Palm Tungsten E -- Extended Warranty

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

"Hugh Cowan" <hwcowan@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:46ca81a0.0412150853.6d366c0e@posting.google.com...
> Hello,
>
> I am in the process of buying a Palm Tungsten E PDA. I am buying the
> PDA from "Best Buy" and they offer an extended warranty on the PDA (in
> a nutshell -- if anything goes wrong they will replace the unit). The
> cost of a 3 year warranty (including the Manufacturers warranty) is
> 20% of the purchase price of the actual PDA ($49.99 CDN).
>
> My question of course is, is it worth getting an extended warranty,
> and for that price? Are PDAs prone to breaking, even if you take care
> of them (ie: not dropping it on the floor, leaving it out in the rain
> or in direct sunlight, etc..)
>
> Because there is no hard drive in the PDA, and therefore no moving
> parts, I would have thought that there isn't much to break over time.
>
> The only things that I could think of is the durablity of the screen,
> and the life of the battery. If you could easily replace the battery
> then I probably wouldn't consider it at all -- but you can't (not
> easily that is).
>
> On a side note -- is it worthwhile to use screen protectors? Do they
> help maintain and prolong the life of the screen / PDA, or is it more
> just to prevent accidential scratches from occuring?
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Hugh,

I wish I had gotten the extended for my E. It has a couple of minor issues,
both of which are my fault (dropped it a few times). STill works, but has a
chip out of the back case and the headphone jack has loosened up. Otherwise,
no problems. Pretty rugged, actually, considering...

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

Hugh Cowan wrote:
<Summary: He asking if buying an extended warranty for a Palm Tungsten E
is worth the $49.95CDN cost. He's also asking about screen protectors.>

A lot of the answer has to do with your personal comfort-level with risk.

From one point of view, if the extended warranty costs 20% of the list
price and runs three years (I *think* that's an extension of two years
past the one-year Manufacturers warranty), you're basically saying you
think there's a 1 in 5 chance that your Tungsten E will fail between one
and three years down the road.

Is that worth it to you?

Personally, I only buy insurace for things I can't afford to pay for out
of my own pocket. I bought an extended warranty for my laptop, but not
for my own Tungsten E.

If my Tungsten E fails down the road, I'll just buy a new PDA, probably
for less money and with more features.

As far as the odds, why do you think Best Buy is pushing the extended
warranty? It's because they make *lots* of money on extended
warranties. In other words, the odds are heavily tilted in their favor.

Just for grins, try comparing the cost of buying insurance on your
Tungsten E (and that's really what an extended warranty is, insurance)
to the cost of your car or house insurance, and you'll see what I'm
talking about.

As far as a screen protector, I'm giving them a try on my Tungsten E,
after scratching up the screen on my Palm m105. I *think* it's doing
its job, but it's too soon to tell for sure.

Bob Pownall

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

"Hugh Cowan" <hwcowan@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:46ca81a0.0412150853.6d366c0e@posting.google.com...
> Hello,
>
> I am in the process of buying a Palm Tungsten E PDA. I am buying the
> PDA from "Best Buy" and they offer an extended warranty on the PDA (in
> a nutshell -- if anything goes wrong they will replace the unit). The
> cost of a 3 year warranty (including the Manufacturers warranty) is
> 20% of the purchase price of the actual PDA ($49.99 CDN).
>
> My question of course is, is it worth getting an extended warranty,
> and for that price? Are PDAs prone to breaking, even if you take care
> of them (ie: not dropping it on the floor, leaving it out in the rain
> or in direct sunlight, etc..)

my last PDA (Palm V) got soaked in coffee at work - and immediately expired.
FWIW it was around 3 years old.

the replacement had one of the buttons come loose after about 2 years - a
bit of rubber glue fixed it for 6 months, but that one is now scrap.

current one is a TE
>
> Because there is no hard drive in the PDA, and therefore no moving
> parts, I would have thought that there isn't much to break over time.

the problem is that they are easy to drop, and exposure to a conducting
liquid ruins them
>
> The only things that I could think of is the durablity of the screen,
> and the life of the battery. If you could easily replace the battery
> then I probably wouldn't consider it at all -- but you can't (not
> easily that is).
>
> On a side note -- is it worthwhile to use screen protectors? Do they
> help maintain and prolong the life of the screen / PDA, or is it more
> just to prevent accidential scratches from occuring?

you can easily scratch the screen with the stylus if there is any dust
around. I use screen protectors since my 1st one had the digitser develop
spots where scratches made for some jitter on input.
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Hugh,
--
Regards

Stephen Hope - return address needs fewer xxs

Archived from groups: comp.sys.palmtops (More info?)

<the problem is that they are easy to drop, and exposure to a conducting
liquid ruins them>

The dreaded "Pepsi Syndrome."
:-)

- Henry