Posts Tagged ‘accessories’

Finding a replacement OQO battery in the middle of Colorado

{ January 22, 2009 @ 1:28 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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As stated in the previous post, I knew up front a new battery was necessary for the used OQO 02 I bought off eBay. The unit came with a supposedly quarky, but turns out DEAD, standard battery. I prefer extended batteries anyway, so the moment I paid for the eBay listing I began looking for a battery.

There was only one extended battery being sold on eBay and the auction which included the extended battery, the charging adapter, and the belt clip (which I didn’t want or care for). Total retail $257 + tax closed at $177.63 + $9.99 shipping. I just couldn’t pay that much for a used battery and one accessory I didn’t care for.

OQO.com had the battery in stock, but listed 5-7 days to ship, not ARRIVE, ship. Too long and I would have paid tax and shipping.

Many other retailers like JR.com,RCS.com, and DataVision (who has HORRIBLE reviews online) are all located in NYC but listed the battery on backorder or didn’t have it on their website. I wasn’t paying $129 to get the standard and still wait 2-3 days for shipment from RCS.

I looked on MicroCenter.com, but nothing OQO was listed. Then I thought to pull up the Denver location and BAM they had two in stock, but I had to drive to pick it up. So, a couple gallons of gas and $199+tax later I went to MC yesterday morning to pick up the battery. I already paid online and got confirmation it was ready for pickup so I just had to stand in line and wait for the package.

I had planned to IMMEDIATELY test the battery in the unit, because I wasn’t sure if the original battery was dead or if the device wasn’t charging it. I opened the envelope and gasped, it was a standard battery. I immediately looking at the packaging, nope, it was an extended package with a standard battery in there. MC got scammed, but that wasn’t going to happen to me. I immediately told the girl this wasn’t the right item. She was going to issue a refund, but I told her I paid for the right item, it was the right packaging, but the wrong ITEM. I waited for the computer people to come up, but got impatient and just took it all back there. 30 minutes of searching but we (and I really mean I) found the only other one they had in the store. I was just looking for anything with a black package. First I spotted the ONE charger they had and then the extended battery was tucked behind it.

Imagine if I had left the store OR if they hadn’t had the other one. Someone would have paid for my damn gas.

I tried the battery in the store, but it wouldn’t turn on. I took the right battery out to the car, used the car charger and then it recognized the battery and I could unplug it. I now had a working battery for my OQO and was not tied to a place with a wall plug.

SUCCESS.

While I hate them, I went to Best Buy to pick up some new iPhone 3G accessories

{ January 2, 2009 @ 11:54 am } · { Uncategorized }
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I hate bad customer service and there was one instance which severed my customer relationship with BestBuy more than 3 years ago. My kid sisters (14 and 9 at the time) decided to get my husband South Park for his birthday. They paid cash for the gift.

He seemed really excited and told them thank you, but then whispered to me that he already had this season. They had laid the receipt down on the table, but it accidentally got thrown away or one of the dogs ate it (yes, my dogs really eat paper and if a student tells me their dog ate their HW I am more inclined to believe it than others).

Husband tried to exchange for the correct season, denied. I went back a few days later explained my kid sisters had bought it with cash, I didn’t want a refund just an exchange for the correct season (same price, item was still wrapped, and yellow Best Buy sticker was on the item) again, denied. They told me if I could produce the credit card used then they could look it up for me. ARE YOU A MORON??? I said my 13 year old sister paid CASH.

Fine, I said I had purchased something at the next register (6 and they were on 7) at the same time. If they looked up my purchase could they then look at register 7 at the same time for the transaction for South Park.

Again, denied.

After that Circuit City got ALL my business, that Christmas alone worth $3000. My husband still occasionally buys items and if I see them, I take them back. I will not reward a company with such a restrictive exchange policy with my business. It would be one thing if it was opened, another if it did NOT have a Best Buy sticker attached, another if I was demanding a refund, another if I wasn’t exchanging it for the EXACT same series, just the next seaon. I offered a way to look up the transaction, it would have taken a little bit of work but previously working in WalMart cash office gave me some insight on how store systems work and it COULD have been done with minimal work.

Okay, now that I have explained my refusal to purchase items from BB.

Today I went because Apple is 20 miles away, AT&T didn’t sell the case I wanted, and I figured wasting the gas to drive was a worse offense that just biting the bullet and walking into the store.

I did my research before I went. I really wanted another Agent 18 case since the one on my original iPhone served me well, but there are such BAD reviews about it on apple.com I looked for an alternative.

What I found was the Incase slider case for the iPhone 3G.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TU061LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDA0NA&mco=MjQzNTE0Ng

White was the only color they had and although I did decide on the white iPhone 3G, the white case just looks strange with the black trim on the front of the phone. I would have preferred black, but getting my iPhone protected is more important than the color choice IMO.

Since the iPhone 3G is a different size than the original, my screen protectors are not a perfect fit any longer. I picked up 5 anti-glare by DLO for $11.99 (on sale from $18.99). It went on the phone just like the ones I typically purchase from Apple, and for a LOT less money.

Finally, the Griffin dual charger (I have an iPhone 3G and a 60GB Video iPod, while hubby has a 30GB Video iPod) so I figured the extra charger couldn’t hurt. It was $49.99 but the reviews are good aside from complaints of no dock connector for the iPhone 3G which didn’t bother me since I would prefer to dock her in the case.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/TR330LL/A?fnode=MTY1NDAzOQ&mco=MjQyNDA1MA

While I find it irritating that the new iPhone 3G didn’t come with a dock, the adapter can’t be closed, and the iPhone doesn’t fit in the old iPhone dock, I have two sVideo docks, a univeral dock, and now this Griffin charger which should suit me fine.

Any accessory favorites you have for the iPhone 3G?

UPDATE: while MANY complain of the lack of a iPhone 3G dock connector, mine had one, #15.