numbers or last names. It was really just one of the worst tech support/cs issues I've ever had. those phone calls were like something out of a nightmare

graffixnyc said:
I also filed a complaint with the better business bureau.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You (and anyone else who gets support run-around) should contact The Consumerist website. The BBB has no real teeth anymore but The Consumerist has a wide enough reach to publicly shame the company into fixing issues which is often the only way to get them to respond these days (unfortunately).

Well, I had many RMAs with Asus b4, my motherboards are all Asus. IMHO, the L1 Techs are just normal CSR without any knowledge abt their products. They just simply check your serial # and issue RMA. I always pushes them to give me a returns Fedex shipping label and sometimes I got it. Probably it's depend how many times the product had "RMAed" . So usually I 'll want to speak to the L3 Tech in CA, rather those @ Indiana. L3 are the one who can give u the replacement and fast shipping. Probably the TF don't have those premium warranty offers.

rogconnect said:
Well, I had many RMAs with Asus b4, my motherboards are all Asus. IMHO, the L1 Techs are just normal CSR without any knowledge abt their products. They just simply check your serial # and issue RMA. I always pushes them to give me a returns Fedex shipping label and sometimes I got it. Probably it's depend how many times the product had "RMAed" . So usually I 'll want to speak to the L3 Tech in CA, rather those @ Indiana. L3 are the one who can give u the replacement and fast shipping. Probably the TF don't have those premium warranty offers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you reach level 3 support? When I was talking to the L1 tech and asked for a supervisor or lever 2 or 3 support he never mentioned getting me a higher level agent

this is kinda typical for most tech companies.. L1 support is always crap..no surprise...
as an engineer works for Netgear myself (we occassionally fill in the role of L3 support), I totally understand your frustration as I always feel the same when talking to these guys.. they just have no idea what they're talking about..
however if you think about it again..it's not really their fault...they have to support hundreds of products so you can't really expect them to answer everything...and they don't really have any power to make decisions for refund, pre-paid delivery label, etc..
the best thing you can do is to ask for a L2/L3 support who really understands the product you are talking about