The backside of your palm

Donna Hart is an unhappy Dell Computer customer. But she’s particularly peeved at the manufacturer of the personal digital assistant (PDA) she bought through Dell: a Palm m505.

No, this isn’t another column about how Dell disappoints technology users. I’m not interested in a protracted debate on the PC manufacturer. You probably aren’t either.

Instead, let’s hear from Hart and other Palm users in order to find out if there’s a back side to this popular PDA – and what you can do about it.

“I have found the Palm almost impossible to see,” she says. “It’s to the point where I don’t use it.”

Hart, who lives in Glen Ellyn, Ill., contact Palm’s customer service after seeing its new color product line in an e-mail. The m515 looked as if it was “wonderfully illuminated” and she asked if she could upgrade to one. No way, she was told.

So she called Palm’s customer service line. “The technician told me that my color drivers weren’t installed after running a few tests,” she recalls. Dell sent her a refurbished unit, but Hart says the screen was just as dull and difficult to read. “I am so ticked that they won’t at least sell me a new unit at their cost,” she adds.

Should you think twice about your next Palm purchase? Maybe, maybe not. I’m still impressed by the Palm operating system and what its potential with convergence devices such as cell phones. At the same time, I think Hart’s story serves as a cautionary tale: some computing devices shouldn’t be bough sight unseen.

That’s why I like Gateway’s stores. You can walk into one and see the computer, monitor or printer you’d like to buy. The Web is a convenient place to buy technology – so is the phone – but sometimes you’ve got to kick the virtual tires. Not being able to do so may end up costing you. Hart is left with a Palm that doesn’t meet her needs, and that’s just a waste of money.

Don’t think that Hart is the only person with this kind of PDA problem. Even experts like Bob Beilstein, a computer consultant in North Syracuse, New York, occasionally have a reason to complain about their Palm. “Mobitex isn’t available everywhere, and where it is available it’s dog slow,” he says of his Palm. “I use it all the time – especially for checking on flight status – but if there was a better alternative, I’d switch in a heartbeat.”

Of course not everyone is left high and dry when they purchase a Palm. Matt Turner, a Charleston, W.Va., communications consultant, is one such traveler. “I’ve owned a Palm III since they were released a few years ago and the customer service and technical support dealings I’ve had with that company have been consistently superb,” he reports. “Any phone calls have been answered very promptly and I received e-mail replies, with the correct solution on at least three occasions. All for free and well beyond the warranty period of my device.”

So is there a back side to Palm? Sure. But not everyone gets to see it. Turner hasn’t. Beilstein caught a glimpse of it and Hart saw the whole thing. The question, really, is how do you avoid seeing it – and what to do if you happen to. Answer: take a look at the PDA before you purchase one. Study the catalog, check out the specs online, but in the end, make sure you see what you’re buying before you actually give someone your credit card number.

And what if you’re stuck? The key is to make a decision to return the deficient product within 30 days (there’s usually an exchange or refund period). Don’t wait. Once that period is over you’re at the mercy of the manufacturer or reseller, and it can do whatever it wants to.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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