Just got my new Zaurus SL-5600. How cool is this thing. A linux distro right on my PDA. So I started playing around and adding applications. Flashing the ROM to some unsupported version - you know all the things a geek does with a new toy.

While starting up a newly added game the LCD background is set to black for the first time and.... What's This?.... A DEAD PIXEL!!! Right in the middle of the screen!

Now that I know it's there my eyes are hopelessly drawn to it every time I look at the thing! Now I just get angry every time I try to use it.

Goodby new friend, sorry it had to be this way. Back to Amazon you go.

Including my laptop I'm now 2 for 2 with LCD's having a dead pixel(s).

So now I'm reading all of these perfectly deplorable return policies that the LCD vendors (all of them mind you) have setup in order to protect themselves from standing behind their products. My favorite being: 10 or more multi-colored, non-white, pixels that rest in an area no larger than 10 inches and no closer than 2 inches to any side. Are they kidding???

Now I'm all for the betterment of technology and the preservation of my vision, but shouldn't it be paramount that the product actually work??? Obviously it's too much 'quality control' to look at the screen before it ships.

Sorry for the rant.

I thought you meant the tuner-guy's cat.

I know exactly what you mean! Back in '96 I bought a MAG Innovision 17" monitor. One dead pixel on the screen. I contact them to try to get a replacement. Their policy was that until it was more than 3 pixels were out they wouldn't replace it. Being a poor high school student at the time, I didn't have $600 lying around for a new monitor, so I endured. Now it is the monitor in use on my server!

Now I'm all for the betterment of technology and the preservation of my vision, but shouldn't it be paramount that the product actually work??? Obviously it's too much 'quality control' to look at the screen before it ships.

Manufacturers do look at them. It's the price we have to pay for affordable technology. If they had to throw away every screen with a single pixel failure, manufacturing yields would plummet and prices would skyrocket.

That being said, I agree that that defintion of what constitutes a defective display is dispicable.

That's nothing. I had a dead pixel on a CRT once! iiyama UK refused to swap it out as it was within acceptable limits. Who ever heard of having dead pixels on a modern CRT?!?

I finally managed to get them to swap it out after bugging them on the phone for about a week. I then got some bad refurb which wouldn't display text mode properly. The main "technical" guy for the UK office kept telling me to reinstall the Windows drivers. I kept telling him that reinstalling the Windows drivers won't do much if even the BIOS POST screen doesn't even get displayed properly.

It took about 4 monitors before I got one that actually worked vaguely okay. The actual monitor when it's working is quite nice but I'm not too impressed with the service from the UK office.

A DEAD PIXEL!!! Right in the middle of the screen!


I feel for your distress... but I have to laugh. Not at you -- it just brought back memories.

About 6 or 8 years ago, we bought a new Gateway 2000 here where I work. ALL of it's pixels were dead. (That is, turn it on, nothing would happen) We'd have been thrilled to only have one bad pixel.

So, call Gateway, they send us a replacement, no problem. But it doesn't work either.

Call Gateway again, they send us another replacement. It "works" in that something happens when we plug it in: sparks and smoke and loud sizzling noises before we can hastily pull the plug.

Call Gateway again, they send us yet another replacement. It "works" exactly the same way as the previous one.

Call Gateway again, they send us yet another replacement. I don't remember what the problem was with that one, but it was unsatisfactory -- I think the image was compressed onto the left 2/3 of the screen or something like that.

Call Gateway again, they send us yet another replacement. By this time they have figured out that sending us refurbished monitors just isn't doing the trick so they send us a brand new one. It works.

So we had a stack of five Gateway monitors, stacked nearly to the ceiling to send back to Gateway.

Pixel? Schmixel! You don't know how good you had it!

tanstaafl.

The actual monitor when it's working is quite nice but I'm not too impressed with the service from the UK office.

I got a Iiyama CRT at work a couple of years back because I believed they were pretty good quality and also look very smart.

The first one began to pulsate purple in the corners for about 5 minutes every now and then, and I had read reports of other monitors from the same model doing this also.

After putting up with it for a few months I called them for a repair and it was picked up the next day and a brand new loan dropped off. The loan started pulsating about an hour after I had switched it on and I called Iiyama to let them know. "Oh no, that's not a loan that's a permanent replacement" they said. Okey dokey you can pick it up then, and I don't want another model 403! She went away and came back saying they would send me the next model up which I was fine with.

About six weeks later I shut the machine off and went to the other side of the office to do something while it was shutting down. Being an old Compaq it doesn't power off and switches into VGA mode, which seemed to upset the monior causing a large bang and an electrical burning smell. Touch wood the replacement is fine, but I think it goes out of the 3 year warranty soon so I don't expect it to last much longer.

Gareth

403? Is that a VisionMaster 17" by any chance? If so then yeah, that's exactly the same monitor model I had all the trouble with. The monitor is at my mum's house now so I can't actually check what model it was.

The first one I had was the dud pixel one. Then I had one that refused to show anything in text mode. I think the next was the one that would suddenly go all purple and cut out until it had a chance to cool down. The one after that had issues with warming up as the picture size would increase by about 5cm from cold.

It was the gall of the engineer that got to me. The engineer was pretty much accusing me of not knowing how to plug the monitor in and how they would test fine on his test bench which meant I was lying etc... Needless to say, I've never bought any of their quality products since.

I then got some bad refurb which wouldn't display text mode properly

Oops, if this is what I think it is then, at the time, I could have helped. Tech. support desks, especially outsourced ones paid a bonus to close calls with no actions on their part are a sodding embarrasment

403? Is that a VisionMaster 17" by any chance?

Ah, no it was a Vison Master Pro 451 the first time, and replaced with a 454, both 19"ers. I think I was confused by the proper model number which is HM703-DT or summat.

Gareth

...Round 2

First things first: Kudos to Amazon and their turnaround time on defective products. Upon my e-mail about my defective Zaurus they overnighted me a new one!

That being said I feel rather unsatisfied... With the Z that is.

I rushed home from work to make a quick swap with the new unit only to fire it up and realize THERE ARE 4 DEAD PIXELS on this one!

3 for 3 with LCD's and dead pixels now. Trying for 4 with yet another advanced replacement.

I should just give up while I'm ahead.

I seek advice from all those who know what they are talking about.

Amazon just e-mailed me back stating "I am sorry that your replacement shipment was also problematic.

As it seems that the problem with this item is more widespread than we originally thought, I hesitate to send you another replacement."

Should I send it back and opt for another PDA or keep it and live with the shame of yet another dead pixel?

Now my reasons for buying the Zaurus in the first place were simple: It was affordable (as far as XS-400 PDAs go) - $299.00. its Linux , good display, free applications, SD/MMC and CF support, and it's generally fun to "play with" (e.g. OpenZaurus, porting apps etc..)

I've been looking around at other devices but can't really find one that has the features (SD/MMC, CF, Wifi) and stability I want, for around the same price range.

What would you do?

Get a refund, wait a while, and try again. Perhaps it's a bad batch of LCD's and the problem will go away.