IR keyboard company looking for developers for XDA - Windows Mobile Development and Hacking General

Greg Sullivan from Pocketop keyboard in Vancouver Canada is looking for interested parties to develop an IR keyboard driver for our keyboard.
Please write to [email protected]
Thanks

What about your VERY BAD customer service?
Hello, I was quite happy to see your post on the forum. And this is because I AM VERY MAD ON YOUR COMPANY!!!!
I am trying to contact your company to get help in obtaining the drivers for my device, but got no help of any kind.
Shame on your company, as it is advertized as customer friendly, but actually it does not supports it's customers once they paid.
So you have small hardware, with very bad drivers (hanging the XDA I tried it on) and extremely bad customer supports.
:!: POTENTIAL BUYER OF THIS DEVICE - BEWARE!!!!!! :!: DO NOT GET FOOLED :!:

Pocketop
Wojtek
Your response was pathetic mate - Come on - Pocketop do their best in a tough market. At least they had the balls to ask the developers in the community here for support and offer paid work!
Darn, that's better than many of them.
I darn well hope that one of the whinging programmers that's whining about not being able to get a driver for their IR keyboards has put their hand up to help write the thing - AND get paid for it.
Over and Out.
A

I think he has every right to complain, if something is not fit for the purpose it was intended for or the suppliers renege on their promises then they deserve a rocket up the ass.

Any good lawyer around, for an easy case?
Last week I finally got email stating that they are sorry for big delay, and instead of support I have to buy my driver first.
I OBJECT TO THIS - and this is why:
1 I bought the hardware that was advertized as compatible with XDA, and as having drivers for it, tailored for my device.
2 Drivers were supposed to enable working with the device - while they are not really working, as they usually crash the machine when input is provided or simply do not load at all.
3 The drivers included on CD with the device DO NOT WORK AT ALL, and producer is/have been warning customers not to use them, as device will need hard reset. I think this is violation of most basic quality rules.
4 Now I cannot get access to ANY drivers on producers webpage nor cannot get them using customer support, so I state it is IMPOSSIBLE TO USE the device I bought from them.
5 Customer support was not respondin to customer queries for months. They simply ignored any input.
:!: Some people may say -> they are going to develop their drivers now, as they charge for them now - my reply - all new customers should get a big sticker on box saying "You will have to pay more to actually use this device, but buy it already and put on the shelf". All existing customers should receive proper customer support, as they bought the device with promise of having it included

I would agree...he is right. Pocketop keyboards are ok but the drivers are terrible. They use contractors to write them and not just one contractor all the time. I had an XDA waited and waited...I ended up hard reseting my device after that crap driver was installed. Even the release notes of the XDA said don't use the rotational software ... WHAT? Why is it in there then? I see that they removed the XDA driver.
If they are going to be successful then they need to have a programmer on staff. They are even a Canadian company Shame.
Ok Im done now. OH but I read that they are going to start charging $10 for each driver. How universal is that?

Wojtek,
I completely agree with you.
I got the same response from them.
I don't know how much they make from selling drivers, but sure enough that they will lose their reputation, if they have any, and customers much more than that.

Related

HTC "video driver" bug causing issues for many users?

Anyone know what this about?
http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/...-angry-mobile-owners-rush-castle-htc-with-bu/
link to the xda thread about it?
This is about a group of litigation-crazed people who want to file a class-action suit against a device manufacturer (HTC) because the manufacturer did not include a functionality that would be technologically possible to include in a device. Since class-action suits are overwhelmingly just scams where the lawyers literally make millions for a few hours work, and the companies sued get to give you a coupon for a future purchase thereby increasing the chance you will, in fact, make a future purchase from them, I make no prediction as to whether a suit will be filed or settled in the customary way. However, in a "real" law suit, there is no way the courts would require a company to include all technologically possible features in a product, regardless of how "easy" it might allegedly be to include them. Note that in this case, neither HTC nor the carriers (as far as I have heard) ever stated that this functionality was included in the device.
Yeah, I don't know where that is coming from... of all the issues with the phone.. video is the least. BT still sucks as well as the phone turning on and off at will. Not checking email when it is supposed to... etc etc.
yakky said:
Yeah, I don't know where that is coming from... of all the issues with the phone.. video is the least. BT still sucks as well as the phone turning on and off at will. Not checking email when it is supposed to... etc etc.
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Maybe you should file a class-action suit against the video driver class-action people for taking HTC's time and attention away from fixing real problems...
Actually the mogul does have video playback issues with constant stutering and pausing. From what I've heard from 6700 users video playback is much much smoother (the way it should be). I don't know if it calls for a law suit but hey at least they got htc's attention and now their releasing new drivers that will supposedly fix the video playback issues.
bakntyme said:
This is about a group of litigation-crazed people who want to file a class-action suit against a device manufacturer (HTC) because the manufacturer did not include a functionality that would be technologically possible to include in a device. Since class-action suits are overwhelmingly just scams where the lawyers literally make millions for a few hours work, and the companies sued get to give you a coupon for a future purchase thereby increasing the chance you will, in fact, make a future purchase from them, I make no prediction as to whether a suit will be filed or settled in the customary way. However, in a "real" law suit, there is no way the courts would require a company to include all technologically possible features in a product, regardless of how "easy" it might allegedly be to include them. Note that in this case, neither HTC nor the carriers (as far as I have heard) ever stated that this functionality was included in the device.
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Keep your feces to yourself. if you have nothing better to do but flame a valid issue on HTC phones then i suggest to go jump off a hill.
SINNN said:
Keep your feces to yourself. if you have nothing better to do but flame a valid issue on HTC phones then i suggest to go jump off a hill.
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Why are you afraid for someone to post a valid, opposing viewpoint to yours? Can you not accept that someone who disagrees with you may still have a valid point? My post was not flaming at all, your post however seems to utilize nothing but flame to express your thoughts. Now, please post again with a well-thought-out response to my points as opposed to a simple flame, as I am interested in an intelligent response and will read it with an open mind.
While you are at it, maybe you can explain why, if all that is needed is a simple driver and all graphics problems will be solved with no detrimental side-effects, no one here on xda-developers, where I truly believe there is at least as much talent as at HTC, has done the allegedly simple task of writing or finding that driver and distributing it.
bakntyme said:
Why are you afraid for someone to post a valid, opposing viewpoint to yours? Can you not accept that someone who disagrees with you may still have a valid point? My post was not flaming at all, your post however seems to utilize nothing but flame to express your thoughts. Now, please post again with a well-thought-out response to my points as opposed to a simple flame, as I am interested in an intelligent response and will read it with an open mind.
While you are at it, maybe you can explain why, if all that is needed is a simple driver and all graphics problems will be solved with no detrimental side-effects, no one here on xda-developers, where I truly believe there is at least as much talent as at HTC, has done the allegedly simple task of writing or finding that driver and distributing it.
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I feel the need to address this... despite not having been in the original exchange. I can accept that you have a differing viewpoint from us. I refuse to be called a "litigation-crazed" person. I also think you need to get your facts straight before you pass judgment.
The simple fact is - we want the functionality that our devices were advertised with. Many of us did our research and realized that the MSM7500 is a POWERFUL chip. The video acceleration is top-tier, and everything else seemed good too. Then HTC decided to not include a driver for video acceleration. Also, before someone mentions that HTC has claimed(but never in an official press release) that the MSM7500 might NOT include the video acceleration... When have you known a huge manufacturer(nVidia, AMD, Intel, ATi, Qualcomm, etc) to name two differing devices the same name? They don't. they generally qualify them(e.g. 8800 series nVidia cards can be 8800 GT, GTX, GTS, etc.) What HTC did is akin to Dell selling you an Inspiron notebook with an nVidia 8800GTS card inside, then telling you that they didn't include drivers. Oh, and don't forget that nVidia won't support the card, since it's up to the manufacturer(Dell) to supply the drivers. Microsoft won't do it since it's Dell's problem. Dell won't do it because it isn't cost effective. (Suspend the reality of the situation for the analogy, though, please) Now you're left with a $300 piece of video hardware that can't be used because nobody wanted to provide a driver. Go software acceleration! That's the issue we're having. The phones WERE advertised as having the MSM7500(or 7200) which according to everything I've seen both have video acceleration. HTC just dropped the ball.
Now, about us writing our own drivers... That would be difficult without getting a bunch of information from Microsoft, HTC and Qualcomm, which they won't release. If you don't know why, look up open source video drivers for Linux, and you'll understand the pain. It's not a baseless suit - however I don't think that class action is the way to go. I think we need to work WITH MS, HTC, and Qualcomm to come up with a driver. Period. Don't let up the pressure until we have that.
I am sorry, but when your advocacy group starts out with a name like "HTCClassAction", and names its website "htcclassaction.org", it shows itself as not interested in getting the claimed result, but instead, despite any protestations from the group, interested in filing a class-action lawsuit from the beginning. That is "litigation-crazed". Was "htcvideodrivers.org" not available? I am sure that, if you wanted to, given a few minutes you could come up with several non-litigation-oriented group and website names. If you were the product manager for the 6800 at HTC, and you heard of the issues raised by the group HTCClassAction, would you think, "Here is a group of users that wants to work with us to resolve what they see as a legitimate issue?"
Speaking of facts...have you actually seen an advertisement that stated that the devices came with this functionality, or did you just assume that because it was advertised as having this chipset, and the chipset has this capability, that the functionality would be included? I would bet that HTC never stated that the 6800 would include every feature technologically possible with the chipset. It has the capability of supporting an 8MP camera, but they didn't include that either. Another lawsuit? I am sure there are other things the chipset would be CAPABLE of that were not included. If you actually researched the chipset so thoroughly for this issue prior to purchasing the device, why did you not notice in the first 30 days that it was not included, and return the device?
Realize that modern class-action lawsuits are almost always settled for lots of money to the attorneys and a pittance to the class. Remember the Verizon Moto 710 Bluetooth class action? It was settled as usual...the attorneys got somewhere around $6 million; users got $25 if they wanted to keep the 710 and stay with Verizon, a waived ETF and a refund if they wanted to leave Verizon, and a credit toward another device if they wanted to stay with Verizon but not keep the 710. They did not get additional Bluetooth profiles. And if this goes to trial, the courts will never order a manufacturer to provide technology, and support for it, that the manufacturer does not want to provide. IF you could prove false advertising, and I do not think that you could, you might get a small refund or credit toward another phone. If that is what you want, just sell the device on an internet auction site and buy something else...you will probably get more that way.
sucks too that our phones dont even have the ati chip in them. my htc wizard (old school) had better video and gameplay
I don't play games much on my ppc so this problem hasn't affected me as much. However I did notice that PIE was sluggish and freaked when video playback sucked on WM and TCPMP. Most of that was avoided by using GDI on TCPMP.
The real issue here is why can't they add the driver? If it was a simple fix it probably wouldn't have been left out in the first place. Sounds to me like they ran into technical issues trying to make it work.
I just got the mogul last week. I have 30 days to evaluate it. Do you think that I should have gotten something else? I think that I've had at least 10 different Smartphones & PPC's in the past 5 or 6 years. They all have something I dislike about them. This one is the best one I've had yet, but would you recommend something else? THANKS
johnannie said:
I just got the mogul last week. I have 30 days to evaluate it. Do you think that I should have gotten something else? I think that I've had at least 10 different Smartphones & PPC's in the past 5 or 6 years. They all have something I dislike about them. This one is the best one I've had yet, but would you recommend something else? THANKS
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you hit the nail on the head. EVERY PPC is going to have SOMETHING you dont like about it.
with that said. it only matters what you think. dont go taking advice from a forum where 50 percent of its members cant even tie their shoes.
For the record, i agree with what the person said way up at the beginnning of the thread. "Why are you *****ing now when you had 30 days in which to evaluate and return it if you felt the need?!""
I would imagine the courts will say the same. everyone who thinks this is a legit complaint needs to get a hobby. you all had 30 days in which to make your decision, so DEAL with it.
sound like a buncha kids to me
I guess we should sue them for not having a 'tv out' jack on the mogul too, since thats also possible. and oh yeah, where's my 8 megapixel camera on the mogul?? it supports that as well.
ah screw it, im going to cry to mommy
watson540 said:
you hit the nail on the head. EVERY PPC is going to have SOMETHING you dont like about it.
with that said. it only matters what you think. dont go taking advice from a forum where 50 percent of its members cant even tie their shoes.
For the record, i agree with what the person said way up at the beginnning of the thread. "Why are you *****ing now when you had 30 days in which to evaluate and return it if you felt the need?!""
I would imagine the courts will say the same. everyone who thinks this is a legit complaint needs to get a hobby. you all had 30 days in which to make your decision, so DEAL with it.
sound like a buncha kids to me
I guess we should sue them for not having a 'tv out' jack on the mogul too, since thats also possible. and oh yeah, where's my 8 megapixel camera on the mogul?? it supports that as well.
ah screw it, im going to cry to mommy
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Hahahahaha. Yes, we're children. Little babies, the lot of us. Anyway......
No, we shouldn't sue them for not including a tv-out jack or an 8 megapixel camera. What we are trying to achieve is driver support FOR THE INCLUDED HARDWARE. This is what most people who argue against our position fail to realize. We aren't asking them to do something crazy, like give us a better camera or a tv-out jack, or even more memory. We're asking them to SUPPORT THE HARDWARE THEY SOLD US. Gasp.
Now... I'll use an analogy for those among us who are a bit retarded. If you were to buy a car that was advertised with a special computer chip in it that can control a supercharger, the electronic stability control system, up to 6 airbags, and the radio (all of which are included in your car, albeit only 4 airbags) - and it came with a 30-day money-back guarantee... and you drove it for 30 days and thought to yourself, "Wow, this is clearly better than last years' model" - would you return it? Probably not... That's what happened here.
We bought our phones, tried them and went, "Wow, they kicked the crap out of the <insert old PDA phone here>" and kept them. Now, back to our example. Now imagine you go to a car-meet-up with your new fancy car, and everyone there is talking about how <insert another fast car here> is wayyyy faster than their car, in the same conditions. You and the other owners do some research and find out that the car manufacturer didn't include software to make your supercharger work. It's just inert, sitting there looking pretty. Wouldn't you be pretty pissed that the chip in your car wasn't actually using the supercharger? Wouldn't you expect that if it was advertised as having this chip and a supercharger, that the supercharger would actually work?
Anyway - that's where I'm coming from at least - I don't presume to speak for anyone else though. I will say this though, watson540, you need to calm down. You're running around these forums beating on people's opinions and posts. Frankly, yours aren't much more productive. At least try to post something relevant or meaningful... or at the very least something other than "you moron, rtft" or "you moron, stop crying".
it's not really a bug its more
like a pc with the generic vga driver installed
even if the pc have a geforce
problems is that one cant get hold of the
spc driver to replace the generic
ponicg said:
We bought our phones, tried them and went, "Wow, they kicked the crap out of the <insert old PDA phone here>" and kept them.
...
Wouldn't you expect that if it was advertised as having this chip and a supercharger, that the supercharger would actually work?
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OK, so you admit that you were very satisfied with the performance until someone said "Hey, I think they OWE US something MORE than what we got, let's SUE THEM for it?" If the device met your needs when you tested it, then you have no complaint. If it did not, you should have returned it in the 30 day return period.
As I asked you way back in this thread, but you have not yet addressed, (nor any of the other points in my previous post), "have you actually seen an advertisement that stated that the devices came with this functionality, or did you just assume that because it was advertised as having this chipset, and the chipset has this capability, that the functionality would be included?...If you actually researched the chipset so thoroughly for this issue prior to purchasing the device, why did you not notice in the first 30 days that it was not included, and return the device?"
None of these analogies is perfect...one big flaw in yours is that you hypothesized "If you were to buy a car that was advertised with a special computer chip in it that can control a supercharger," then switched to the car actually having a supercharger advertised: "Wouldn't you expect that if it was advertised as having this chip and a supercharger". Another is that the supercharger's existence is open and apparent to someone who looks under the hood, without requiring any research or disassembly of the vehicle. Another is that in chip manufacturing, it is usually more efficient to produce a batch of chips with all the capabilities, then use the ones you want in each device, as opposed to redesigning the chip package and retooling the production run for each combination of features desired in each application. No one could reasonably say that it was more efficient to produce a factory run of cars with all possible mechanical features (such as the supercharger in your example) included, and then only connect and use the ones desired for that model. However, auto manufacturers also sometimes utilize parts and sub-assemblies in a particular model without enabling or utilizing all of that component's capabilities, when doing so is more efficient.
Since you like automotive analogies, I will use one without resorting to calling anyone "a bit retarded": suppose that Ford announced that all 2010 Mustangs would use the new computer chip from Super Tuner Corporation, "because of its wonderful and powerful new capabilities," with no details as to what particular features would be made available. Your research into the chip on Super Tuner's website revealed that it supported superchargers, turbochargers, four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, and nitrous fuel systems. You went in to a Ford dealer and test-drove the top-of-the-line 2010 Mustang, were impressed by its performance, and bought it. Six months later, someone pointed out that you had received none of those performance items listed above. You did not know why, but it was because Ford had internally determined pre-production that the suspension and frame would not be sufficient to provide those performance items in any model Mustang, and they did not want to re-engineer the support structure. They made no announcement about these features not being available, as they had never made any announcement about including those features. Would you join the MustangClassAction.org group? Now suppose that you had done no research prior to the purchase, and six months later discovered the information on Super Tuner's website after someone pointed out the lack to you...even less valid a complaint then, isn't it?
And further suppose that at the same time, someone else says, "I took the interior of my Mustang apart, and it has mounts for 8 speakers, and they only provided it with 4 speakers. Ford has to install 4 more speakers in every Mustang, because it has the capability of holding them!"
And another owner pulls out his factory radio, notices the output jack on the back for a subwoofer..."Where is my subwoofer? It obviously was supposed to come with my car, or they would not have included a radio that could support one and put a jack on the back of the radio to plug one in!!"
Meanwhile, another owner says "I was testing the electronic trip computer included in my Mustang, the same one included in all 2010 Mustangs, and it has the ability to calculate and display up to 55 MPG, but my Mustang only gets 23 MPG. Obviously, Ford was advertising a Mustang that would get 55 MPG and must give us that!"
Enough analogies? Would you get angrier, and call Ford arrogant, when they say, "Thank you for your business, customers, but we never said the Mustang had those capabilities, and we have no intention of retrofitting them, but we will take your opinions into account in designing our next vehicle?"
Analogies by their nature will never replicate the Titan/Mogul/6800 situation. However, we can discuss the 6800 situation itself, and I am waiting for your answer about the HTC advertisement and your not discovering the lack in the first 30 days of your device ownership.
its just bull**** when the the video playback on the 6700 is alot better than the titan. makes no sense at all and yes i feel ripped off.
im no expert..but from over here it looks like bakntyme just put all of you crybabies in your place
very well said bakntyme. perfect.
p.s. yeah im an asshole. but this asshole can read and troubleshoot and operate electronics all by my big self.
read these forums enough and you will start to think everyone in the world collectively never got out of elementary school
apologies where they are due. but some people are incredible helpless (this last comment has nothing to do with this thread im responding to the guy above who "called me out" for being an (admitted) asshole)
unless you guys can come up with some previous claim by HTC that the mogul was supposed to support this specific capability of the chip, i dont see how you guys can try to force anything out of them. I'm with bakntyme on this one.
Sure its pretty crappy that they put the hardware in there and didnt support it, and im no lawyer, but it doesnt seem like they would be under any legal obligation to support the video drivers.
watson540 said:
im no expert..but from over here it looks like bakntyme just put all of you crybabies in your place
very well said bakntyme. perfect.
p.s. yeah im an asshole. but this asshole can read and troubleshoot and operate electronics all by my big self.
read these forums enough and you will start to think everyone in the world collectively never got out of elementary school
apologies where they are due. but some people are incredible helpless (this last comment has nothing to do with this thread im responding to the guy above who "called me out" for being an (admitted) asshole)
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Although I appreciate the support, a more professional wording of it might help to keep from increasing the level of emotions and inflammation on this issue.

HTCs own customer survey, send them your opinion

HTC has opened worldwide customer survey for satisfaction with their customer service. I think people (you) should send them your opinion about their services.
Mostly what came to my mind is that they still havent released proper 3D drivers. So what people (you) should do is to send them some opinions about that.
Probably this doesnt suddenly make them release or make drivers but should make them know that people wants those drivers.
Direct URL to survey: http://survey.htc.com/WorldWide/
Use 5min and fill that, ofcourse if you are satisfied then put it there, i dont want to people put only negative, although I cannot think much positive about Touch HD customer service.
HD is/was their flagship, and it doesnt even get winmo 6.5 update or have proper drivers.
This is only for customer service, this would only apply if you'd had a specific problem, they're not interested in our overall opinion of them as a manufacturer etc.
While the service may not be relevant to the graphics driver thing - there is one very important issue EVERYONE should complain about:
Various repair facilities for HTC devices in various countries now refuse to repair device with HARD-SPL installed. They claim changing the software has damaged the motherboard and it needs to be replaced, and they will try charging you for it. Yes, they will tell you this even if it is your screen that is split in half. In other words - complete nonsense. After some lengthy conversations with various people at one of these facilities I learned that HTC sent out a memo to their repairers that devices that are not running stock ROMs software are no longer eligable for fixes of hardware.
Now, of course, it is their good right not to repair issues that were caused by yourself, however, HardSPL does not cause my screen to break in two. They are completely non-related. Also, if their terms said software changes would void hardware warranty (how absurd that may be), that would maybe go somewhere - BUT, they do not state this, at least not the ones that came with my devices (and I have quite a bunch of them).
Is there no end to how low and crappy HTC can go?
(I am seriously considering taking them to court over this)
^yeh, don't think they can get much lower! I'll be serously concidering the switch to Toshiba with Snapdragon...
Even though this was customer service survey, I've still complained about my biggest gripe - Graphics Drivers! It's been a couple of years and they've not released any drivers. That's criminal! I think everyone at XDA-developers should get their voices heard (again!). For me this issue started with Kaiser and now with Blackstone. Sooo Annoyed!!
Yes - it's crazy esp. if the chipsets on the Touch HD etc support it. CorePlayer cannot support the device properly because of it. And don't get me started on the Audio Stutters debacle. Whilst their customer service do reply, their are probably poorly paid back office staff. The problem is with product implementation, product testing - and evidently, repair!
I am hoping that HP release a new phone with a great screen, decent graphics etc. I miss my Ipaq PDA and it not giving me any grief!

So whats the deal with Google support ?

or the lack of it.
I see Google employees posting on google forum, but all of them dont even answer the real questions. In fact I've notice that they bump up the threads where people (or maybe the same google employees) write how they love their N1 and how its so much better then iPhone.........
WTF ???
notice the first person who responded
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=0a5521b9ffa4c7a7&hl=en
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/android/thread?tid=6c7fd11a4225cbb5&hl=en
just go to HTC if your having phone issues, and Tmobile if your having network issues. Think of Google as a retailer. for the most part phone, or warranty issues will be handled by the manufacturer, and network, by the network.
^ +1
Google will likely expand their support if they want to continue selling directly to the public. I think they underestimated mob mentality with the logic that HTC would support the phone, and the carrier would support the services. However, this is like Microsoft selling you a computer directly (via a hardware partner). There's a knowledge base and multiple forums support venue's and while Google lacks a phone number to call, and Microsoft has this, MS will also bill you for your phone support request.
Apple works a bit differently, they build the hardware in house and support it directly. They've also been doing this for years so the structure is in place already. Google doesn't want to build hardware, they just wanted to get phones out without being as reliant on the hardware makers to push updates to the handsets released (combating the stagnation of the current phones).
Wow, someone get's around
bofslime said:
Wow, someone get's around
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A hard reset will probably solve that.
HTC Provides support for the Nexus One. http://www.htc.com/www/support/nexusone/.
kozm0naut said:
HTC Provides support for the Nexus One. http://www.htc.com/www/support/nexusone/.
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If you take another look at the links on the site you posted, all the help links link to Google's N1 "help" forum. HTC is not providing help for the N1 and from what I've seen, neither is Google. That's why I will flash Cyan's ROM when he releases one and will use XDA for support as I've always done (even when I used WinMo). LOL.

[Q] General Question on Acer Customer Service/Realiability

I am just coming off 2+ weeks of frustration with the Transformer Prime. I was lucky enough to get mine from Amazon so I returned for a full refund. Despite all the frustration, I realized that an android tablet is a handy gadget that I really would like to own. I am beginning the process of researching for my next purchase and now that I have dealt with Asus, I have a better idea of what I need to figure out before I make a purchase. I am looking into Acer and toshiba.
Can anyone who's owned an Acer tablet answer the following:
I have read Acer is coming out with the A700. Anyone have any thoughts on it?
Do Acer products typically have good quality? Do they last?
How is Acer's RMA process? Do they require you to pay for shipping if the problem is due to manufacturer defect?
Is Acer customer service easy to work with?
How frequent does Acer provide firmware updates?
As with all companies, the quality of the support depends entirely on which country you're in, as well as local legal requirements. Some countries have far better consumer protection than others (UK vs US, for example).
Updates are kinda hit and miss, Acer tend to lag behind some other OEM's.
I generally find build quality to be fairly good, certainly had no complaints on my two tabs.
The above post is exactly true in all ways.. Acer support in the us is outsourced. and that STINKS.. COMPUTER COMPANIES CAN LEAR FEW THINGS BY TALKING TO OR FALLOWING HP Support.. i send them a email of my issue. they call me within a few hours with a answer. I Had a issue with this notebook im typing on. It was a problem with compatibility with a win 7 update to usb. CAMERA ISSUE. A Microsoft tech called me on behalf of hp.. two days later they issued a global wide fix. apparently i was the first to have the issue . I was treated like a person with tech experience not like a dumb customer..
I TO LOVE MY A500. THERE UPDATES When we do get them seem to not break things as with other devices. And less over all issues. With that said who knows when or why they send them.. there is no logic to there update system. I Just wish they would give us the choice to unlock this device or not..
sorry for being so long winded
I found my A501 to be a near-perfect piece of hardware... My main criteria were UMTS and USB HID support, fastboot (for easy recovery if bricked) was a secondary criterion. This tab has all of these (I don't know of any others that do). Also, the device's shell is fairly robust (I have it with me at university almost every day)... The main point of criticism about the HW would be the somewhat weak WiFi antenna (though there's a good remedy for that, search the forum).
About the software... Acer tend to take their time to get things right on the first update, which means that they are somewhat slow to release updates. Then again, I'd rather have something that actually works later than something that doesn't work now...
Customer support is fairly expensive via phone (haven't tried the other options), but friendly and competent here in Germany... Way better than some others I had to deal with.

Really unprofessional support and a dodgy vibe

I was pretty hyped every since this device got announced. Saving up my money and arranging for shipping beforehand so I could snatch it ASAP but actually no, I won't be getting this device at all.
I'll tell you the experience I went through when I tried asking their support if they'll release 16gb version of the device so I don't end up regretting jumping the gun on the 12gb one.
Whole experience was dodgy af from support not being able to speaking proper English at all to constantly being asked for personal data that I'd later realise wasn't being user to better answer my questions at all.
For example I asked if there's a trade in program and they reply asking what device I'm using. I take that as OK there is but maybe not every device is elegible so I reply with my current device only to be then told that there's no program at all??? ( Why did they ask what device I'm using then idk and they haven't bothered answering when I questioned them... )
I was also asked where I currently live when I asked if there's a 16gb version on the way and what it would cost. That was before I asked for trade in program, so I thought they might be asking in order to tell me the price for my region but no. Once again, they have no idea if 16gb version is in production and they just inquired for my info again for no reason.
Mind you, the English is completely broken and the reply turnaround is few days to a week per response at best, so I really didn't feel like dragging the conversation around asking why they want to know all of that beforehand.
After all of that I don't feel like I can trust a company like this not to be looking into my personal data during my use of the device. Paying 700$ or maybe upwards of 800$ if 16gb version ever gets released is way too much for not having an ease of mind of what might be going on in the background.
I understand that their reasoning for where I live might be justified but never in the conversation did they inform me ahead of time on what the purpose is for all the data collection is. They haven't answered why they want to know what device I'm using if there's no program in the first place so I'll assume that previous reasoning was also an excuse thought up to justify their inquiry.
I'm pretty bummed to see that as a company they haven't changed much from their early days. They might have improved the OS, introduced better hardware and all but the core of the company is still both shady af and completely non organised.
This all plays a major factor in why I won't be getting this device, just thought I'd let others know too if they are thinking of going for it.
Picture is below, you will have to read from the bottom to the top to follow the conversation.
I don't want to nit pick. you are right in some points. but I'd like to point out a few things.
you're giving them questions in English, which they need to translate then organize into a response then re translate it back for you to understand.
They are based in Hong Kong, So I would assume the number of local English speaking people a small sub section of an already crippled tech giant (due to US sanctions of ZTE) have the space to employ customer service agents in English. when their main market is China.
They tell you to look at the site for information on the sale of the devices in question.
After your question of If a device with 16gb of ram would be available. if the site says no, there is no plan.
so you had your answer to your original Question. they asked what region so they could confirm what devices where available to you. because some parts of the world cannot receive their devices.
your question on the 12gb to 16gb upgrade must have been a mis-understanding.
you can read that in their response. they said there would be no way to upgrade a 12gb to 16gb. to them thats a technical impossibility.
they didn't understand that you meant trade back your 12gb RM5S for a 16GB version.
they though that you were asking if you could upgrade the hardware of your 12gb model.
at least thats how I understood their answer of your question.
they may have asked you what device you where using because they honestly though you were contacting support for a Nubia device. when you said you had a different phone altogether, they were trying to tell you that they did not support your device. as in Nubia don't do customer support for Huawei.
after that you blew up at them for general question to find out what market you were in to see if you would be able to even buy any model.
you took that way out of bounds dude. they are still trying to do their best. with awful translation programs.
your questions were understandable to an English person but you got to understand WHO you're chatting with. and how they will see and understand your messages.
even putting some some of your messages into google translate. going to Chinese simplified then translating it back to English what do you get? because that's only half of about what they will understand from your questions.
I think they did a professional job of explaining to you that you needed to look at the information on the market site of your location. and that they couldn't give you support with your Huawei because its not a supported model of their Nubia support team.
Also you should Hide your personal Email address when posting things online.
Patrick Morgan said:
I don't want to nit pick. you are right in some points. but I'd like to point out a few things.
you're giving them questions in English, which they need to translate then organize into a response then re translate it back for you to understand.
They are based in Hong Kong, So I would assume the number of local English speaking people a small sub section of an already crippled tech giant (due to US sanctions of ZTE) have the space to employ customer service agents in English. when their main market is China.
They tell you to look at the site for information on the sale of the devices in question.
After your question of If a device with 16gb of ram would be available. if the site says no, there is no plan.
so you had your answer to your original Question. they asked what region so they could confirm what devices where available to you. because some parts of the world cannot receive their devices.
your question on the 12gb to 16gb upgrade must have been a mis-understanding.
you can read that in their response. they said there would be no way to upgrade a 12gb to 16gb. to them thats a technical impossibility.
they didn't understand that you meant trade back your 12gb RM5S for a 16GB version.
they though that you were asking if you could upgrade the hardware of your 12gb model.
at least thats how I understood their answer of your question.
they may have asked you what device you where using because they honestly though you were contacting support for a Nubia device. when you said you had a different phone altogether, they were trying to tell you that they did not support your device. as in Nubia don't do customer support for Huawei.
after that you blew up at them for general question to find out what market you were in to see if you would be able to even buy any model.
you took that way out of bounds dude. they are still trying to do their best. with awful translation programs.
your questions were understandable to an English person but you got to understand WHO you're chatting with. and how they will see and understand your messages.
even putting some some of your messages into google translate. going to Chinese simplified then translating it back to English what do you get? because that's only half of about what they will understand from your questions.
I think they did a professional job of explaining to you that you needed to look at the information on the market site of your location. and that they couldn't give you support with your Huawei because its not a supported model of their Nubia support team.
Also you should Hide your personal Email address when posting things online.
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I wish I could give you a hundred likes for this.
As a matter of fact, I was equally thinking along the same lines as your response when I was reading his post.
To OP: I think it's time for you to do a little research on your own first rather than immediately looking for ways to point a finger.
Just my 2 cents
I gotta agree with Patrick, but at the same time I got hosed by Nubia with my RM5G and had a completely different yet still terrible experience. My phone arrived uncalibrated, I talked with Nubia Admin's and they agreed my phone was not calibrated correctly because the camera will switch from 16mp to 64mp, but the image quality is exactly the same, so the camera app is showing it's 64mp, but it can't produce it because it was never calibrated before it left the factory. Which means there's a whole batch of RM5G's out there that don't actually take 64mp photo's. I contacted Nubia countless times, they only actually responded twice, the first time they were really nice, apologized for the phone not working and gladly offered to take it back for an exchange. and after giving them all of my info, just like stated above where they're data hungry. They ghosted me. I tried again about a month later because the finger print sensor also stopped working and again, same process, ,they were nice, offered to take it back and exchange for a new unit, gave them all of my info again for the return label, and just like clock work, ghosted me.. fast forward 8 MONTHS LATER, I got an email (this was only a few weeks ago now) where they actually followed up asking if I still needed a return request for my phone. I said yes, they then asked for all of my info.. again.. even though it was literally in the previous email they responded to.. but sure, play by their game, gave it all again.. and ghosted.. it's been a few weeks now, probably going on about a month actually and I still haven't heard back from them lol.
To put it simply, they do not care about customers, Nubia is about making money, they just want their product in your hand, once it is, peace, later, seeya, goodbye.
So I gave up on them. I have all of it documented, made a few youtube videos, people hated me for bad mouthing Nubia but in all reality they're a terrible company. The RM5G is actually a deadly phone now that everything is fixed, but you gotta remember this is a phone that on launch showed up to my door unable to make a phone call because the software was so broken the microphone would turn off if you made a call, it only worked on speaker phone lol. It couldn't send MMS messages, and mine specifically doesn't even have a calibrated 64mp camera. It's complete junk. It looks cool, ,the idea is there, the platform is there, the software is trash, and the company should probably be stripped of rights to sell uncompleted products.
It was as later confirmed that the launch software was Beta because they didn't have it done for their launch day, so like I said earlier, clearly shows that rather than delaying launch to fix bugs, they cared more about getting their phones in our hands rather than actually having a good product.
I mean, it's great now, basically everything is fixed but the soiled taste in my mouth from this company makes this phone look good on my desk, I don't daily it, and if anyone asks about it I tell them it was almost cool but the company ruined it and I don't recommend people buy them because of Nubia's practices.
Kinda like what they did here with the 5S lol, lets just change the logo on the glass.. add a little piece of metal to the centre.. .boom, new phone, new software that actually works.. no we won't fix the 5G yet.. we'll make a new phone for $10 more instead of fixing the actually identical phone already in the wild that's riddled with issues.
Nubia cares more about making money, than they do making a good product. It's been working for them this long, why would they change? Sure it's shady but it's business, it sucks but that's the world we live in, if we don't like it, then we just won't buy their products again. I'm one of those. I still play with the 5G from time to time but I wouldn't daily this thing if my life depended on it.. Which not as life threatening as suggested, but I soft bricked my S20 ultra while playing around with One UI 3.0 flashes, and instead of putting my SIM into the RM5G, I just decided it was better to go without a phone for 3 days until I fixed my S20 Ultra than it was to deal with the bugs and headaches that follow with the RM5G.
Which is why I'm back, 8.11 came out and it's suppose to be good so I'm giving it another shot, maybe I could use it as an Android game console to toss in my bag or something if it's stable enough.
Anyway, kind of went off on a rant there. Nubia is trash, the phones are cool, but if you buy one, just pretend you're buying something without warranty, no customer support, and you're entirely on your own once you get it. You buy these phones AS-IS because Nubia doesn't give an F about you after the sale is completed lol
bencozzy said:
This is the redmagic 5s forum I think you posted on the wrong place.
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Click to collapse
It's still the same phone, they both even officially use the same firmware now. 5G and 5S are the same phone, they just have a different piece of glass on the back.
However, I was just responding in coordinate to the OP having a bad experience with the company Nubia, as I also had a bad experience with the company, it's still relevant as the device doesn't matter when we're addressing the customer support we received.
Guys I need some help. If I am posting in the wrong place I apologize and please redirect me. My less than a month old 5S pulse (Christmas present we got both his and hers) literally just died while I was scrolling through my WeChat! I really loved the phone though up to that point. No the phone was not abused....I baby it! It had more than 90% charge at the time, was not running any apps so no stress, laying on the table beside me so not in my pocket or being charged. Literally just watching a photo on the screen and it suddenly dimmed black and died. No sign, no drama. Power button and volume buttons dont do anything....any ideas as to what to do are welcome :-(
I don't see a support thread for 5S here ...only 5G hence my above post
Phew thank God I saw this thread. Was really interested in the redmagic 6 pro, at £600 but stories like these freak me right out, I guess I'll be staying away.
Patrick Morgan said:
I don't want to nit pick. you are right in some points. but I'd like to point out a few things.
you're giving them questions in English, which they need to translate then organize into a response then re translate it back for you to understand.
They are based in Hong Kong, So I would assume the number of local English speaking people a small sub section of an already crippled tech giant (due to US sanctions of ZTE) have the space to employ customer service agents in English. when their main market is China.
you took that way out of bounds dude. they are still trying to do their best. with awful translation programs.
your questions were understandable to an English person but you got to understand WHO you're chatting with. and how they will see and understand your messages.
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Click to collapse
Hi, I'll jump into the conversation as it's similarly relevant to my case.
I agree with the rest of your arguments, but including the part where you, yourself mentioned possible nitpicking & in a limited context, will side with the OP.
I have a feeling you try to see the best in people & also in this case, focus on the "human being".
That's noble of you, but let's keep in mind that at the end of a day, we're (as client) making a financial transaction & expecting/owed reliable support. It's not the client's worry how the supplier (in this case, Nubia) sorts out his support structures, but the supplier, needs to manage client expectations & deliver a service of relevant quality.
1: I'd agree with the OP, that Nubia has terrible support.
- being fully aware that they are providing a global service (assuming OP reached out via the global or EU portal), should provide adequate support - meaning service desk agents or support staff with adequate command of the English language.
- responsiveness - my particular case has echoed OP's experience - terrible response times. To the extent of "some benefit", they did follow up on some questions with a week's/week & a half, delay.
- knowledge & eagerness to provide client satisfaction - they will never tell you that they don't know something but will consult internally & come back to the client with a satisfactory response (I was asking about the reason behind the differences in power adapters in the different regions - global/china).
- misc - not following their legal obligations & releasing adequate GPL code within required timelines (example: kernel).
- the device is crippled on unlocking the bootloader (fingerprint scanner stops working). Understandably, any activity AFTER unlocking a bootloader (example: messing with system files) is not RedMagic's worry, but the sole fact of just unlocking the bootloader should not cripple functionality. Relevant behaviour in other OEMs (Sony Xperia - the camera stopped working after unlocking the BL, but they fixed their approach in time).
2: they will not take ownership for blunders & do their best endeavours to make it up to the client.
Case: I ordered my phone on the 10th of April, it was stuck in processing for 2 weeks (their shipment policy mentions a maximum of 4 days for processing). It's still not here (major city in the EU). Even in the most pessimistic variant, the device should have been at my doorstep, yesterday at the latest & I'm looking at a delivery near the end of the week.
They cancelled the first FedEx shipment, were not forthcoming/(fully) transparent regarding the cause.
Mistakes happen, but if I were a supplier who's keen on building brand loyalty & focused on the quality of my service, I'd go miles to try to make it up to the client - in this case, I would have at least expected the fastest shipping & maybe a gesture of reparation (some accessories, or at the very least discounts for purchases in the future).
The only thing which kept me from going for the Black Shark 4 Pro was the absence of an under-display fingerprint scanner. I admit that RedMagic seems to be the current leader of the gaming phone niche, but other OEMs have caught onto this segment & in a year or two, should RM keep their current approach/practices, will start losing relevancy, as at the end of the day, client satisfaction is all that matters & this should be the foremost priority of any business owner.
adwinp said:
Hi, I'll jump into the conversation as it's similarly relevant to my case.
I agree with the rest of your arguments, but including the part where you, yourself mentioned possible nitpicking & in a limited context, will side with the OP.
I have a feeling you try to see the best in people & also in this case, focus on the "human being".
That's noble of you, but let's keep in mind that at the end of a day, we're (as client) making a financial transaction & expecting/owed reliable support. It's not the client's worry how the supplier (in this case, Nubia) sorts out his support structures, but the supplier, needs to manage client expectations & deliver a service of relevant quality.
1: I'd agree with the OP, that Nubia has terrible support.
- being fully aware that they are providing a global service (assuming OP reached out via the global or EU portal), should provide adequate support - meaning service desk agents or support staff with adequate command of the English language.
- responsiveness - my particular case has echoed OP's experience - terrible response times. To the extent of "some benefit", they did follow up on some questions with a week's/week & a half, delay.
- knowledge & eagerness to provide client satisfaction - they will never tell you that they don't know something but will consult internally & come back to the client with a satisfactory response (I was asking about the reason behind the differences in power adapters in the different regions - global/china).
- misc - not following their legal obligations & releasing adequate GPL code within required timelines (example: kernel).
- the device is crippled on unlocking the bootloader (fingerprint scanner stops working). Understandably, any activity AFTER unlocking a bootloader (example: messing with system files) is not RedMagic's worry, but the sole fact of just unlocking the bootloader should not cripple functionality. Relevant behaviour in other OEMs (Sony Xperia - the camera stopped working after unlocking the BL, but they fixed their approach in time).
2: they will not take ownership for blunders & do their best endeavours to make it up to the client.
Case: I ordered my phone on the 10th of April, it was stuck in processing for 2 weeks (their shipment policy mentions a maximum of 4 days for processing). It's still not here (major city in the EU). Even in the most pessimistic variant, the device should have been at my doorstep, yesterday at the latest & I'm looking at a delivery near the end of the week.
They cancelled the first FedEx shipment, were not forthcoming/(fully) transparent regarding the cause.
Mistakes happen, but if I were a supplier who's keen on building brand loyalty & focused on the quality of my service, I'd go miles to try to make it up to the client - in this case, I would have at least expected the fastest shipping & maybe a gesture of reparation (some accessories, or at the very least discounts for purchases in the future).
The only thing which kept me from going for the Black Shark 4 Pro was the absence of an under-display fingerprint scanner. I admit that RedMagic seems to be the current leader of the gaming phone niche, but other OEMs have caught onto this segment & in a year or two, should RM keep their current approach/practices, will start losing relevancy, as at the end of the day, client satisfaction is all that matters & this should be the foremost priority of any business owner.
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- Nit picking, in terms of what device to buy, its a personal call. if you prefer to side with another that is totally OK and is not my problem.
- For seeing the best in people, you've not read my posts on Nubia support and their lack of actual support I've written a few times here on XDA.
in a basic manner, if the phone turns on, and the basic features advertised and (mentioned in the small print) is working as described, all other features and options are of a personal preference.
Features like - what do you mean I can't enable and disable the fan from the dropdown notification menu? or why is NFC not a togglable tile in the drop down menu either? ( both options have been added by custom app developer on our Telegram group) but Nubia have stated it was not intended and wont be added. (but they added those options in the 6 series devices {oh did they now?}) - strange how those that have already paid them money have been left behind on features that would be very easy to add) ( the code is freely available on github)
- Global service to sell devices. support its a toss up based on warranty ownership. (its why they only support devices that are bought directly from them) all stock is shipped from Hong Kong. its a Chinese business selling stuff from china. they use a translation app / program to communicate with most customers. there is a few people like Jerry here, that have decent enough command of the english language, but still fails to understand some things. their staff are all ... ALL Chinese. English is not the only Language in the world so they have to adapt to all other languages too. (redmagic Phones are actually sold more in the Indian / Arab regions of the world outside of the Asian / Chinese markets. so English customer services is actually a few steps below any kind of priority before their other more paying customer regions. which covers their response time. I usually get a 3-5 day time line. (maybe I'm more polite about my messages to redmagic.gg ?? ) maybeI dont know.
- My last message to them was about the current bug-list for the 8.59/7.60 roms all I got was. thanks we will forward to the department responsible. .. some 5 or so weeks ago. Go team red for that awesomely fast R&D department - Not.
- GPL source codes. ? what GPL source? were does it say they need to provide adequate sources? does this mean Nubia as well as almost every other OEM have broken the law?? OMgosh we need to bring all the peoples to court.
almost all OEM release old broken non up to date sources. even Nubia, Sony, Samsung, Xiaomi, IQOO, POCO phone, Mediatek, Qualcomm, Etc you will always find a few devcies that quite literally have no source at all published anywhere, and then you'll find sources that are so broken, with base drivers and other stuff that even making hardly boots on the required hardware. needin additional work to get booting, then bug fixed to get stable. nothing like the stock kernels that the oems release with up to date roms. for Nubia for example - the current A11 kernel they released is a almost direct copy of the base Android 11 kernel. just without some needed things to actually compile and boot. (even the triggers) you gotta make those yourself. - kernel source is provided as required by law. take Nubia to court if you need any more sources I'm sure google will help with that eventually in about 40 years.
fingerprint sensor being corrupted when unlocking bootloader is not a bug. Its actually a feature added to the device by Qualcomm. According to Jerry it was done on purpose and is not a bug.
Shipping and processing, sometimes can literally be out of their hands. with covid now some companies are required by law to close for 2 weeks. at their own loss, instead of advertising that their shipping processing center was closed or limited, its possible it was on hold for 2 weeks due to something they couldn't deal with.
but as customer processes like these are common, writing to them to find out what's going on with a 3 days delay before writing once again with the order number and a request for a refund usually gets them to contact you pretty fast.
client satisfaction at point of sale is all that matters. once they have your money, you don't get it back.
to be honest though. Jerry has, every time I've put someone in his direction for a genuine warranty service he has been on point and helped everyone he could. his estimates are rubbish though and he should stop telling people update will be out on X day because it nearly never true and never his fault (his fault he got the date wrong, but not his fault its delayed)
he's not in charge of software development but he can give suggestions and push requests that are demanded ALOT.
So if 3 people (in my current experience here on XDA and the some 700+ people on the telegram group) there is 3 people I have personally seen report the hz refresh rate issue on youtube and instagram and other common apps like this on the new Android 11. so unless there is a big. like a few thousand people getting in Nubia's faces about this on their twitter, facebook, and other social media sites and talking about the lack of support for updates etc like myself and few other members did back in January this year to get Android 11 for the global customers Nubia will sweep most of these things under the rug until its a big pile of crap they need to clean by dealing with it.
thats the only option for companies that don't respond or help. hurt their marketing image and they'll jump to help you.
privately request, or even publicly post here on XDA where most Chinese people wouldn't even know what this site is at a first glance and you're not getting the message to the right people.
contact support. when that does not work, go social and go big. its the only way to get the message through.

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