CrunchGear |  |
- Disney Japan Shows Its Android 3D Phone With Access To The “Disney Market”
- Excuse Our Dust – We’re Migrating To Disqus
- Wi-Fi Flip Camera Hits FCC, Launches In May?
- That’s Two Million Galaxy Tabs Served
- Five Reasons The PSP2 Won’t Succeed
- Sony Wins Restraining Order Against Geohot, Updates PS3 Firmware To 3.56 In Effort To Stop Hacking
- 17x17x17 Puzzle Cube Makes Rubik’s Look Like Child’s Play
- Microsoft Sold 8 Million Kinects In 60 Days
- Razer Releases Special “Black Edition” Of My Favorite Mouse, The Death Adder
- Sharp & Pioneer Resurrect The Pioneer Elite Display Line
- Saddleback iPad Case Promises 100 Years Of Thick, Lustrous Leather
- This Is The T-Mobile Sidekick 4G
- Tracing The Origins Of Leaked Oscar Screeners
- The Briefest Of Introductions To Modern Video Game Emulators: Dolphin, PCSX2 & More
- Mommy Mittens: You Know, For Mommies
- An Ode To The Graphic Adventure
- Malware Finds People Searching For Pirated Simpsons Episodes
- The Elusive White iPhone Appears On The German Apple Website [Update: Pulled!]
- AMD Inching Closer To ‘Green’ Processors With Next-Gen APUs
- Dell Hell Is Back: One Man’s Spiraling Journey Into The Heart Of Darkness
| Disney Japan Shows Its Android 3D Phone With Access To The “Disney Market” Posted: 28 Jan 2011 03:09 AM PST  Remember that Disney-themed Android phone from Japan we blogged two weeks ago? At that time, Disney Japan didn't release a lot of information, but now they did [JP], and they also showed the 3D device for the first time. Read the rest on MobileCrunch.
|
| Excuse Our Dust – We’re Migrating To Disqus Posted: 27 Jan 2011 05:47 PM PST
|
| Wi-Fi Flip Camera Hits FCC, Launches In May? Posted: 27 Jan 2011 05:20 PM PST
The FCC has taken a gander at a new digital video camera from Cisco that has 802.11a/b/g/n support. The confidentiality request asks that setup photos remain confidential May 1st, so I’m guessing that’s when they’re going official with it. Not much beyond this, but I’d say we’re looking at the real thing here. [via Wireless Goodness]
|
| That’s Two Million Galaxy Tabs Served Posted: 27 Jan 2011 05:00 PM PST
Seriously, though, don’t buy one until you see the sequel, which might be announced in like two weeks. [via Electronista]
|
| Five Reasons The PSP2 Won’t Succeed Posted: 27 Jan 2011 04:30 PM PST
Sony has announced the PSP2 (temporarily named the “Next Generation Portable”), perhaps the final boss of handheld consoles. It’s far more powerful than its destined competitor, Nintendo’s 3DS, and incorporates social and locational data, 3G, a monster 5″ OLED screen, and a number of other features detailed here. It is to be one of the linchpin platforms for the world’s most recognizable entertainment electronics company, a stomping ground for new games, media, and services. And I think it’s going to go down in flames. Why? It’s got its competitor beat on nearly every spec, it’s got the backing of droves of Sony fanboys, and million-selling franchises just waiting to be put on its crisp 960×544 screen. How can it fail? I’d say by not addressing the fundamental needs of a handheld gaming console and ignoring strong trends in the market. No truly unique gaming features
Don’t misunderstand me: the PSP has plenty of unique features. Its excellent screen, its weird hot-pants touchpad on the back, dual analog sticks, the 3G connection. But it doesn’t have what some might call a gimmick. The DS’s touchscreen and the Wii’s motion control were called gimmicks when they launched, though perhaps that term was misapplied, since now those devices are the two best selling consoles of their generations. The reason is this: when you have a unique gameplay element like two screens, every game for your system is made for that system. With a few exceptions in which the extra functionality is tacked on, DS games are unique among handheld and console games because they have to be fundamentally designed around the gaming hardware, which makes those games both original and closely allied to the system. Nintendo hopes they can pull this trick again with the 3DS. That isn’t the case with the PSP. They’ve made an insanely powerful and compact sandbox in which developers are free to create… exactly the kind of games they create for every other system. On that note: Big-screen gaming is big-screen for a reason The PSP2 promises “PS3-level” graphics and sound. I find it difficult to understand why you would want a big-screen experience packed onto a small screen. That’s not to say that graphics are worthless, and it’s nice having the capability if you’re a developer, but even on that great 5″ screen, you’re going to have trouble appreciating the grand vistas of Monster Hunter or the atmosphere of Resident Evil. Add into this the fact that most of the big-name properties (Call of Duty, God Of War, Metal Gear Solid) will have big-screen counterparts, and your PS3-level graphics and sound start to seem redundant. Wouldn’t you rather have a game truly made for the small screen, designed around portability and accessibility, not a smaller, slightly modified version of a full-fledged console game?
The best-selling games on the PSP were indeed console-style games — because that’s what was on offer. Meanwhile, the top DS games outsold the PSP’s best-seller (Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, 3.1m sold) by an order of magnitude. Pointing a shrink ray at AAA games just isn’t that popular of a proposition. More than ever before, people are seeing big-budget games for what they are: popcorn entertainment, loud and unoriginal, being released by the same production houses, with the same stars, same set pieces, and same gameplay. Not that they’re all bad or anything — we all like to watch movies like Transformers or Avatar now and again, mainly for the purpose of mindless escapism, which is a perfectly good reason. But would you buy a TV that only showed popcorn flicks? AAA games are no longer a killer app Some of the most interesting and best-selling games to come out in the last few years have been out-of-nowhere semi-casual games with mass appeal. Angry Birds has sold 50 million copies. That’s about twice the total sales of the top fifteen PSP games combined. Of course, it costs far less and is on more platforms, so you can say it’s apples and oranges. But that’s the thing: apples are being sold at the same stand as oranges now, and the big Transformers tie-in or the best handheld version of Modern Warfare isn’t where the gaming market is putting its money. The PSP2 doesn’t need to mimic Apple too much, but let’s be honest, they’ve got a touchscreen and a 3G connection, they’re already halfway there. They’ve got a great thing going with PSN: like XBLA, it’s packed full of smart young developers pushing interesting, unique ideas and bite-sized games for bargain-bin prices. Yet the PSP2 is clearly focused in the other direction, towards satisfying the needs of Rockstar, EA, Infinity Ward, and the like. This maximizes cost per unit and minimizes the audience, since it’s clear that handheld gaming (including iOS and Android, since those really are becoming real competitors) is going towards… it’s not casual, exactly, but it’s certainly different from what the PSP2 was made to do. The social and locational features will never hit critical mass
The key element in any social application is ubiquity. Facebook works because everyone’s on it. iPhone social apps work because there are a ton of iPhones and Android is on its way. Nintendo’s DS-to-DS functionality is good because in Tokyo, you’re never more than seven or eight feet from another DS. But will the PSP2 ever hit the level of ubiquity necessary for its (admittedly slick-looking) social features to work? Or will thousands of gamers check their “radar” and see nothing but empty space? My guess is the latter, though to be fair that guess is based on my opinion that sales will be slow. Plus, with the system so plainly aimed at big, single-player experiences, it seems like the social thing is sort of mismatched. Is this thing for gaming, or socializing? What about the Playstation app, where does that fit in? And the new “Playstation Phone”? It seems to me that their initially fragmented social experience will torpedo it from the start. It could have been something completely different, but it’s more of the same Sony is going all-in on a pair of jacks. Sure, it’s better than nothing, but they could have folded and picked up a new hand altogether. Bear with me for a second. What if the new PSP had completely eschewed the big game experience, and was focused entirely on PSN downloadables like PixelJunk games and back-catalog stuff? Imagine: the lowered specs (as powerful but more efficient than a PSP) would have enabled a lighter and thinner device that could be sold for peanuts. Can you imagine a brand new PSP with access to all PSN games selling for $150? I can. And with seed money and a little cajoling in the right places, it could have launched with dozens of original and exclusive titles that focused not on aping the PS3, but on setting this unique mobile device apart from the tablets, consoles, and handsets of the world. I would have bought one, and after some initial concerns about the library and some bucking by the “hardcore” that there won’t be enough Killzone, millions of others would have, too. The main problem with the PSP2 is simply that it is an inferior version of an existing (though popular) platform: the PS3, or more generally, the home console and media station that the PS3 and 360 are becoming. If Sony could have focused its big-money games on its long-term bet, the PS3, and made the PSP into an original and compelling platform rather than a PS3 Lite. They could have caught a ride on the new-world-of-gaming wave, but instead, they chose to keep on paddling.
|
| Sony Wins Restraining Order Against Geohot, Updates PS3 Firmware To 3.56 In Effort To Stop Hacking Posted: 27 Jan 2011 03:15 PM PST PS3 owners will be prompted to update their system to firmware version 3.56 today. Why is that? Hmm, could it possibly have something to do with Sony trying to prevent your from jailbreaking your system? Yes, obviously. ("This is a minor update that adds a security patch.") If you update your system say goodbye to being able to hack your PS3 to pieces… for now, at least. And maybe for a good while, too, given that Sony has managed to win a restraining order against Geohot. Not only has Sony won a temporary restraining order against Geohot, real name George Hotz, and his crew, but it looks like the case will be able to be held in San Francisco, in front of judges who haven't been too kind to lone coder types before. The 3.56 update was pushed out within the past few hours, so it'll be interesting to see if A) it stops jailbreaking for good or B) will merely signify a new game of cat-and-mouse between Sony and the larger jailbreaking community. I seem to remember frequent PSP firmware updates back in the day that were designed to mitigate the effects of custom firmware, but, really, once the system was cracked it was pretty much cracked for good. And even if you were to jailbreak your PS3, please don't hop online and ruin everyone's good time. Nobody likes a bully.
|
| 17x17x17 Puzzle Cube Makes Rubik’s Look Like Child’s Play Posted: 27 Jan 2011 02:55 PM PST
Too bad it costs two thousand dollars, whaaat!
|
| Microsoft Sold 8 Million Kinects In 60 Days Posted: 27 Jan 2011 02:19 PM PST
Microsoft earnings just got released 10 minutes before market close, and aside from growing revenues 5% in the 2nd quarter to $19.95 Billion, their slides reveal some interesting numbers on their entertainment and gaming unit, mainly that they sold 8 million Kinects in the two months since launch. Said Peter Klien about the Kinect’s success, "We are enthusiastic about the consumer response to our holiday lineup of products, including the launch of Kinect. The 8 million units of Kinect sensors sold in just 60 days far exceeded our expectations. The pace of business spending, combined with strong consumer demand, led to another quarter of operating margin expansion and solid earnings per share growth."
|
| Razer Releases Special “Black Edition” Of My Favorite Mouse, The Death Adder Posted: 27 Jan 2011 02:00 PM PST
The “Black Edition” Death Adder is just that: black. On account of its complexion. The funny thing is, it was already black. Yes, I’m looking at mine right now, definitely black.
It does have a white scroll wheel, though. So they’ve fixed that. And there’s a new non-slip rubber coating on the side, where the old one had slick plastic. The logo doesn’t light up anymore, either. I’m okay with that. At any rate, it’s still a great mouse, and now you can buy one for the same price they were at three years ago: $60! Yay!
|
| Sharp & Pioneer Resurrect The Pioneer Elite Display Line Posted: 27 Jan 2011 01:21 PM PST
(My son a few years back in front of a 60-inch Pioneer Elite plasma. He *loved* it.)There was a time when the Pioneer Elite display was the cream of the crop, the top dog, the big kid on the bus, you know, the best damn TV available. But even having the best color and black level reproduction on the market, the expensive line couldn’t withstand the recession and the onslaught of cheap LCDs and plasmas. Pioneer killed the Elite display line in 2009 and a little part of the world died with it. But it’s back! Sharp’s licensing the Elite brand from Pioneer and the two companies will jointly market the product line. The models will wear only Elite branding, not Sharp or Pioneer. These will be Elite HDTVs, but will be available in the Prioneer Elite dealer network. No time frame was given, but these displays were so good that it might be worth delaying the purchase of your high-end Panasonic plasma or Samsung LCD until these models hit.
|
| Saddleback iPad Case Promises 100 Years Of Thick, Lustrous Leather Posted: 27 Jan 2011 01:00 PM PST
Okay, enough teasing. The Saddleback case is made of mega-thick leather and really does offer a 100-year warranty. You can get a lining of either pigskin or suede, and the straps fold back over (like the M-Edge Platform I reviewed) to secure it in an upright state. It comes in brown, brown, brown, and black. By the way, read the “common questions” – very funny.
|
| This Is The T-Mobile Sidekick 4G Posted: 27 Jan 2011 12:43 PM PST
Do you know how much I loved the original Sidekick? Seriously — Picture me spreading my arms REALLY, REALLY far apart, as if I’m bragging about the size of a fish I caught. That’s how much I loved the original Sidekick. It was, for the most part, the first phone that made me really, really like phones. Then the Sidekick 2 came along, and it was amazing. Then the Sidekick 3 came along, and it was… not as amazing. Then a bevy of crappy Sidekicks came along and sort of stomped all over the Sidekick name. Well, friend, the Sidekick is back. And it’s running Android.
|
| Tracing The Origins Of Leaked Oscar Screeners Posted: 27 Jan 2011 12:30 PM PST
The Oscar nominations came out a few days ago, and like a bunch of dorks we've been discussing the merits of each movie in our little chatroom. So far we've unofficially given thumbs up to Winter's Bone and Black Swan, while Devin and Greg have admitted to liking The Social Network. (I patently refuse to watch the movie.) Why am I bringing this up? Because every year around this time unscrupulous individuals leak their Oscar screeners to the Internet, allowing the rest of us to join in on the fun. One enterprising gentleman has put together a spreadsheet with various screener-related information for your perusal. It's actually a continuation of a long-running spreadsheet, tracing the origins of screeners, leaks, cam copies, and the like for the past several years. For example, we learn that Toy Story 3, nominated for best picture, was first released in theaters on June 18. The screener came out on November 12, and the Blu-ray first leaked on September 9. What member of the Academy would wait for his or her screener when the Blu-ray was officially released more than a month prior? Beats me. The urgency of piracy is actually an interesting way of looking at the popularity of movies, and watching piracy trends could predict the success (or lack thereof) of movies like Children of Men and The Hurt Locker, which were leaked long before their US release dates, or others which for whatever reason were never popular online in cam format. It’s a rich well of information, if you’re into that kind of thing.
|
| The Briefest Of Introductions To Modern Video Game Emulators: Dolphin, PCSX2 & More Posted: 27 Jan 2011 10:30 AM PST
It's probably a snow day for many of you, so what better way to kill a few hours than to fire up an emulator? "But Nicholas," you interrupt, "there are so many emulators out there, and so much conflicting information. I wouldn't know how to start if my life depended on it!" Don't throw away your life—there's so much beauty in the world! With this handy guide you should be well on your way to understanding the wonderfully exciting world of emulators. Fingers crossed. PCSX2 An open source project, PCSX2 is the PS2 emulator out there. It's in active development, and it's compatible with pretty much every game I've thrown at it. What you see here is a screenshot of Final Fantasy XII running at three times its native resolution. That's the beauty of emulation: not only can you play these games on your PC, but there's a very good chance they'll look better than they did on their original console. PCSX2 isn't too difficult to set up, particularly if you have any emulator experience under your belt. You download the latest version from the official site (or you can go with an unofficial SVN build, which is newer but not guaranteed to work as well), then you configure the application. Nothing too hard here: map your keyboard or controller (I use a wired Xbox 360 controller for all my emulator needs), configure the graphics plugin, and off you go. I'd go into greater detail, but if you can't figure out how to point the emulator to a folder containing the PS2 bios then perhaps you should stick to Angry Birds. Games, games, games. Luckily it's pretty easy to create ISOs of your PS2 discs. (You could also procure PS2 games by using "other means," but that's none of my business.) I tend to use ImgBurn, primarily because it's free and it's fast. Throw your disc in your drive, launch ImgBurn, click "Create image file from disc," wait a few minutes, and then you have a nice, shiny ISO to feed PCSX2. Now, to emulate PS2 games, particularly if you're keen on running the games at high internal resolutions, you'll need a bit of horsepower; don't expect to be able to play Final Fantasy XII on your three-year-old laptop with an Intel integrated graphics processor. But the beauty is that GPUs are so inexpensive these days, particularly the new 6000 series, that for $200-ish you'll be sitting pretty. Then you'll also be able to play PC games at modern resolutions, something that can't really be said about something like the Xbox 360. Dolphin Ah, Dolphin, a delightful little application that I've mentioned before. Given that the Wii is basically a GameCube that took its vitamins, said its prayers, and drank its milk, Dolphin runs Wii and GameCube games equally well. You can even stick a Bluetooth adapter in your PC and use an actual Wii controller to play games. (Or you can be a normal person and just buy a Wii!) Like PCSX2, it's plugin-based, so you download the latest version (or, again, an unofficial SVN build) then set up your controller, sound settings, your graphics settings, etc. Again, like PCSX2, you can set up Dolphin to run games at higher resolutions than you'll find on their actual consoles. ImgBurn can again be used to rip your Wii ISOs. (I've actually no idea how to rip GameCube games, but I still have a GameCube kicking around, so if I ever have an urge to play Metroid Prime again I'll just play that the old fashioned way.) Embedded above is a video of me playing the Wii version of Resident Evil 4 (I own all versions of Resident Evil 4 because I'm a dork like that). It ran closer to 60 frames per second, but Fraps maxes video recording out at 30 frames per second. Dolphin also runs most games out there, judging by its official forums. Like with every emulator out there you'll run into some glitches here and there, but games are totally playable. I know I played the first level of Donkey Kong Country returns using Dolphin just fine, but then I stopped. What usually happens is that I spend hours and hours setting up these emulators, then play the games for 15 minutes just for the satisfaction of seeing them work. Then I'll turn off my computer and read a book. All the rest There are plenty of other emulators out there, of course, but I don't have 800 hours to enumerate them all here; I suggest you tool around EmuCR and see what tickles your fancy. There's emulators for the Dreamcast, Saturn, N64, PS1, SNES, Genesis, NES, Mega Drive, you name it. Older consoles can even be emulated on your phone, provided you have Android or a jailbroken iPhone. Clearly this is a gray area at best when it comes to obtaining the ROMs for these emulators, but I'm not here to judge you nor am I here to tell you where to find them. Your business is your business; the big CPU in the sky will judge you when the time comes.
|
| Mommy Mittens: You Know, For Mommies Posted: 27 Jan 2011 09:49 AM PST
While the obvious question to ask here is “Why not wear gloves?” I think it’s important to note that parents of young children are often easily confused and bewildered and basically you could tell them that babies need special “mystical toenail clippers” if you want them to get into Yale and they’d buy ten sets. Heck, just think about the whole “Get your boys circumcised” hoax. Doctors and religious authorities have been laughing over that one for centuries now! Luckily, Mommy Mittens cost a mere $30 and come in multiple colors and if you don’t buy them your baby will develop the croup and nobody wants that, right? Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change a diaper and grab another glass or three of wine.
|
| An Ode To The Graphic Adventure Posted: 27 Jan 2011 08:40 AM PST
I remember going over to a friend’s house back in the 1980s. His dad had something called a PC and when you turned it on instead of making showing a READY prompt it did something strange. After a quick beep, something inside started churning and in a minute you saw a menu of games and programs available on something called a “hard disk,” which I assumed were the standard 3 1/2 inch “hard disks” I’d seen in computer magazines. After hitting a key, we began to play a game called “King’s Quest.” The graphics were bright and fluid – although they were, in fact, green on black – and the story was amazing. You’re a dude! Looking for a princess! There’s a frog! With a ball! What was this sorcery? That game, King’s Quest from Sierra, was one of the first Graphic Adventures, a mixture of text and graphics-based play that created an entire generation of hardcore gamers.
Betcha didn’t know about that, right? Sadly, at least to me, the genre’s last great game was Myst. The adventure I loved, though, was Neuromancer and it’s the game that defines the genre for me: adventure, puzzles, and humor, all mixed into a palatable package. These kids with their Bioshocks and Dead Spaces don’t know what they’re missing. You can read the rest here or just start downloading Leisure Suit Larry here.
|
| Malware Finds People Searching For Pirated Simpsons Episodes Posted: 27 Jan 2011 08:30 AM PST
Just a friendly heads-up for those of you looking to stay as safe as possible in your online travels. A post on Kaspersky’s blog has warned of the dangers of trying to watch pirated TV shows online. In this example, an episode of The Simpsons, hosted on DailyMotion, sends the user on a wild goose chase, the end result of which a machine infected with something like MyWebSearch. You don’t want that nonsense gunking up your system. The obvious solution to this is to not go hang out on some of the darker corners of the Internet, or if you do to make sure your anti-virus software is completely up-to-date. Whether you want to use a basic, free anti-virus software, or if you want to step up to a more premium, and thorough, anti-virus suite from the likes of McAfee or Kaspersky themselves—they just released the Pure Total Security suite, for example—that’s your call. But for the love of God use something!
|
| The Elusive White iPhone Appears On The German Apple Website [Update: Pulled!] Posted: 27 Jan 2011 08:11 AM PST
The phone was originally supposed to be release in the weeks following the iPhone 4′s launch date. But then it was pushed back. Again. And again. Until it was finally pulled completely from Apple’s website. Now a report surfaced claiming a new “miracle painting material” solved the previous issue. Update: That was fast. Minutes after posting, the whole section shown in the screenshot of the translated German site disappeared! It’s a slippery devil.
|
| AMD Inching Closer To ‘Green’ Processors With Next-Gen APUs Posted: 27 Jan 2011 07:45 AM PST
Are graphics cards (and processors) now going green? AMD is certainly trying, having noted that its E-350 APU "demonstrated a significant reduction in the overall product 'carbon footprint'" compared to previous AMD Anthlon processors and Mobility Radeon graphics cards. We’re talking a 40 percent reduction in carbon emission over the life of the APU. This is the part where the smart-aleck know-it-all calls into our radio show and demands that all the egghead scientists complaining about global warming should come and plow his driveway. There’s a difference between weather and climate, sir. Calm down. AMD says that the reduction in carbon emission is primarily due to lower energy consumption when in use. (AMD also made a few changes to its manufacturing process that helped lower carbon emissions in the actual production of the APU, which is also neat.) The lower carbon footprint can also be attributed to the fact that a single APU does the job of both a CPU and GPU. In other AMD news, did you guys see the leaked photos of the 6990, the next-gen dual GPU card? While it’s great that AMD is committed to dual GPU cards, perhaps 2011 should be the year when AMD also commits itself to changing people’s perceptions about its driver releases? No one’s asking for 15 percent performance increases every month, but a bit of stability, perhaps some extra love and care paid to CrossFire? Something along those lines. Let 2011 be the year of rock solid driver releases. That would be swell.
|
| Dell Hell Is Back: One Man’s Spiraling Journey Into The Heart Of Darkness Posted: 27 Jan 2011 07:39 AM PST
That’s right: Dell sent him a 35% discount on his entire order – two weeks after it shipped. While in some worlds this can be seen as follow-up, in this case it’s kind of insult to injury. It’s obvious that Dell was trying to convince a novice IT person to keep outfitting his or her office with the same gear, but combined with the shipping snafu and the constant refusal to understand the real problem, Blazej understandably became aggrieved. When he tried to return the order And the best part? The customer service reps kept calling him Blaze, like some sort of American Gladiator. The order seems to have been stymied and the reader has his gear, but let this be a lesson to you: don’t try to use logic and a paper trail with Dell customer service. You’re asking for trouble. Indeed, Ailleen, it seems that you have misunderstood me on quite a few points here (that were clearly stated in my previous correspondence). But here it is again for your convenience: 1. On 12/31/2010 I have placed three orders on a Dell.com website: 2. On 1/4/2011 I received an email from Dell stating that Order #567639195 for Precision T3500 has been delayed; Estimated delivery I was given was 1/10/2011, later changed to 1/11/2010. Now, here was my initial problem (issue #1)): the ONLY reason I bought THIS system in a Ship Fast configuration was to have it on time, and that is on 1/5/2011, as it was promised (as that was true for the other Ship Fast order, being Order #567639179 – Precision M4500). By choosing Ship Fast option (for both systems), I gave up 25% discount I was entitled through a promotion code I had. Ship Fast was the excluded from this promotion. 3. Therefore, and because the delay in shipment was a violation of the Ship Fast terms of sale on a Dell's part, I asked to be reimbursed for the difference that would apply if I bought Precision T3500 not as a Ship Fast, but as a regular Workstation system with the current promotion of 25% off. The difference was $235.75. 4. I received this reimbursement, although for some reason it was applied to as a discount to Order #567639179 – Precision M4500. This order had clearly nothing to do with my issue. With this reduction taken into consideration, the total purchase price I paid for all I bought was down to $3,680.25. 5. Now, we are moving to the issue #2: On 1/17/2011 I have received a solicitation, sent to my email address directly from Dell, and offering 35% discount on the entire combined ordered I placed just two-and-a-half weeks ago! This time Ship Fast was not excluded from the promotion. Therefore, if bought at that discount, I would pay $3,131.79 – an additional $548.46 discount that I find to be quite substantial. 6. The offer to buy at the 35% discount was sent to me again on 1/20/2011. I have been already communicating this to your customer service, asking for the price match. These are the facts. What remains is the whole extremely unpleasant experience of dealing with your customer service. I am really thinking of making a blog post out of this, and I think it would get me some audience. The last chapter is your "prompt response" (came in today) to my email sent to you on Monday, 1/24, that was the last day I could re-purchase the systems online with the given discount of 35%. But guess what, I have not been sent the proper answer to my question about the restocking charge (asked a few times in a few separate emails), nor have been emailed the proper return labels for my ENTIRE purchase that I clearly indicated I was intending to return. So now, I guess, I will be stuck with what I have (no reason to return it now if I can no longer buy it back with a discount). Maybe the ads on my website will at least pay me back for the lost time and hope… And my name is Blazej. From: US_ABU_CustomerCare_BSD [mailto:US_ABU_CustomerCare_BSD@dell.com] Hi Blaze, We have provided you all options. We are just waiting for the return of your Precision M4500 Fast track order. Let me know if this is the wrong order I have understood you returning to us. Regards, Original Message Follows: Ailleen, It has been my worst customer service experience with DELL ever. Today is Thanks, On Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:06:50 -0800, >>
|
Baby it’s cold outside and, if you’re parents to a young child, you probably currently have no dignity. So why not get some Mommy Mittens? These things look like the rubber and duct tape hand guards the delivery guys around Brooklyn tape to their scooter handlebars to keep themselves warm but they attach to your stroller instead! And they’re “water resistant, insulated and lined with fleece for a cozy experience.”
Quick! Before it’s gone! Click over to the 
I don’t like to call out bad customer service that often because the cases are often very time and place specific and mostly it’s a matter of misunderstandings all around. However, this one is too good to pass up. A reader, Blazej (he’s Polish), inexplicably purchased two Precision workstations and two 20-inch monitors from Dell on December 31. He paid extra for quick shipping waited for his items to arrive. The “Ship Fast” configuration should have arrived on 1/5/2011 but instead landed on 1/11/2011. That’s fine, right? A few days didn’t kill anyone. Dell gave him back $235.75 for the Ship Fast option. Then it gets better:| You are subscribed to email updates from CrunchGear To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment