warranty

Going to a retail store for consumer electronics purchases can be both exciting and frustrating. After working at Best Buy for two years, I have a few opinions to share that you might want to consider before your next shopping trip.

1. We have no formal training in the field of consumer electronics. Upon transferring to the computer department from home theater, I expressed concern to the manager: "Will there be time for someone to train me on laptops/desktops? What do these specifications mean?" His reply was simple: "Just do your best. A good salesperson can just read the labels and compare specs." Ouch.

Salespeople are not necessarily experts in the products sold in their departments, even if they are expert salespeople. Though many express a strong interest in the products they sell, your time spent at a retail store fishing for information about a future TV purchase could be better spent online researching the products yourself (I heard CNET has pretty great reviews).

2. We make little off the big-ticket items, so we smother you with accessories. Remember the story "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie"? Well, if you tell a salesman you're going to buy a TV, he's going to want to sell you a DVD player to go with it. Once he sells you the DVD player, he's going to want to get you to buy an HDMI cable, too.

Managers at Best Buy (and possibly all retailers) tell employees that the store profits surprisingly little from video game consoles and computers. Cables, accessories, mice, and other components, however, have a huge profit margin-- stores can make about $120 from a $150 Monster HDMI cable. Angry yet? The point is, we're going to work really hard to convince you to purchase that big item, but once you've said "OK" you've opened Pandora's Box.

Here's my advice: Grab the big item, and run. Purchase all accessories online, including memory cards, cables, traveling cases, and so on. Amazon, Monoprice, and Newegg are all reputable discount Web sites. You'll find what you need at a much lower price.… Read more

But you can point north if you wear a belt of a dozen or so magnets all the time. We'll explain. Also Palm Pre is coming for $200 and we have some rumored next-generation specs. Oh and about 300 car stories, 'cause you know. Cooley is on the show.

Palm Pre to arrive June 6 for $200 http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10244423-1.html

Next-gen iPhone specs, launch date revealed? http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/05/next-gen-iphone-specs-launch-date-revealed/

Biz Stone on Twitter: … Read more

I get this one a lot, what should I do about my--fill-in-the-blank--broken headphones, buzzing speakers, static noises, intermittent sound, or when my subwoofer stops subbing?

Only rarely can I solve the problem with a quick fix; I always first advise contacting the dealer or Web site that sold you the product. Service is their responsibility and if they don't provide it, you shouldn't buy from them.

Of course, the best time to ask about service is before you buy any product. Will they replace a product if it fails within 90 days of purchase? Do they pay for return shipping? I'm talking about audio products here, but that advice works for any tech purchase. … Read more

Finally, Microsoft and the Linux Foundation agree on something. Neither wants to stand behind their products. OK, OK, that's not fair.

However, the Linux group and software maker are both opposing a law group's proposal that would create an implied warranty that software products ship with no material defects.

The two joined forces on a letter to the American Law Institute taking issue with its proposal. Microsoft and the Linux Foundation believe the proposal could do more harm than good.

"While the principles reflect a lot of hard work and thought by the ALI, Microsoft and the … Read more

First, there was the Red Ring of Death (RRoD) epidemic. It struck thousands of early Xbox 360s and led Microsoft to announce in 2007 that it would repair all afflicted consoles free of charge and offer an extended three-year warranty on those machines.

The latest XBox 360 bug? The "E74 error," which has become enough of problem that Microsoft has had to announce that it will repair all consoles affected by it--and extend its three-year warranty to cover any potential E74 problems.

Like the Red Ring of Death, it's not hard to figure out whether you have … Read more

As klutzy Apple laptop users know, damage from spilled water, coffee, or other liquids is not covered under the standard warranty. To uncover any potential for warranty fraud, it's rumored the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has installed liquid sensors in its new line of MacBooks and MacBook Pros. CNET's Kara Tsuboi looks into the rumored move and the potential for false-positives.

As it kicks off its Nvision conference Monday in San Jose, Calif., chipmaker Nvidia must be hoping that the N stands for "new" and "now"--and not "no thanks."

Nvidia is trying to shake off a tough second quarter and is staring down a slump in earnings tied to chip glitches and stiffer competition from rival Advanced Micro Devices. The home page for the Nvision 08 conference urges interested parties to "join the visual revolution" and promises attendees two days' worth of "jaw-dropping visual wonderment" in the realms of games, movies, and science.

A big chunk of the graphics chip supplier's woes stem from a $196 million second-quarter charge taken for defective graphics processors. Though Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has said that the "failures are only seen in a small percentage of all the chips," Hewlett-Packard and Dell have listed a number of models affected by the glitch.

A possibly bigger challenge is AMD's resurgent ATI graphics chip unit. Huang said in the second-quarter earnings conference call that his company had "underestimated" the price and performance of AMD's latest graphics chips, leading Nvidia to "to misposition our fall lineup" of chips.

(See: "AMD reclaims the high-end 3D card belt.")

AMD's recently introduced midrange and high-end graphics boards have been well-received and typically come at a discount to Nvidia boards that are roughly equal in performance. This forced Nvidia to cut prices on its performance graphics chips.

What does Nvidia think about AMD's new products? "Our competition has built a nice product but...the nice things that people write about their product is that it's well-priced," according to Huang, speaking during the earnings call.

Analysts confirm that AMD is making inroads. "(It's) pretty discernible. Certainly desktop standalone graphics, they've seen improvement there," said Dean McCarron, the principal and founder of Mercury Research, a company that tracks chip market movements. … Read more

There's a new self-serve extended warranty program for consumer goods launching Saturday night: GreenUmbrella. Unlike the typical extended warranties you may get when you buy products, this is an umbrella plan: $9.95 a month covers nearly everything you own. It's a good deal when compared with other extended warranties, although that's not saying much.

The cool thing with GreenUmbrella is that if you are on the plan, you can just say, "No, thanks" when the drone at Best Buy tries to push the extended warranty on you. The GreenUmbrella program covers repairs to your computers, game consoles, cameras, refrigerators, TVs, air conditioners, etc. Anything less than $5,000 is eligible, and is covered for three years from purchase date.

To get a new purchase into the system, all you have to do is go online and enter the info about it. You don't need your receipts to register a product, but you will when you file a claim.

Repairs are handled by The Warranty Group, which maintains a network of certified repair shops for consumer goods. When you call in with a claim, ultimately you'll be routed to one of their providers for the repair or replacement of your item.

There are limitations, however. The service does not cover accidental breakage, doesn't cover your mobile phone, and doesn't cover products more than 3 years old. Also, keep in mind that all new products come with their own warranties. If you have a device that fails during the period of the warranty that comes with the product, GreenUmbrella might help a bit by offering a smoother experience through its service bureau, or by covering, perhaps, consumable parts (like a projector bulb) on a repair for a product whose native warranty only covers malfunctions.

But for the most part, the GreenUmbrella plan only covers products during their most healthy period--the two-plus years that fall between the product's in-warranty infancy (when it is most likely to fail), and its slip into creaky senescence when it's more likely to suffer wear-related problems or become obsolete. It's when you are most likely to need the plan that your products will not be eligible for its services.

… Read more

Scoot over and make room for another member of the green-trend bandwagon; Samsung just threw itself into the mix. Today, it announced its PrintCycle program aimed at businesses looking to get eco-friendly. The basic premise comes from the idea that the quality of a workhorse printer dwindles over time. Most people conjure images of a certain scene from Office Space when they're ready to dispose of their units, but Samsung's offering a better solution: Get a new printer on the vendor's bill.

Here's the plan: three years after your initial purchase date, Samsung will come break … Read more