Quality control problems

[mrloserpunk]

Originally Posted by girish133

Dude, who is barging into this forum? Who's the owner of this forum? You speak as if you are.

As with all analogies, yours is incomplete along with the following addition to it... If the beer on tap has some defect from the brewery so that a good percentage of people are getting sick from it, I would expect the bar owner and patrons to appreciate being informed there might be a problem with the quality control at the brewery. Surely, they should be open enough to discuss the possibility instead of being immediately personally attacked and accused.

The OP nor I have done any Pre bashing. If that's the way you see it and that's what you call bashing, fine, but considering a good number of people are bringing up these points and others on the forum affirming them there probably is some merit to them.

So you are saying that this is the best place to air your grievances about the Pre and Palms Quality Control? Somehow he would get restitution if he could just get enough people to say similar things? or enough people to thank him?? I still don't understand why here. The Pre like all devices has problems. Instead of venting on an enthusiasts website why not go to palm? And don't be silly, he knew the response he would get here. I Dispute that there is an issue with their quality control. I think this is the Wrong forum to vent on your frustration about the quality control. This would be the best place to go Palm USA - Mobile Products for Consumers, Professionals, and Businesses

[MoonKS]

I ignored my dead pixels - no worries there for me. The screen (or more correct - the touch capacitive subscreen beneath the main screen) on mine cracked from the center button and radiated outward across my screen - like many I have been hearing about on these forums, Palm's forums and other online sources as well as from my local Best Buy.

I do Six Sigma for a living - I know about QC and process improvement and reducing manufacturing errors and defects. I have no exact numbers - but the anecdotal evidence is speaking to a defect that Palm will likely have to address.

[creatorbri]

I have owned my Pre since release day. I have to agree with the O.P. -- the Pre is NOT a high quality piece of hardware. I felt that way even before my screen developed the Mysterious Spontaneous Crack (MSC). And I don't want to be negative, but WebOS is not perfect either -- the phone, in particular, has some really odd quirks that are very tough to get used to.

I really like the Pre overall -- the multitasking alone makes me willing to overlook a lot of other problems, and I've really enjoyed following the Homebrew community. But IF you are thinking about buying a Pre, BUY A GOOD CASE for it, DEFINITELY get the Full Total Equipment Protection plan from Sprint, and keep in mind that having to get a replacement (at a price of $100 IF you get the insurance) is a serious possibility.

[hellbinder]

Originally Posted by tozfeekum

sorry guys but he's right, the build quality of this phone compared to the iphone is just horrible. Every pre i've gotten has dead pixels and or light bleeding. I've had 5 iphones and none of them had those issues, or any other hardware issues. I might just be unlucky, who knows.

Why did you have 5 iPhones if you said non of them had issues?

[McCarthy]

Originally Posted by bostongio

After reading threads here and on other Pre forums, you come to the inevitable conclusion that the Palm Pre has serious quality control issues. The build quality is apparently all over the map, with some users having exchanged their handsets as many as 3 times to try and get a "good" one (meanwhile, I'm certain those returned handsets are going back out as refurbs after being quickly checked over, wiped, and cleaned up).

This is really too bad. Competing against a high build quality handset like the iPhone means it just stands out all the more. Between the screen blotches, the overheating, screen cracking, the slider becoming loose (or resetting the phone!), it just seems like someone is sleeping in the quality control department. However, some things, like the overheating issue, *had* to have been a "known issue" long before they started production. You had engineers using these things for months and they never noticed it get hot, causing the screen to blotch?!

Please, Palm, stop production and get it right! You are shooting yourselves in the foot with the poor build quality, and turning even your most positive advocates against you. This could very well be your swan song if you don't pay attention to these details. Your engineers have designed a great OS, but we need a reliable, high-quality handset to deliver it.

I am truly on the fence. I know how long it takes to tool up for production, so anyone thinking a new hardware version is coming any time soon is dreaming. But perhaps they could tighten up tolerances and increase QC more, and ensure their suppliers are engineering parts to spec.

I would buy a Pre in a second if it didn't have so many (and so variable) quality build issues. But I refuse to pay this kind of price and be locked into a new 2 year contract for a great new phone with no idea whether I'll be getting a dud or a decent handset. (And if I do get a dud, having to go through the hassle of going back and forth with the store -- which is not close -- for exchanges...)

I'll wait a little longer to see if any of this stuff gets better, but I'm disappointed that Palm skimped on these details when they sent the phone into production. As a Sprint customer for nearly a decade, I really would hate to leave them for the far inferior AT&T, but it's getting to the point where the lack of modern smartphone choices on Sprint is infuriating.

I want to believe and purchase the Pre, so please, get it together!!

Seeing as i own and love my pre, and had a "Second batch", I haven't exchanged it yet, but it been fine besides the runners breaking in a little bit, and the screen tends to stick on the keys when pushed up with your thumb from teh bottom edge, maybe dirt or maybe somethings out of wack, and little tiny annonaces here and their. And as long as Palm/SPrint doesn't give me any crap when i walk in for an exchange next week (if anything gets worse) I'll happily go back and forth...

It's a good phone, but a new launch will have its bugs, Hence why smarter people wait 6 to 8 months before buying the newest playstation, to avoid "launch date troubles" same thing with this phone (plus exculusivity will be dropped in the future)

Lets not forget how many problems they had with the iPhone when it first came out..........

[lldsandsll]

i have to agree with the OP. while i love the phone, its build quality is horrendous. my first pre was so loose it rattled all over the place. it also had a dozen or so dead pixels. the power button on my second one did not even work, plus that one had dead pixels. the only good thing about the second one was that it was tight and slid perfectly. my third one now is loose and rattles like crazy too. whats the point in putting your phone on vibrate when it buzzes as loud as the ringer cuz of how loose the plastic is? this one also over slides, and you can feel its sharp edges even when the phone closes.

i will be going in this weekend for my forth pre. this time around i will be inspecting the **** out of it before i walk away.

[pre n00b]

Originally Posted by creatorbri

I have owned my Pre since release day. I have to agree with the O.P. -- the Pre is NOT a high quality piece of hardware. I felt that way even before my screen developed the Mysterious Spontaneous Crack (MSC). And I don't want to be negative, but WebOS is not perfect either -- the phone, in particular, has some really odd quirks that are very tough to get used to.

I really like the Pre overall -- the multitasking alone makes me willing to overlook a lot of other problems, and I've really enjoyed following the Homebrew community. But IF you are thinking about buying a Pre, BUY A GOOD CASE for it, DEFINITELY get the Full Total Equipment Protection plan from Sprint, and keep in mind that having to get a replacement (at a price of $100 IF you get the insurance) is a serious possibility.

Agreed, it is a matter of compramise between weak hardware and fantastic capabilities...

In my case, I also have the converse compramise because I also bought an iPhone 3gs (with excellent hardware but no multi-tasking) in order to use real world tests to choose my next phone.

Sadly, having both in my hands has not led to a clearcut winner...