We're not sure who or what is putting these
XPS M1330 laptops together for
Dell, but not only are they having a horrible time of it even getting the laptops out the door, but this particular man's shipment was just a little lacking in the quality department when it arrived two weeks
ahead of the estimated ship date. The $2k+ laptop looked fine at first glance, but when Pradeep popped it open and hit the power button, it immediately booted to a blank, white, flickering screen. After 10 minutes, nothing had changed, no Dell logo, Vista boot screen or anything -- not only had Dell forgotten an OS, they didn't even manage to squeeze in a system BIOS before they shipped this one. That wasn't all that Dell screwed up on this M1330, the power button is defective, the Microsoft seal underneath the machine is partially ripped and burned, there's a problem with a grill cover protruding, and the WiFi radio switch is so loose it almost falls off when pushed back and forth. Sure, this is just one guy's experience with one M1330, and his mom got a similar computer -- after a much longer shipment wait -- that worked just fine, but we're still thinking Dell might try and shore up quality control just a little bit before somebody manages to get something shoddier than this out the door. Dell's giving Pradeep a new laptop, labeled "priority" in the build queue, and offered him a $50 gift certificate for his trouble.
Update: After spotting this article, Dell contacted us for help getting a hold of Pradeep, and is currently helping expedite his new system. Pradeep did say his replacement was already "priority" before this article went up, but we're sure the PR people are going to speed things up considerably for him. Of course, this is just one person's experience, and we hope Dell will show the same courtesy to everyone involved in the M1330 fiasco -- or better yet, start shipping these things intact and on time!
Update 2: Dell hit us up, apparently after doing some diags on Pradeep's machine, they claim to have discovered that while the M1330 in question did have Windows installed on its drive, just so happens that whomever assembled the system didn't connect the LCD's LVDS to the motherboard. Not that that's much better or anything. Anyway, it seems like all's well that ends well for Pradeep, but we aren't sure we can say the same for the rest of Dell's M1330 customers.
posted August 23rd 2007 1:52PM
Man's XPS M1330 arrives sans OS, quality.....
Engadget staff "burned" by new MS Security sticker!
I see Engadget post all the time without really understanding things, but I guess it's hard to know about everything. There is probably nothing wrong with this laptop except the bios and os. Which is bad, but to mention the Vista sticker, they all look like that! How could the poster not know this. I doubt the power button is defective at all if it had a bios installed.
How COULD Engadget staff know anything about any Windows machine? Half of them are too busy writing on their pretty little Macs, and the other half are busy blowing Steve Jobs.
JC's comment having the 'highest ranked' status can't be good for company morale. lol.
Dude...you got a Dell...
Better than a Mac.
/They see me trollin' they hatin
Well, hehe, I was a frontline dell technician for about 6 months, and I can tell you all that they do this crap a LOT. Also, there are issues with returns to the depot for repairs. mostly, "Techs" would not even open the covers on the portables, but occasionaly would send it back in WORSE condition. I think Dell needs a major overhaul
physically, there's nothing terribly wrong w/ this laptop. there are minor problems w/ fit and finish, but that's about it. it will look much worse after a few months of use.
This is the best titled entry I've seen on Engadget for a long time
Makes you wonder what computers Dell should be running through the saw.
'nuff said
It's good his laptop didn't come with vista...it sucks anyways!
Why is everyone obsessing over the stupid CD Key being posted? It isn't like you really need one anyway there are dozens of cracks out for any version of Windows Vista, most of them even let you do the windows updates without any problem. Heck a buddy of mine has a DVD that he downloaded with every version of Vista on it with the fully working crack. I'm not interested in it since I really don't want Vista right now, that and I'm not into the whole piracy thing.
I just ordered two DELL Precision 390 PCs with Windows XP Pro and upon boot-up discovered they had installed XP Home Edition. We have the CDs for Windows XP pro so will try to upgrade to that, but it hasn't impressed me.
I call bullshit on this article. Not that I don't believe the system was damaged or in bad condition. I call bullshit in that:
1. As stated above, it's normal for the Certificate of Authenticity to have the middle scraped. I'm not sure of the point of it, but all modern MS stickers I see are like this now.
2. How do you know the HD ships sans OS if the bios was not working? It's likely the OS was fine, but wouldn't boot if the bios was malfunctioning.
I second John's comment... could just be a loose connector.
HA! "ripped Microsoft Seal", what a n00b :D
hahaa.... gotta go dell now eh?
So much excitement over the sticker , I thought there were boobs on it ...
The reason the the edge looks rough around the power button is beacuse he has not removed the protective layer.
But thanks engadget - hopefuly a few people will cancel their orders and I can get mine.
I got a brand-new HP dv9428 nr from best buy that had almost exactly the same problems (except the no OS thing). I had a bulge on the top speaker grille and it looked like someone at the factory tried hitting it with there fist to get it down.... yeah, i got a different one after that.
The M$ sticker was burnt too.. not just scratched off, but it looked like someone held a lighter to it.
Do these things all get assembled in the same place? My feelings were hurt when i got my new laptop damaged...... I got the Best Buy geeks to come through though and do an exchange for me. i think there is a few disgruntled assembler-bots or mexicans or whatever they use that are sick of not being able to afford their own computers having to build them all day or something.
I know the retail companies do not sell refurbished equipment, but i'm sure that HP salvages parts just like any of us do who build our own rigs.
If you want to buy a troubled laptop with a horrible track record, buy a MacBook.
I'll never buy a Dell again. This is just typical of the experience I've had with Dell. Mine was ordered 7/15. They've changed the shipping date about four times, after customer service promised me that the computer would be shipping within 1,2 and 4 days of my telephone call. Each time, it was a different excuse (white, new display, processor and DVD drive). To top it all off, they still haven't been able to change the shipping address to the correct one. The computer is supposed to ship to California (my daughter's at school), but they continue to list New Jersey (home) as the shipping address. They tell me they can't change it because it's in process.
Recently, they began advising me of the delays, and requesting my permission for each additional delay (two this week alone!). I really wanted to cancel, but my daughter has rented a laptop for now, and really wants the system. I don't want to start over with another Dell. I've tried to talk her into a Sony, but she wants the white??!!
Anyway, this is my last Dell. While the customer service people have tried, they've been totally ineffective. Every promise they have made so far has been broken. I went to corporate, who really blew me off and didn't care at all. I guess what's one customer???
Take my advice, look at a Sony or Mac