HP should offer a free hardware upgrade

[Jake Schwartz]

(06-04-2014 08:46 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  

(06-04-2014 08:26 PM)debrouxl Wrote:  I'd attribute that to the usual obnoxious interference from standardized testing regulation authorities.

Same with two-way IR communications. I remember when the HP-49 came out without an IR receiver many people on this forum were upset about its removal (along with being unhappy about the rubber keys, color choice, etc). Jean-Yves Avenard (JYA) explained that the two-way IR link feature disqualified the HP48 series from many educational institutions and test boards.

Right....and that was despite the fact that IR required line of sight plus the '48 had such a relatively short range (of only inches).

[Kevin Ouellet]

(06-02-2014 03:09 PM)Joe Horn Wrote:  Warning: This is a rant, written in anger. If unbiased pleasantries are what you came here for, press Back now.

I haven't been this ticked off since 1979. Then it was at Radio Shack. Now it's at HP.

Unless I misunderstand the US Federal Trade Commission, every purchaser of any product which "fails of its essential purpose" is entitled to a complete refund or replacement with a working product, even after the warranty expires. The wording is important; it does not refer to products that STOP working, but only those that NEVER do what they were SOLD to do. Since every Prime with rev A hardware (HP part number NW...) is totally unable to do what it was sold to do (wireless communication), the FTC says that you have the right to demand either a full refund of your money, or replacement of your Prime with a rev B machine... even after the 1-year warranty expires.

In simple terms, if a company sells you a lemon, then you never really received what you paid for, so they have no right to receive (or keep) your money. That's why this is often referred to as a "lemon law".

Example: In 1979 I bought a TRS-80 Model II with an external "Disk Expansion Unit" containing three 8-inch floppy drives. The expansion unit never worked correctly, so I took it in for repair. After a long time I got it back... and it still didn't work correctly, so I brought it back again for repair. After 4 iterations of this annoying and lengthy procedure, I finally gave up and asked for my money back. They said, "No, it's out of warranty. Sorry." I asked for the manager, and told him that the expansion unit failed of its essential purpose. He recognized the phrase immediately, and refunded my money without hesitation.

So either HP should publicly announce a free rev A / rev B swap (as they did for the HP-35 back in the day), or warn HP Legal that a class action lawsuit is brewing. I do not know HP's legal obligations to customers outside the USA, but I know what their moral obligation is.

Edit: The current FTC Uniform Commercial Code, Section 2-608 and following, uses the phrase "substantially impaired" to refer to lemons.

If I recall correctly, in Canada there are laws against false advertising which differs from province to province. However, since the HP Prime is not sold in Canada, then I don't know if laws would apply.

[Steve Simpkin]

(06-05-2014 05:16 PM)Jake Schwartz Wrote:  

(06-04-2014 08:46 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  Same with two-way IR communications. I remember when the HP-49 came out without an IR receiver many people on this forum were upset about its removal (along with being unhappy about the rubber keys, color choice, etc). Jean-Yves Avenard (JYA) explained that the two-way IR link feature disqualified the HP48 series from many educational institutions and test boards.

Right....and that was despite the fact that IR required line of sight plus the '48 had such a relatively short range (of only inches).

Very true and by design the communication range was only a few inches at best. Even so, the test boards can be a conservative bunch. What if evil doers, modified a pair of HP-48's to have a longer IR range - Gasp! In their minds they would rather be safe than sorry no matter how implausible the potential for cheating would be. They would be better off designing the tests so it did not require a calculator at all.

[HP67]

(06-05-2014 08:39 PM)Steve Simpkin Wrote:  They would be better off designing the tests so it did not require a calculator at all.

You would run TI out of the calculator business in one day

[CosmicTruth]

When I first started surveying in 1974 I had a glimpse of where the surveying industry was going.
HP does not even make these now (I wish they did) simple EDM's are robots now and GPS is trying to take over. When I saw the prime I decided to buy a 50G and wait to see what was next for touchscreen calculators.
Hearing your rants I'm glad i'm (still) waiting.

[Matt Kernal]

(06-02-2014 03:09 PM)Joe Horn Wrote:  I haven't been this ticked off since 1979... HP should publicly announce a free rev A / rev B swap (as they did for the HP-35 back in the day)..

[OT, but seamingly related on the fringe..]
Nathan Seidle, founder of SparkFun Electronics in Boulder CO (which is down the road from HP in Ft. Collins), posted this blog today: What to do when you screw up 2,000 orders. What impresses me is Nate's immediate and heartfelt resolve (read the article!) to remedy an issue with their cool new Microview Arduino-based microcontroller after a missing bootloader problem was discovered only two days earlier. SparkFun's solution is that they will be "shipping a replacement Microview for every defective unit that was shipped". Secondly, they will be posting a DIY tutorial on how to fix the bootloader issue, hopefully resulting in the early-adopter customer having second working instrument.

Nate's actions naturally remind me of a young Bill and Dave in the similar way they handled the first HP35s, simply because it was the right thing to do. Based on the positve comments posted below Nate's blog, it doesn't seem SparkFun should have any trouble keeping repeat customers, including myself.

[jebem]

(08-21-2014 09:04 AM)Matt Kernal Wrote:  

(06-02-2014 03:09 PM)Joe Horn Wrote:  I haven't been this ticked off since 1979... HP should publicly announce a free rev A / rev B swap (as they did for the HP-35 back in the day)..

Nathan Seidle, founder of SparkFun Electronics in Boulder CO (which is down the road from HP in Ft. Collins), posted this blog today: What to do when you screw up 2,000 orders.
(...) Secondly, they will be posting a DIY tutorial on how to (...)

Now, that DIY solution was exactly what I would like to be offered by HP to fix the small hardware issues found so far, considering that HP PRIME enclosure is so easy to open and work with.
Those, who like me, wiling to peek around in electronics for sure would be delighted.

HP could deliver this kit with a small charge fee to cover its manufacturing costs, with no warranties involved, as a "do it yourself at your own risk operation".
The production costs would be small for HP, considering the high volume manufacturing benefits from China plants.
And the benefits for HP, starting with some more satisfied customers passing the word around, could only be great.

This kit could be used by HP subsidiaries around the globe to fix the revision A calculators for their local customers as well.

The kit should contain:
1) A new keyboard key set, in black color;
2) A component set to fix the USB circuitry to handle the data collector and wi-fi (probably a replacement motherboard);
3) Step by Step instructions.

Now, how hard is this to accomplish?
Small companies can do it without shutting down their business, why can't HP?

[eried]

(08-21-2014 02:11 PM)jebem Wrote:  The kit should contain:
1) A new keyboard key set, in black color;
2) A component set to fix the USB circuitry to handle the data collector and wi-fi (probably a replacement motherboard);
3) Step by Step instructions.

Now, how hard is this to accomplish?
Small companies can do it without shutting down their business, why can't HP?

That would so funny to see! hahah

It remainds me about Fluke multimeter kit:

[jebem]

(08-21-2014 02:57 PM)eried Wrote:  It remainds me about Fluke multimeter kit:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFyEqcVpKLI

Hi, Erwin!
hehehe... "I only give negative feedback".... Excellent video presentation!

[frankymusic]

... don't know if everybody knows:

HP offers a free hardware upgrade!

I've gotten my Rev. C Prime today.

Frank

[jebem]

(10-16-2014 06:00 PM)frankymusic Wrote:  ... don't know if everybody knows:

HP offers a free hardware upgrade!

I've gotten my Rev. C Prime today.

Frank

Hi, Frank,
What should be the procedure for someone from Europe (Portugal)?

Tanks!
Jose

[frankymusic]

Hi Jose,

I'm living in Europe too (Germany).

I called the HP Support from a German telephone number. They asked me for a copy of the bill (via E-Mail) together with s/n of the Prime as well as my actual address data...

Unfortunately they want to receive the "old" Prime in their U.S. HP office...

The exchange afterwards is very fast!

Regards
Frank

[akmon]

Very interesting information. Thanks a lot.

I´m not very capable of speaking English fluently by phone, but I´m able to "defend" myself writing. Is it possible to send by this thread or mp the email address? I would like to try it.

Last question, did you send the calculator with the blister parcel that originally came from and the charger, or only the calculator with your own parcel?

Thanks in advance.

[frankymusic]

... the e-mail address is:

calcsupport.emea@hp.com

Only the calculator (wihout any accessory) should be sent to HP, no original blister required...

Write them an e-mail...

Frank

[jebem]

(10-16-2014 08:10 PM)frankymusic Wrote:  ... the e-mail address is:

calcsupport.emea@hp.com

Only the calculator (wihout any accessory) should be sent to HP, no original blister required...

Write them an e-mail...

Frank

Thank you, Frank!
Last question if I may: do we need to explain the reason for the exchange?
I mean, do we actually have to own a data streamer or other accessory that requires the new calculator model?

Cheers,
Jose

[eried]

(10-16-2014 06:00 PM)frankymusic Wrote:  ... don't know if everybody knows:

HP offers a free hardware upgrade!

I've gotten my Rev. C Prime today.

Frank

Did they shipped the calculator using DHL? how much DHL charged you?

[frankymusic]

(10-16-2014 09:17 PM)jebem Wrote:  Thank you, Frank!
Last question if I may: do we need to explain the reason for the exchange?
I mean, do we actually have to own a data streamer or other accessory that requires the new calculator model?

Cheers,
Jose

HP wrote:

"... we are offering a “no-questions asked” upgrade to the new HP Prime 1.1 hardware as an exchange program. This is a world-wide program and all upgrade units are shipping out of HP’s US facility."


Frank

[frankymusic]

(10-16-2014 11:56 PM)eried Wrote:  Did they shipped the calculator using DHL? how much DHL charged you?

Yes, the Prime was delivered via DHL-Express.

Frank

[Thomas_Sch]

Hello Frank,

what shipping method (costs? ) do you suggest sending the old prime to HP US (from germany) ?

Many thanks!
Thomas

[mop80087]

(10-17-2014 07:13 AM)frankymusic Wrote:  

(10-16-2014 09:17 PM)jebem Wrote:  Thank you, Frank!
Last question if I may: do we need to explain the reason for the exchange?
I mean, do we actually have to own a data streamer or other accessory that requires the new calculator model?

Cheers,
Jose

HP wrote:

"... we are offering a “no-questions asked” upgrade to the new HP Prime 1.1 hardware as an exchange program. This is a world-wide program and all upgrade units are shipping out of HP’s US facility."


Frank

I would like to thank Frank(frankymusic) for taking this kind of information, I think it's in the interest to all of us.

Cumprimentos
Best regards/Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Diamantino