Do I want a (possibly defective) NR70V?

[Steve44]

Hello everyone.. I have spent pretty much the last six weeks deciding which PDA I want and I have now settled on the NR70V. I was really happy with that choice when I made it a week and a half ago, but now my excitement is waning.

I planned to buy an NR70V at Best Buy since they had it advertised for $349. They also said they might have a refurb around that would be 15% off, or about $300. This is an awesome price and it's an awesome organizer. But unfortunately, Best Buy can't find me one.

Their computers show they have a handful in stock at every store, but in actuality these are all units that are defective or returns that are currently being serviced. There are over a dozen of these problem units between just three stores. The last store I went to actually had a guy who knew what was up: he said the NR70V was one of the worst PDA's of recent memory in terms of the number of defective units. He said there have been massive recalls of these pieces, and furthermore that the recalls were intermittent throughout the product's life.

This makes me worry: I have seen lots of great posts on this board of people loving their NR70's, but it also makes me wonder whether those who got defective ones are just the people who are posting on the NX70/NX60 board instead.

What do you think? If I am able to find a refurb at Best Buy is it worth getting? Saving money now isn't worth wasting time on a defective product. If I can find one in a box for a higher price elsewhere, will there be a big chance that something won't work on it?

Thanks in advance for your input... -Steve

[nevarDeath]

i was super happy with mt nr70v for the 6 months 8 had it. I'd say you have even less to worry about if you're getting a refurbished unit, but i would urge you to take a look at the sharp zaurus before you decide. I traded my NR70v for the zaurus and the zaurus is the best PDA I've ever owned. (in fact I'm typing this on the zaurus) but if this will be your first PDA and you don't know anything about linux then go for the NR70v, but if you're familiar with Linux, the zaurus is the only way to go

[nevarDeath]

just keep in mind that the zaurus has a built-in keyboard and plays MP3's and DivX out of the box AND you can buy a zaurus along with the 3.5 megapixels camera for a small bit more than the NR check out http://www.myzaurus.com for more info and if you order it from http://www.pagecomputers.com then it's cheaper....this site has the lowest prices on the device and camera...and they must be reliable since cnet posts their prices on their page

[rollcage]

If you can try it at the store (MS, Keyboard, Screen, Hinges etc) you'll be fine-go for it!
I had a bad experience with Sony: bought a refurb NR70: It came in a brown box, the accesories weren't even secured in the box, no wrapping around the cradle so it was all scratched, Clie screen was defective, clie case wasn't even snapped together properly and the little black plastic thingy on the top of the screen was loose! It really looked like they hadn't even looked at it before shipment!

[grifter]

I wouldn't worry about purchasing a refurbished NR70, so long as the unit was sent back to Sony for repair.  The refurbished units have a 90 day warranty.  You should also check the store's return policy, just in case something does go wrong.

Another alternative is to purchase one on the Internet.  Two websites that sell reburbished NR70s at a good price is www.overstock.com (http://www.overstock.com) and www.ubid.com (http://www.ubid.com)

[shrimphunt]

I bought a refurb NR70 from Sony.com it work awesome, and it was only $330.

[rob_squared]

Wow, I just looked at Zaurus. If I wasn't so entrenched in palm and the screen was a little bit bigger I would get it in a heartbeat.

[tuda]

I'm a believer in manufacturer refurbished items. I've gotten my camera that way, and my Sony Clie NR70...both work fine. I got mine at www.ubid.com//got the NR70 (one w/o camera) for 249.

The trick is to make sure it says manufacturer refurbished, cause then you get the warrenty. The one time I had a problem, ubid had me send it back to them and gave me my money back. But, I've bought quite a few refurbished items, and only once did that happen.

Good luck.

[RichInKC]

Originally posted by shrimphunt
I bought a refurb NR70 from Sony.com it work awesome, and it was only $330.

I have to agree.  I bought my NR70V from the Sony clearance section on their website with six months interest free.  Have had absolutely no problems with it and I am very happy with it.  If you order a refurb, make sure it is from a credible outlet with a good return policy.  For instance, I would stay away from EBay auctions, but would recommend something like Overstock.com.

[Steve44]

Thanks for all your input. My short answer is that I'm really close to just shelling out the extra dough for an NX70V. But first let me clarify my concern:

I'm all for refurbished items, but I'm also a salesman for electronic music equipment, so I know there are different types of refurbs. Some refurbs are simple things like dinged items, damaged in shipping and then repaired pieces, or trade-show or store sample demos. But others are really messed up pieces, like ones that were used by endorsees for six months on tour and then were supposedly refurbished, but actually only looked at briefly by some technician and then thrown in a crappy box.

In this specific case, the scenario is that any refurbished item remaining from Best Buy is likely one that has not just been returned because somebody didn't like it, but it's been returned because it was defective, and then it was repaired, resold, and returned again for some other problem. Since it's late in the life of the product, I expect practically every unit I'd find now was either on display for two years in some store, or was used, returned, fixed, used, returned, fixed, and so on however many times.

If I could get some nice computer store to sell me an NR70V for $349 brand new, or even $399, I'd do it in a heartbeat. For me to buy one from Best Buy or really anywhere right now for $299 or less would really require some serious thought. I'm worried that I'll invest some time into it and then it will break down on _ME_ just like it did to its previous three or more owners. And if it does that, then the money I saved on the original purchase price is lost in work time. That's why I'm leaning towards the current model.

Well, that, and the lack of "full screen mode" support of the standard NR70 applications. If I have to download and reinstall all the NX series apps on the NR, I'm not sure that's worth my time either.

[Steve44]

nevarDeath,

Thanks for the note on the Zaurus. some quick questions: How does the keyboard feel for handheld operation? I am a longtime Sharp organizer owner, so I expect its keyboard to be pretty nice. Does it have better button feel than the Sony Clie?

How long is the device - it seems to be quite longer looking than the Clie or any other sizeable handheld. Is it heavy?
Do you know of any dealers that stock the product so I could go check it out, or is it only available on line?

Also, how are the basic applications that come with it? Are they similar to the Palm/Clie style To Do list, Memo, Calendar, and so on? Does it have a Graffiti window? Does it have a script transcriber?

Oh, and finally the one important software tool for me is a completely linked todo/calendar/address book software that lets you insert names from the address book into your calendar, reminder and to do entries. Is there anything like that built in, or available for the SL5500?

Thanks, Steve