Below is the slightly long tale of my experience of Toshibas customer service. Im happy to say that it has been *excellent*. The staff have been friendly and actually take the trouble to read call logs to ensure they dont ask redundant questions. I even was able to speak to the engineer who was looking at my PDA (in fact, he contacted me!).
Been talking to toshiba about my battery issues on the e750 - they are being very helpful and have acknowledged that they can see the problem. They are talking to their RnD people to try to resolve the problem for me - great!
I asked about hardware info again and hopefully we'll see something useful soon!
*UPDATE* 09/09/2003Phoned again today wondering where the PDA was. aparently I should get it back tomorrow, repaired. Some more progress on getting tech docs, too. I forgot to ask what happened to my battery...
As a person with Aspergers Syndrome, I had been wanting a PDA for a long time that had the features I wanted, not only to help me overcome some of my daily difficulties, but also to replace some of the half a dozen other gadgets I carry around with me.
I bought a Toshiba e740, after about 3 years waiting for a PDA, during which no devices had quite the right features. The e740 was perfect - smaller, lighter than most, and with the most connectivity I could find in such a device. A removeable battery too!
Sadly, my PDA developed a few problems, specifically, that it would reset going into its cradle, and had an annoying backround clicking when recording audio. The wireless lan switch was also AWOL, and the video output on an external monitor was 'noisy'
I contacted Toshiba who agreed to service the unit despite it being bought in Canada, not the UK (where I live), and awaited pickup. It was whilst waiting for pickup (which took about 10 days because the courier didnt bring packaging as I had expected them to), that the external VGA and wlan switch problems were noticed.
I contacted Toshiba to inform them of this, and they told me that they would *replace* my PDA, and, not only that, with a UK model, which would avoid any future warranty issues!
Needless to say, I accepted this offer, and eagerly awaited my replacement. Unfortunately, due to the way in which Toshibas' internal systems work, my PDA was returned to me in error, albeit with a new wlan switch.
I rang Toshiba again today (Fri, Feb 28, 2003), and they have informed me that my PDA will be picked up by courier on Monday, and, with luck, a new one can be with me by Wednesday.
I dont know about you, but in my eyes, this is service beyond the call of duty. I was expecting the usual wrangling with a large corporation, but Toshiba staff have been friendly, intelligent, and actually take the trouble to read my call log, rather than ask the same questions over and again. I certainly wasnt expecting a new machine!
I'll finish this log on Wednesday (hopefully) when I get my PDA back.
*UPDATE* 11/03/2003
Since the above the PDA was returned with a new mobo (but the same serial number) and the same audio/video problems.
I rang Toshiba to find out what went wrong, and was told that the machine SHOULD have been replaced. They also asked if the problem was fixed (it wasnt) and said that 'if it had been fixed we could have come to an arrangement, however, since the problems remain, please send it back in again.'
That was about 10 days ago, and I rang them again today (11/03/2003) to find out the progress.
It turns out that the problem with my device is pervasive in the e740 line, and that the customer services people are waiting to hear from their technical people in germany (where the e740 is built).
Given this, I asked if I could have my device back in the mean-time, which Toshiba CS have agreed to. I should have it back by this thursday.
So, so far, service is still excellent, and Im told I will be informed about the problem ASAP. nice one Toshiba
*UPDATE*12/03/2003
Timely service again (well done). My (defective) PDA is back with me for now, whilst I await a response from toshiba regarding the flawed audio.
It occurred to me that no-one I spoke to had mentioned the other (more serious, in that it points to a possible fault) problem with the PDA, which is that it will sometimes reset itself on insertion into the cradle.
I rang Toshiba to ask about this and spoke to someone I hadnt come across before. They admitted that they had heard of PDAs doing this, but their explanation of why this happens doesnt tally with my investigations on my PDA.
My PDA *very rarely* resets itself on insertion to the cradle, *if* the USB lead is disconnected from my PC. if it is connected, even if only the ground sheath, the PDA is far more likely to reset itself.
Apparently, this is not a common fault in this model, but then - the audio flaw was unheard of until now too.
Anyhow, still waiting for a response from Germany...
What worries me now is that both of my problems (the audio and the resetting) would seem to point towards a poor design or weak components in the power supply/grounding of the device. (Note: this may have been fixed in late model e740s according to rumour 22/08/2003)
Oh yes, and the guy I spoke to (colin, although a different colin from who I spoke to before), said that the audio 'glitch' when recording was 'within specifications'. Well, IMHO, a device sporting a CD quality (44KHz) recording option, should *NOT* be recording pops in the audio that dont exist...
*UPDATE* 25/04/2003
Just spoken *directly* to the tech who is investigating my PDA (nice service!). Im told that the problem is largely mitigated (75% or so) with the latest software release, however, it is probably a hardware defect (as I suspected), since the problem is worse when things like IrDA is enabled, etc.
After a productive discussion, Toshiba will be getting back to me soon. We'll see, but Im feeling much happier now. They do seem genuinely interested in getting things sorted to my satisfaction ASAP.
*UPDATE* 25/04/2003
Later the same day... Got a call from Toshiba - they have agreed to get me an e750 model. great stuff.
*UPDATE* 29/04/2003
My new PDA has been checked out and is ready for shipping. I am *very* pleased to be able to reveal that Toshiba have actually decided to replace the *entire* kit - the cradle, powersupply, and PDA! Nice one Toshiba!
*UPDATE* 01/05/2003
Received my new PDA and kit today. I must say that Toshiba have a gift for understatement... I was told the audio problems were 'mostly' gone in the e750, yet I cannot hear them at all, even with AGC switched on!
The new device is superb - the new screen is larger than that of the e740, and more vibrant with blacker blacks even with the backlight on full.
The audio options are improved also, with nicer volume controls, and better control over the mic gain. The new machine also seems about twice as fast at reading / writing to CF cards, and has a built in flash disk (32MB) as well
It also has the later PXA255 CPU which has fewer bugs than the earlier PXA250 in the e740 (those are intels fault, mind you). This means that it is actually one of the (if not THE) first PDAs to 'really' run at 400MHz properly - the CPUs internal bus actually runs at 200MHz, unlike the 100MHz of the PXA250.
Hopefully, this will be the last log entry. Im certainly very happy with the new device, and, although time will tell, it seems to be a solid well thought out product. I would recommend the e750 to anyone looking for a powerful PDA right now.
Thankyou Toshiba!