Hadn't heard anything about the laptop since I last posted on 1/18/07. Decided to call Hypersonic from an update. Here a list of the conversation happenings:
1> Called their support number (800-520-0498 Option 2) was transffered into the Voice Mail of Armon.
2> Wanting to actually talk to a live person, I called back.
3> This time I got a live person and can only assume it was Armon based on the accent as he never stated his name.
4> Hypersonic Technician took my RMA number and placed me on hold for approx 2-3 minutes.
5> Technician returned to begin informing me that there was a damaged shipping package and the line cutout.
6> Technician immediately called me back on my cell phone (different line than I called them on).
7> Technician informed me once again that the laptop had been damaged in shipping and that UPS denied their claim (I will get into that later).
8> While waiting for a estimate on the damage cost, I was placed on hold for 15 minutes and when the line went dead again.
9> I went back to the hard line phone and called them back.
10> Got another technician who got me the information I requested as well as informing me that the motherboard needed replaced and that it was on back-order.
11> Call terminated via hangup.
Now for my rant:
1> The damaged laptop.
a) I work for a major ISP?MSO and ship electronic gear out to any one of our 400+ cities almost weekly. This gear includes high dollar routers from Juniper and Cisco.
b) That being said, I feel the laptop was properly and securely shipped in a plain cardboard box.
c) For the damage to occur to the extent described (I won't give details as I don't remember them all), the box had to have been either crushed or dropped several times from a decent distance.
d) The UPS Driver that picked up my box (Actually boxes) had an attitude that day. He stated that according to his paperwork there was a single box to pickup. This is true to an extent. I scheduled a pickup via the ups.com website for a single UPS Ground (the Laptop) and a 2-day air (GPU RMA noted in other posts above). There was a schedule for 2 packages in reality. The driver could have drop kicked the laptop for all i know.
2> The Shipping container:
a) I had to ship the laptop back for repair (bad hard drive apparently) approx. 6 months ago.
b) For that shipment I had the original box and packing material that I received the laptop in on the initial delivery and returned the laptop for repair in said packing material.
c) I received the repaired laptop in a white hypersonic box that looked like it had been left in the ohio river overnight.
d) Inside I found the laptop to be loosely packaged in clear bubble wrap. While the bubble wrap was salvagable, the box was not.
e) For this shipment I was forced to use a shipping box I had laying around, but the laptop was securely and tightly packed with plently of tape on the opened flaps.
3> Repair bill
a) Since UPS has denied the damage claim, I seem to be forced to pay for the damage.
b) Technician was hard to hear and I asked 3-4 times what was damaged and the only word I can think of that matches what he was saying was "panels" on the outside.
c) According to the technician the initial estimate is approx. $200 for the materials and $100 for the labor. The replacement motherboard will be covered under warranty.
4> Phone quality
a) The phone lines going into Hypersonic utterly suck. There was quite a bit of crackling, static, and intermittant dead air which reminds me of the early days of analog cell phones.
b) Since I used 3 different phones and 2 different service providers, odds are that their lines are the issue.
Summary:
Basically I am not happy. I placed the order for this laptop on 02/10/06. It took 5+ weeks for me to receive it, then had a problem that required a shipment to them. They had the laptop for 1 month. Then I late November it dies again and I have been without a usable laptop for 5+weeks and its will be no less than another 2 weeks before I get it back. I just seems the service I am experiencing and the quality and lead times of the repairs are not proportional to the price paid for these units. If this unit was soon to be shipped back with a minimal of fuss, and once I received it and all was better, I had already spec'd out and was prepared to purchase an AX20 once My Tax refund gets here. But now I am concidering spending half the money on a laptop from a cookie-cuter vendor like HP or Toshiba. Do not worry, I am not only complaining about Hypersonic here, I have no love for UPS in this matter either and after other recent adventurers for myself and co-workers, they are next to get an earful.
I am sure I will update this post after I receive the laptop back from the RMA process, but based on past experience, it might not be for another 2-4 weeks before I even get the thing back to evaluate it (after my warranty expires of course).
Thanks for your attention.
