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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).
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The dock is mostly likely a software issue (no clue why it impacts wifi). This is the negative of being on the bleeding edge.
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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.
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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.
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From what I have read the dock issue is not hardware or at least specific to your instance of the dock.
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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].
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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).
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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).
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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.
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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).
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The dock is mostly likely a software issue (no clue why it impacts wifi). This is the negative of being on the bleeding edge.
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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.
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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.
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From what I have read the dock issue is not hardware or at least specific to your instance of the dock.
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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].
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
Good evening all (UK question)
Just wonder how we stand if htc dont revise the back cover and make it fit the phone without gaps and the wifi Ariel is not moved? consumer direct, small claims?
Not good. Unless it is a problem with every phone made and it causes actual damage as oppose to incoveninance (sp?). Because its not a safety issues like with cars for example I dont think they can be made to do so either. The best case we can relate this to is the iphone4 reception problem. So at best we could probably hope for a free cover case.
Also unless HTC were based in the UK which I don't think they are the UK trading standards would be much harder to impose.
Hope this helps.
Sent from my HTC Sensation.
The only thing I can think of is returning your phone to the network supplier for a replacment phone. Either another sensation or similar.
Sent from my HTC Sensation.
from the other forum posts its a design flaw... just gota hope they fix the signal issue with a new cover, the overheating is not gona be fixed imo due to it just being crap rushed soc
If its a design flaw then there isnt much hope. There is no fault. Just un thought out workmanship. Don't quote me on this though I could be wrong but have spent some time around issues like this in the past. I'll do a bit of research later. As long as these flaws continue to cause no defect to the phone and don't impose a safety issue then nothing will be done as there is no fault to function other than minor inconvenience.
Sent from my HTC Sensation.
Same legal cover as with the iphone 4's external Airplane mode button.
IE the item is not fit for purpose then the retailer must either repair or replace, or refund if that is not possible.
If memory serves with the iphone issue, owners could get out of their contracts and return the phone.
The Sale Goods and Services 1979 provides that goods sold must be of 'satisfactory quality'. This means of a standard that a 'reasonable' person would expect.
Having wifi cut out because of how you hold it is not reasonable, assuming you're reasonably close to the wifi router.
You must inform the retailer of the issue within 6 months of purchase, as before 6 months you do not have to prove there is a fault, it's up to the retailer to prove there isn't (not that they'll try that considering how well documented the issue is).
Now, if they can't repair it, and you want to keep the phone, then that's your choice to put up with the issue.
Having said that, all the demonstration Sensations I've looked at had no problems with the cover fitting (couldn't test wifi obviously).
It could be that some warp in the heat (during transport for example) in which case a replacement part is likely to resolve that issue.
From what I gather about our friends on the other side of the pond, we are extremely lucky to have such good consumer protection laws.
I have been on the market for an Android 10 inch tablet for close to a year. I have watching several of the devices that have come on the market there. I like the iPad for some things but I hate the proprietary nature and many other numerous issues to list.
Back to my original question though
I have been following reviews online and this is probably the 3rd or 4th time that I have seen reviews on Amazon.com or other sites that the ASUS TF700 has some "build quality issues" they have pointed out problems with the tablet making a squeaky noise when pressing on the glass in some areas and it appearing that the "glue is coming loose". I wanted to say that if I'm spending $500+ on a device. I want it to work, and work well, and not have to replace it in a year or less.
Another comment I have seen is that its sluggish when doing "heavy multitasking". I plan to do quite a bit of multitasking on it and wondered what other user's experiences are. I have read that ASUS will release the Jelly Bean update to this device and I would expect that this may help with some of that.
One of the reasons that I'm certainly considering going with the ASUS over the other tablets is that I prefer ASUS devices on other platforms. I have an ASUS laptop that originally came with Windows Vista (that tells you how dated it is). It's probably 4-5 years old at this point and it's still working off the original AC adapter, original battery and it still works flawlessly. I have owned several ASUS motherboards that work perfectly and last.
I wanted your opinions, since you guys are the Android tablet guru's and I've read some of the other posts. Even the one about the squeakiness by the speaker. But I' m wondering if this is a common issue or one to be concerned about.
One last thing is that I noticed there is an Atmel stylus that might be compatible with it. Has anyone purchased and used one yet? If so, what do you think about it? I'm seriously considering the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 as well because of this stylus capability and the 2GB of ram in there. Money is not that much of a problem since I will be using gift cards (like up to $700 worth) to buy it.
Yes, Asus definitely has some quality-control issues, but if you do get a "bad" one, you can always just return it for another. Personally, my TF700 is fine - some minor light bleed on the bottom and right sides, but it's only noticeable at full brightness, which I'll never use anyway. I don't have the clicking/squeaking noise either. I truly believe that most of these issues are very minor and most folks wouldn't even notice them if they weren't looking for them.
Don't let this hold you back from an awesome tablet - that's why they make warranties! My original TF101 is still running great (hardware-wise, at least - ICS is another story!) - never had any hardware issues with it and my wife still uses it daily.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
I'm surprised. From what I see here, I think I got one of the nicer tablets. My screen has no obvious light bleeds, no dust trapped under the glass, or scratches. The display is bonded firmly and doesn't squeak. I guess it may be potluck with the build quality, but mine is built well.
Like jtrosky said, if you get a bad one, you can exchange it.
rightonred said:
I'm surprised. From what I see here, I think I got one of the nicer tablets. My screen has no obvious light bleeds, no dust trapped under the glass, or scratches. The display is bonded firmly and doesn't squeak. I guess it may be potluck with the build quality, but mine is built well.
Like jtrosky said, if you get a bad one, you can exchange it.
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First one had dust under screen.
Second had huge bright white crater-like defect in center of screen. Really bad defect - can't understand how that passed quality control.
Third one is perfect....so far....
Asus should stay with what they do best..build computers. They sucks with pad, problems after problems. The TF700 is not ready for prime time. They did the 201 and still making too many mistake with the 700. I can named many like, USB,SB card, I/O bottle neck, phone jack volume, noise when pressed on glass, not fitting well with dock..and on and on. I would wait for Samsung Note 10.1.
buhohitr said:
Asus should stay with what they do best..build computers. They sucks with pad, problems after problems. The TF700 is not ready for prime time. They did the 201 and still making too many mistake with the 700. I can named many like, USB,SB card, I/O bottle neck, phone jack volume, noise when pressed on glass, not fitting well with dock..and on and on. I would wait for Samsung Note 10.1.
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But then what would be the alternative: Acer? Apple? Samsung where you're stuck on the same firmware forever?
I think the problem is the separation of design and production these days. These tablets are made by faceless Chinese workers, and then shipped over here. Its not like it used to be where the factory workers and the manufacturer and quality control were all in one place. In fact, do we even know if ASUS ever even sees the tablets after they leave the factory and get shipped to the warehouse?
You should be honored. You're now an ASUS employee - we get to inspect the tablets and return the defective ones - we're quality control technicians!
Digital Man said:
But then what would be the alternative: Acer? Apple? Samsung where you're stuck on the same firmware forever?
I think the problem is the separation of design and production these days. These tablets are made by faceless Chinese workers, and then shipped over here. Its not like it used to be where the factory workers and the manufacturer and quality control were all in one place. In fact, do we even know if ASUS ever even sees the tablets after they leave the factory and get shipped to the warehouse?
You should be honored. You're now an ASUS employee - we get to inspect the tablets and return the defective ones - we're quality control technicians!
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Asus sold the product, they're 100% responsible for their product, doesn't matter how/where they were made. I payed Asus with my own hard working money and I do have the right to complaint when the product is not working as advertise. I will be glad to contribute my free time to test for them for free if they allowed me to have the product for FREE.
buhohitr said:
Asus sold the product, they're 100% responsible for their product, doesn't matter how/where they were made. I payed Asus with my own hard working money and I do have the right to complaint when the product is not working as advertise. I will be glad to contribute my free time to test for them for free if they allowed me to have the product for FREE.
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That sounds nice. But you have to vote with your wallet. And the public already has. People want cheap stuff. The Chinese make cheap stuff. So regardless of weather ASUS is responsible or not, if people continue to buy it, why would ASUS have any reason to change? The days of real premium quality merchandise are over.
Every product on the face of the planet is now made in one place. We chose to abandon our factories and manufacturing facilities. So cheap lower quality stuff is now the norm.
buhohitr said:
Asus sold the product, they're 100% responsible for their product, doesn't matter how/where they were made. I payed Asus with my own hard working money and I do have the right to complaint when the product is not working as advertise. I will be glad to contribute my free time to test for them for free if they allowed me to have the product for FREE.
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I believe that he was just being sarcastic with that last statement!
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using Tapatalk 2
I was in the same boat as you, waiting for a 10" tablet that I thought fit my needs and was worth the premium we pay for tablet devices.
I was concerned about quality as well. I kept seeing all kinds of stories on the forums (loose glass, dust, light bleed, etc). I ordered from Amazon knowing that it would be easy to return if there was a problem, but mine is just fine and fortunately has none of the problems that some other people have had.
Re: multitasking - I do a lot of multitasking. I usually have it on "balanced" mode and it's super smooth. It slows down a very little bit when I'm updating 2+ apps simultaneously, and the odd occasion where I'm running multiple CPU-intensive apps, but I just switch to "performance" mode for that short period of time and it's back to being snappy.
If you get a bad one, just return it immediately and get a new one. I'm loving this tablet =)
Thanks, I appreciate your input. I think I may end up going with it. We'll see...The samsung note 10.1 doesn't even disclose how much it will cost yet. I'm worried that even $700 may not be enough. I have heard some rumors of around $750. Plus, I don't know how much I would honestly use the Stylus. It would be a fun toy, but not practical for day to day use for me most likely. I'm so used to using touch interfaces all my other android tablet devices and a prior iPhone now anyway.
Keep in mind as well that it'd usually not the happy people that write or speak out. Its often the dissatisfied. There are plenty of happy and satisfied users out there as well.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Got my T700 a couple weeks ago
I've had enough time to grow accustomed to it and I love it so far. I can see what same are saying about the build quality issues. The glass feels slightly loose in some areas but not so much that it would come apart.
into_311 said:
I've had enough time to grow accustomed to it and I love it so far. I can see what same are saying about the build quality issues. The glass feels slightly loose in some areas but not so much that it would come apart.
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I hope it works out for you. I think this is a terrific tablet (and keyboard dock).
I have been considering posting this for some time, and a couple of posts I saw in the past few days convinced me it's time. After seeing Asus CEO Jonny Shih showing off a "Pre-Production" Transformer Prime to Walt Mossberg last fall, I was one of the customers... scratch that... "suckers" who sold my Asus Transformer - the original, and waited patiently for the Prime. After the horrendous "roll out" wherein Best Buy oversold their pre-orders, Amazon dropped pre-orders and canceled hundreds more, I finally got my Prime. You know the rest, so I won't go into what a huge disappointment and letdown that became, but the worst part? Asus showing off the "fixed" product 3 weeks later, in the form of the Infinity. Then lying and claiming it was NOT the replacement for the Prime, but another BETTER Flagship. I challenge ANYONE to show me where I can still order or by a Prime in the US. (and don't bother showing me URL's with old stock for sale.)
Fast forward almost 1 year from when I sold my TF101, 8 months from the arrival of my sub-Prime and now I actually HAVE an Infinity (some of us are just gluttons for punishment, it seems) Anyway, I FINALLY found out what is at the root of the issues with this polarizing piece of hardware. How is it that something can have such an aura and presence and "quality" in terms of materials, and yet have defects, (light bleed, screen creak & separation etc. ) performance issues (I/O)
If you got to Asus Web Site and visit the section dedicated to the Transformer Pad Infinity. there are a couple of stylistic videos along the lines of "The making of the Transformer Infinity" showing some of the concepts, and engineering that contributed to the design. First, here is the "shpeel"
"While the specs of the tablet are hardly a surprise, it is the level of craftsmanship which impresses. An aluminum forging process, normally found in the aviation industry has been used to compress the metal of the tablet. A molding of the plastic parts with the metal at nano level has lead to the lack of any screws on the slate’s body. And of course, Corning Gorilla Glass 2 is protecting that precious screen at the device’s front."
In the second of two videos on this page: http://eee.asus.com/en/eeepad/transformer-infinity/features/
Titled: "The Next Transformation", one of the engineers says Asus CEO Jonny came up with the concept of "The Hard Way" - THIS is the root of the evil that inflicts ASUS tablets. The concept is to "come up with something that is worth doing, but challenging to accomplish, instead of choosing the easy path to success"
As noble as that sounds, it's plain stupid. WHY would atech company want to do things, build things, design things "The hard way" The build quality of the Infinity is the number one example of how this concept just DOES NOT WORK. The design is too difficult to build consistently. Sure they look awesome, feel solid, and are thin as insert your favorite anorexic chick here, but witness the defect rate. Oh wait... we don't KNOW what the defect rate is. Guess what? I believe It's pretty high. Samsung, with all their plasticiky products, that often look and feel cheap at least has a very good record of build consistency and few defective units.
Witness, I exchanged my Infinity 8 times. Yes, I know that's a ridiculous number, and I know you are thinking: this guy is all OCD, and picking on every tiny little quirk or issue. Maybe. I will grant that I am somewhat OCD, a bit of a perfectionist, but I still consider myself a reasonable person, and not over the top insanely picky. Here's why I returned 7 tablets, so you can decide for yourself:
First, every single one had a defect of some type, some minor, some cosmetic, but NOT ONE was defect free. At first I thought it was bad luck, but by exchange number 4 I KNEW there was some underlying issue; based on serial #'s it was NOTa particular "run" - In fact, I am now100% convinced that these are so difficult to build, that Asus is basically INCAPABLE of building even ONE without some issue. Over the 8 Tablets, I saw (sometime in combinations, but usually one issue per tablet. Ultimately, I ended up keeping one that had an "acceptable level" of issues. You know, like the Dead Pixel" policies companies use? This was "defect issues that are acceptable.
* Screen Back-light Bleed 6 of 8 tablets had noticeable and significant Light-bleed.
* Scratches, dents etc. Only 2 affected, one VERY minor (I almost kept it, until I saw the screen was also coming out of the frame mid-way across the top in landscape orientation) It had a tiny dent, and a tiny "shiny spot" where the anodized gray coating was missing- about the size of a pin head. The other one had a noticeable scratch from the plastic strip on a diagonal, about 1.5 inches long, and had chips out of the plastic strip where it joins to the metal back. Asus claims to us some type of Nano-molding technology to bind plastic and metal. I guess it failed on that one.
* Glass seperating or "Coming out" of the frame. This took the form of the glass being extremely warped, so much so, that I was concerned it would ultimately crack or shatter, as Gorilla Glass 2 is suppossedly thinner than the original, and just as strong, but under a constant stress, and temperature changes? I suspect that is how the "mystery screen breakage" occurs, when people have them docked, then open the tablet to see a broken screen. (Prime had a bunch of these stories, i have only seen a couple on the Infinity, but I suspect it could be worse, as there is no bonded strip around the outside, just a metal back with bent edges to hold the screen, and Lots of reports of screen separation.
TWICE along the way, I though I was all set. The first time, it was the screen warped and coming out of the fram I described above. Even though it worked perfectly, I was seriously afraid it would get worse, or shatter. If it got worse, i would have to shudder RMA the tablet. I went through that once. Never again, is all i can say on the subject. The other one was also really good... cosmetically very nice (by the way, the brushed circular pattern they apply to these is VERY inconsistent. I have seen huge variation on this, with some looking really nice, and some having inconsistent (there's that WORD AGAIN!) finishes, with deeper brush marks in "stripes" across the back, and others being smooth and super shiny.
The LOGO Cut - Done with a Laser? That's the only way I could conceive that they could precisely cut the back in a pattern to fit the Asus logo and have it inset into the aluminum. 2 of my exchanges had a ridiculously mis-cut back, and the logo was coming up, and the cut out was so sharp it would cut your hand easily - my daughter ended up bleeding onto the tablet, so that one went back. They other I was keeping, but failed some other way- I forget how now after all these tablets.
Number 7 was a keeper... I thought. It koooked PERFECT. Beautiful, They pretiest Infinity I ever had. But the Wifi was all over the place, and slow. I was seing 10 Mbit, maybe 12 Mbit speeds. then dropping to 3-5 Mbit. (Others I had would do 20+ Mbit every time, no matter when or how often you tested them. Some hit 30+ Anyway, all of a sudden I remembered the infamous "Pogo Pins" from the Prime, and I sueezed the tablet along the top edge. Not only did it IMEDIATELY shoot straight up to 30 Mbit, but the top left where I squeezed made a super loud creaking, and the screen deviated by a whole lot. You could SEE it moving in relation to the frame, with a loud creak and a clicking sound... great... there goes another one! (#7 - the last one I returned. And Best Buy had to pass it around so they could ALL give it a nice squeeze. Thanks Mr. Whipple!
Ripple effect (I would NOT return a tablet for this, but when it is present, but it looks noticeably less quality than ones that do not display this issue. It looks like several dozen tiny ripples running the length of the tablet, and in bright light it is obvious if you have this. Not all do, and some have no ripples at all.
Volume and power buttons are total crap. Some click and have a detent, others just "mush"
I mean, is this the price we must pay for all that sexy aluminum? This kind of "Delorean Motors build quality"? Hey! They DO sort of look like the Delorean, now that I think about it!
So this is my list. Do you have any of these:
1 Dents, divots or chips out of the metal.
2. Chips out of the plactic strip.
3. Spots where the anodized color is missing.
4. Glass that is rising above the frame, is notably warped (hold it level under some light, and look across the top. If it looks like a brezzy day on the lake, I would not feel too good about it.)
5. Poor application of the "Circular" pattern.
6. Poor laser cut of recessed Logo area. (including sharp metal edges)
7. Poor or failing Power buttons and Volume buttons.
8. Scratches of all types (on a factory sealed box)
9. Creeks, squeaks, Clucking, Clunking, Popping sounds when you squeeze the glass at the border.
That's mostly it for the Physical stuff on the tablet... It IS a beautiful tablet. I just think it's too difficult to build consistently well.
One final gripe: The Power Supply, same design since TF101, and really poor.
Poor grounding of power supply - feel that nice "tickle" when you run your fingers along the metal while on the charger? The Prime would only do this when the plug as oriented one way, switch it around and it stopped. The infinity does it on both polarities. How can they sell it like that? By the way, some are worse than others, I know, I have sampled enough. This is unacceptable.
If they could make these consistently well, there is a very short wishlist I would like to see filled:
* Better memory bus design. I am not sure this is entirely Asus fault, or if some falls on Nvidia, with the single channel memory controller, or whatever it is about Asus Tablet memory architecture ALL Asus tablets have some degree of IO issues - I know the Nexus 7 has I/O issues, though not as bad, but there ARE other Tegra 3 designs that are not plagued with this issue.
* Separate Bluetooth / Wifi chips. or at LEAST a 5 Ghz WiFi...Come ON! The iPAD 1 had 5 Ghz, as does EVERY Samsung Tablet.
* Better Buttons
* Micro USB Port on Tablet
* Real Stereo Speakers, preferably pointing at the user, on Keyboard would be the logical place (if that proves difficult, PERFECT: Jonny Shih's people will be ecstatic!)
Finally: STOP saying: "Dock attached: Use Keyboard to type WORDS" What the heck else are you going to use it for, sending morse code?
Poor I/O - Design of memory bus
Combined (cheap) WiFi/Bluetooth chipset - Thus the poor wifi when Bluetooth streaming.
No 5 Ghz Wifi (
Poor fit of the Primes Dock - Oh yeah, Asus has a blurb saying the TF201 dock is incompatible with TF700, but not the opposite. meanwhile, those videos I mentioned on Asus site? One of the goes on about how they spent a lot of time balancing the tablet to "make it work better in the TF201 Dock" Then they go and repackage Prime docks and charge a premium for them.
There... now I got all that off my chest. Can't WAIT for Jelly Bean!
......waaaaaaaaay to long of a post....
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T
A good post. Agree 100% with all of the problems.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
It's okay. I returned my tablet 9 times to Best Buy. The last two times I had my gf do it cause I was tired of getting my ID registered to their 3rd party company (The Retail Equation) who handles returns to find fraud. I finally got a good one. On my fourth exchange, I started opening the box right in their store to make sure nothing was wrong. I think it was about 9 exchanges in a total of 3 days.
the first I had was perfect, then I bricked it...
I got another one and it is also perfect, I can't understand you guys.
I had no light bleeding, no cracking sounds, no scratches on the metal, no seperated screen.
Nothing what you write about, not even a bit.
I got my two tablets from Amazon Germany, maybe WW Build quality is just better than US?
Good post!
Very informative and interesting.
I guess I was lucky, having gotten my mitts on one about two weeks before official retail <gnagna>. I can find no fault externally or with the screen, although I do have the same I/O issues everybody else is having, obviously (that's a clear design error).
Good post, had a good laugh -- I hope that JB will flip the coin for us and makes the 700 perform more like it should have out of the box -- though it remains uncertain at best if we will ever have the performance we paid so dearly for...
SmartAs$Phone said:
One final gripe: The Power Supply, same design since TF101, and really poor.
Poor grounding of power supply - feel that nice "tickle" when you run your fingers along the metal while on the charger? The Prime would only do this when the plug as oriented one way, switch it around and it stopped. The infinity does it on both polarities. How can they sell it like that? By the way, some are worse than others, I know, I have sampled enough. This is unacceptable.
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This is truly unacceptable! And you should also add to your list the power supply noise, it is very annoying sometimes.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
I must be lucky, all i have is a little light bleed. My buttons are good and pretty solid feeling, I have a ipad 2 to compare to and after the update this thing flys.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using xda app-developers app
I also must be one of the lucky ones.
This thing is perfect in every way.
I loved your post. It is always good to speak your mind.
Agree 100% Exchanged my TF101 7 times, Prime twice and gave up, Tf700 twice (still not happy) and now I'm waiting for the Nexus 10. Done with Asus. And yes, I know Nexuses are built by Asus, but Google holds their feet to fire when it comes to QA.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
So all you guys who have perfect device Asus just put in two antennas for perfect WiFi Bluetooth connection and faster nand chip so no more sloppy io performance? Interesting..
I got ww model and I can't believe why Asus decided to save maybe 10$ there.
Apart from my 3 hot Pixels seems that no problems.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF700T using XDA Premium HD app
I'm pretty lucky too compared to some of you. I bought mine off of Amazon and its been absolutely perfect! I also got the dock + splashtop = lots of funny looks when docking and undocking while using window in class
I've only had mine a week now, but agree with others, mine is great! I had my Transformer Prime for 7 months. I never did an RMA or anything. Other than a poorly functioning GPS and a slightly weak WIFI signal, the TPrime was great. I'm expecting the same with the Infinity, and as I said, so far, just great!
Sorry, but I just don't understand returning a product 7 or 9 times. I look at technology this way: there's bound to be a few glitches here and there. I've grown to accept that and live with them. Now, obviously I admit there are certain hardware failures and other issues which shouldn't be accepted in an expensive device. I'm not saying I've never returned anything. I have. It took me two phones to get to a properly functioning Galaxy Nexus phone. Stuff happens, but 9 returns?! I just don't get that.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
SOTK said:
Sorry, but I just don't understand returning a product 7 or 9 times. I look at technology this way: there's bound to be a few glitches here and there. I've grown to accept that and live with them. Now, obviously I admit there are certain hardware failures and other issues which shouldn't be accepted in an expensive device. I'm not saying I've never returned anything. I have. It took me two phones to get to a properly functioning Galaxy Nexus phone. Stuff happens, but 9 returns?! I just don't get that.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
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I bought a keychain camera for about $40 on ebay (look up 808 cam). I researched the tech, i made sure to find a buyer that reportedly sold what he said (a #16 instead of a re-labled #3) and when i got the product i was generally happy with it. It had a few glitches but i got what i paid for.
When i spend $650 for a tablet and dock, especially when there are other similar quality devices for $100 cheaper, i am expecting to get what i pay for. I paid for perfection. I COULD have gone on ebay and bought a bargian basement tablet for, say, $75, and maybe it would do what it claimed!
The reason we are upset is this:
We were sold a quality product
top of the line specs
from a trusted manufacturer with a history of meticulous perfection
Instead what we recieved was a product with many build issues
imperfect construction
sloppy workmanship
poor design
bad internals
and finally, extremely poor customer service.
Asus had been, in my books, one of the top companies. I would never think twice before buying a laptop or computer from them. Now.... I dont know. I had a prime, i should have learned from that. Now i have an infinity. Not perfect but considering (through a series of fortunate events) it cost me about $250 i can live with that.
Usually, if you have something that was mid-tier and doesnt work perfect you could say "should have bought the top end device", or justify those problems with saying you saved because its not the highest end model.
Well this is the highest end model. The galaxy note 10 comes close but unless you want the pen the infinity is the winner by specs. How can we justify poor quality when we pay top dollar? We cant.
What i dont get is how, after 9 returns, did this person not say "maybe i'd be better off with a tab2.0 or a galaxy note". I am at that point, i really, really love the specs for the infinity on paper, and i love the form factor, i love how light it is, how solid it feels (when its not falling apart), how thin it is, i think its awesome. I dont like how they charge $650 for something that should cost half that with the amount of problems it has.
Let me put it this one other way...
If you went to a car dealership and bought a car off the lot, brand new, never been driven before, and one of the tires was flat. Or one of the break rotors was misaligned, or one of the cylindars was misfiring, or the transmission didnt work, or the breaks were spotty, or the headlights didnt work properly.... if you had ANY problems you would say "hey, this isnt right, its brand new give me one thats perfect." Thats what we want from Asus. We want a tablet that is perfect. Yes, android itself has some quirks, and i can deal with software issues, but hardware issues? Not for my money. No sir!
Sorry for the long post but i, like OP and many others, are ready to throw in the towel with this infernal thing. And dont even get me started on the keyboard dock....
My Infinity was also almost perfect right away i opened the box. Except for the little, little light bleed, everything was OK - HW wise.
SW is another story, but not a part of this discussion I think.
Thank, because this is not really a cheap piece of HW, i handled it very gently.
After almost 3 months of using it, I decided to actually use it for what it is meant. It goes with me wherever I go.
I've been on vacations for 10 days, it goes with me to work and back, currently it is with me on a business trip.
Well well well. A lot of people were reporting detachments, screeches an so on. I never had them. Until now.
Left part of the tablet has started to screech few days ago, also i can feel a detachment.
I am right handed, which means i hold tablet with my left hand, on the left side. As the tablet is pretty heavy you have to hold it pretty hard.
Whenever i pick it up it screetches and i can see the screen "waves" on the left side of the screen.
I am afraid it will get worse. It feels like some day everything will just come apart and i get ending with two piecev of tablet.
Hope not.
This is my experience, and i hate to say, but i am slowly starting to regret this investment.
pileot said:
Asus had been, in my books, one of the top companies. I would never think twice before buying a laptop or computer from them. Now.... I dont know. I had a prime, i should have learned from that. Now i have an infinity. Not perfect but considering (through a series of fortunate events) it cost me about $250 i can live with that.
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I feel the same. Previously I have bought two ASUS laptop I have been satisfied with. But after owning a Infinity for less than 3 moths my LCD suddenly cracked without a scratch on Gorilla Glass and poor ASUS costumer service, I will say no more ASUS.
kabauterman said:
the first I had was perfect, then I bricked it...
I got another one and it is also perfect, I can't understand you guys.
I had no light bleeding, no cracking sounds, no scratches on the metal, no seperated screen.
Nothing what you write about, not even a bit.
I got my two tablets from Amazon Germany, maybe WW Build quality is just better than US?
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Mine is a WW and also zero defects. I had 2 units opened at the store here in Bangkok so I could choose the between the champagne and amethyst and both were fine with no issues.
Do we actually know that the I/O issues are hardware related? The reason I ask is I have a HTC One X with Tegra 3 and no matter how hard I try everything keeps flying smoothly. I can start a ten app update while switching between as many apps as I want without it even breaking a sweat. My vote is for ASUS software being sh*t.
maedox said:
Do we actually know that the I/O issues are hardware related? The reason I ask is I have a HTC One X with Tegra 3 and no matter how hard I try everything keeps flying smoothly. I can start a ten app update while switching between as many apps as I want without it even breaking a sweat. My vote is for ASUS software being sh*t.
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Yeah but HTC didn't choose a cheap NAND drive as Asus did. This is not completely tegra related. Just cheap internals which Asus using.
Same goes with the wifi speed dropping when using bluetooth. Those bastards have the same antenna for both wifi and bluetooth and not even supporting 5ghz signal. So lame. I think the price difference for Asus would be something like 10$ but they decided to go cheap on this.
I was seriously considering to opening this up and installing faster NAND and another antenna but unfortunately that would result 100% surely into non working tablet.
Starting with The Prime (I'm not including the TF101 and TF300 because they don't invoke the level of controversy, nor do they polarize their owners into "You want to take this discussion outside buddy?" kind of dialog's, the way Asus' shiny metal tablets do.
As far as that polarization, it's obvious that people get quite "intense" over these tablets, for a number of reasons. I have Love/Hate emotions toward my Asus Tablet. I LOVE the device's potential and the look feel (sans defects) of the Infinity. It is indicative of how these affect people that in one Video review out there, the reviewer continuously goes on about how "premium" the Infinity is, and how it is "THE BEST ANDROID TABLET" in the SAME VIDEO he crashes the browser so bad, he can't even get it going again for more than 5 minutes! Then he shows how the tablet has a horrendous creak/clicking/screen separation issue, concluding that "it will probably break in the next few days, and that TWO OTHER ASUS INFINITY TABLETS he has in his possession do the same thing, yet in the same breath says it is so "premium" and has such amazing"Build Quality" compared to the (admittedly) plastic crazy Samsung Note 10.1. I understand what he meant, thats what I mean by POTENTIAL. - If fabricated and constructed properly the Infinity is amazing. The problem? It doesn't happen consistently enough in Asus factories
So, I considered the two extremes I have witnessed over the last year, and these are what I determined were the best and worst moments
Asus' Worst Tablet Moment:
They put the TF201 out there, knowing full well that WiFi reception was compromised, and that GPS was non functional - what, were they hoping that the tablets amazing looks and the fact that wifi worked at all would be enough to overcome the problem? Anyone who defended them came off a jackass because either a) They knew the design was compromised and sold it anyway, or b) They DIDN'T KNOW, which means they sent a product out without testing it. And then the put the whammy on it, with the sneaky, deceptive move of taking down the GPS spec quietly hoping they could get away with it. They didn't. People caught them in the act, and started posting in XDA and elsewhere, and THEN Asus came out with a statement. Tehre is no way they were going to do so if they weren't caught. How do I know? Easy one. Every thing they did up to that point shows they were NOT going to be upfront about the issue. Then they sealed the deal by showing a nice "Fixed Prime"at MWC way back in February when all the early adopters (those people who love your products again, Asus) had all BOUGHT the Prime. HUGE slap in the face to that group, me included. Resulting, eventually in
Asus BEST Tablet Moment
This is, like everything I have posted strictly opinion, but I have some facts to back it up, at least for myself. You can believe what you choose. So most of us caught word the you could take a Prime to your local best Buy, and as long as you actually had a receipt (I think there was an exception or two, but cannot verify) they would hook you up with a shiny new TF700 Transformer Infinity Pad. With a long list of possible defects, build issues and so on and so forth. What a lot of folks do not know is that Asus sponsored that program at Best Buy, and logic dictates that they did a similar deal with Amazon customers. I was amazed, and pleased like others that Best Buy was taking back an 8 month old product, with no special warranty or purchase protection plan (I sure didn't have one) and providing the new product in it's place. Even is pricing matched it was an unprecedented move to all ALL those returns, with so little fuss. A few store/managers fought the tide, but overall a HUGE number of people got new product, if all the posts are to be believed. Personally, I believe them; here's: why
While returning my 7th Infinity (Update: I still have the 8th one. Not because I ever achieved "perfection" but because I got a middle ground "acceptable" tablet in each area and that has no glaring, stand out kind of issues.) I was something on the Best Buy screen to this effect: "Exchange for current model - OK per manufacturer" That one line leads me to think that Asus, having enough embarasment and bad will from the Prime/Infinity conundrum, has chosen to quitely buy back, or rather exchange the problem child for the new model. Again, just my opinion, but it does make a lot of sense, don't you think?
The funny part? When the Prime owners started posting, and even petitioning Asus to "Replace my Prime with an Infinity" they were told to stop being ridiculous. Asus is NOT going to do that, ever. I assume they considered options like replacing the back shell of all the Primes, but the cost or recalling and rebuilding was prohibitive (and imagine what a colossal mess THAT would have been; Asus can't even handle normal RMA's never-mind mass refurbing like that!)
I remember that time... It was a rollercoaster ride being for us who fell in the so called minority. But thank god the "minority" had enough voice to get Asus to quietly do the right thing. Too bad for the other Best buy and Amazon customers who purchased a defective prime and do not know about XDA, but I guess its the price for not being updated on their tablets. It was rather an easy transaction too returning the prime as did on Oct 11, I even had a geek squad lady on the customer service (under staffed I guess) and all she had to do was check the computer and she told me a giftcard or exchange. It was exchanged for an infinity, still had it light bleeds and had to manually update still dont know if it was the server on the tablet at fault (but others here had similar issues on that day). Well see how the inifinity will pan out, but i doubt well ever see Asus doing an exchange like they did with the prime since they fixed the GPS and wifi issue that was a major complaint of the prime.
junrider said:
I remember that time... It was a rollercoaster ride being for us who fell in the so called minority. But thank god the "minority" had enough voice to get Asus to quietly do the right thing. Too bad for the other Best buy and Amazon customers who purchased a defective prime and do not know about XDA, but I guess its the price for not being updated on their tablets. It was rather an easy transaction too returning the prime as did on Oct 11, I even had a geek squad lady on the customer service (under staffed I guess) and all she had to do was check the computer and she told me a giftcard or exchange. It was exchanged for an infinity, still had it light bleeds and had to manually update still dont know if it was the server on the tablet at fault (but others here had similar issues on that day). Well see how the inifinity will pan out, but i doubt well ever see Asus doing an exchange like they did with the prime since they fixed the GPS and wifi issue that was a major complaint of the prime.
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Indeed - they really did the right thing at least in the BB replacement deal. Think about it, best Buy is a mess, and they do have issues, but no way were they going to foot the bill for all those tablets, without even having the Purchase Protection that they sell. I saw every person that tried got a new tablet, so again, I know Asus was involved from what I saw on the screen. Asus also knows that the major upset audience was the folks on the forums, and those are the ones they ended up replacing, so it works out pretty good for all. This has been going for months now, and as you saw it is still in effect.
One other thing on the Infinity, Yes GPS works well, but WiFi is also like 5 times that bandwidth of the Prime. Range is not the best device I own, but range is also decent. You probably noticed that the trick they used on the Prime - cranking the hell out of WiFi is still in place on Infinity. Look at battery statistics and often it is using more than the screen, which being HD is a huge drain itself. I think they reasoned that since it helped the Prime, it would show that they REALLY fixed reception on Infinity, LOL! Finally, the HD screen has proven to be a mixed blessing. It really is hard to distinguish in Movies and photos unless you zoom WAY in, but Text of all things looks amazing. All the reviewers and folks that INSIST this is needed and necessary, also cannot say exactly WHY it is a "Must Have" They HATED that the Note 10.1 is 1200x800 when last year that was an "Amazing experience" Honestly, it DOES look amazing,and the HD is awesome, but it's Asus incredible Back-lighting that makes it truly shine (Pun intended) It can just go so BRIGHT. The downside? A number of Games are not compatible and may not ever be, since the developers don't see enough devices to justify the rework for HD. SIMS Free Play is one example, I could play it on Prime, but not in Infinity. Not that much if a deal. After over a month with the Infinity, I will say, I am glad I upgraded and did not go for the Note 10.1 (I have a Note Phone, so it did not "wow" me and the plastic Tab does not compare to Asus on look and feel. It's MOSTLY fixed... JB is good. I/O will probably always remain the one major FAIL for Asus. they have the issue on every tablet they make to some degree, with the Nexus 7 being effected the least, and the Prime & TF300 probably the most.
For my own use I switch from infinity to the note due to I/O issues and crackling speaker. I was overall satisfied even without the FHD. The prime I switched out for the infinity the other day was my cousin's that I had bought for him. I compared the wifi side by side and the note had a good 10dB over the infinity, but the infinity was indeed better than the prime. I get to play with his infinity every other day just to make sure there isnt any problems to suit his needs, I have yet to try out the bluetooth on his inifinity on JB, since that was one of my dissatisfaction with the infinity I exchanged.