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Palm Pre trouble roundup

by Chris Ziegler posted Jun 7th 2009 at 8:52PM

So we've been doing this whole gadget blogging thing for a while now, and we've noticed a timeline trend with these major, buzz-filled launches. They tend to go something like this:

T minus 2 hours: lines reach critical mass across the country; odds are you'll find some of us in those lines. Camaraderie amongst line-waiters is at a high, but it's a guarded emotion -- the scene'll turn ugly the second inventory runs out.
T minus 30 minutes: for morning lines (particularly those where folks have waited overnight), store managers come out and offer coffee and pastries. Anything less is uncivilized -- don't hesitate to complain.
T minus 0 minutes: the gizmo goes on sale.
T plus 1 hour: the first teardowns and cost estimates hit the web.
T plus 4 hours: mass (or at least loud) complaints of manufacturing defects, bugs, and shortcomings start cropping up.

It's still too early to tell whether the Pre is more, less, or equally as defective as any other blockbuster product in recent memory, but as you might expect, there are plenty of issues being sporadically reported in the first weekend of availability and it'll be interesting to see how Palm spins and handles them. Here are a few we're tracking:

A good number of early adopters are reporting "splotchy," distorted, or discolored displays (we've seen reports of dead pixels, too, though we'd actually be more weirded out if there weren't). See examples here, here, and here.
We've also heard reports of unexpected system shutdowns (like those reported in the LAPTOP piece above) that require a battery pull to resolve. We're hearing that you can also patch this up by holding down the power button and toggling the ringer switch three times, but your mileage may vary. If we had to guess, this'll be fixed up with a firmware update at some point, which really drives home the value of OTA capability.
Text fields in the web browser don't seem to support symbols that aren't on the keyboard (that is, symbols you need to hold down "Sym" to access). We've independently verified this one, and it's nasty -- it'll be particularly bad once the phone launches internationally, so we'd also expect this to be patched sooner rather than later.

If you've noticed anything else, drop us a line in comments -- we think Palm and Sprint are both motivated to make this launch a smooth one, and something tells us their ears are firmly planted to the ground right now.

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Nokia's Ovi Store overwhelmed at launch, apology issued

by Darren Murph posted May 27th 2009 at 12:43PM

Where's the fail whale when you need it, right? Early yesterday morning, Nokia flipped the switch on its Ovi Store, claiming that it's app market would potentially reach some 50 million users around the world. Unfortunately for Nokia, it seems as if all 50 million attempted to check things out at the same time. Web-wide, users were griping that things just weren't working out, and we're not talking about small packets of flustered users. In fact, Nokia was forced to admit that "shortly after launching, it began experiencing extraordinarily high spikes of traffic that resulted in some performance issues," and judging by reactions, we'd say "some" is now a front-runner for understatement of the year. Have things smoothed over for you today? Are you even bothering to check?

Update: Nokia has apologized for the gaff and has reportedly added server capacity to handle the demand. Question is: is the fix working?

Xbox 360 red ring of death problems (finally) solved?

by Jacob Schulman posted Mar 1st 2009 at 6:31PM

Is your Xbox 360 red in the face? No, not that kind of red, but facing that painstakingly loathsome red ring of death? Well, if group product manager Aaron Greenberg knows anything about the situation -- and we'd imagine he does -- then it looks like the guys at Microsoft have finally found a solution to many gamers' worst nightmares. In an interview with Edge Online, Greenberg said that through repairs they've done as well as updated technology, the guys in Redmond are pretty confident that afflicted consoles should be nonexistent in the not so distant future and that they've "put the worst behind us on this." So, breathe easy obsessive gamers, you needn't worry about getting an infected console any more -- we hope.

[Via Yahoo! Games]

Multi-touch display giving Dell Latitude XT users fits?

by Darren Murph posted Oct 20th 2008 at 8:50PM

Dell's Latitude XT is a pretty special piece of equipment, namely because it boasts multi-touch capabilities while being a Tablet PC. Unfortunately, it seems that quite a few users are growing increasingly frustrated with the touch-lovin' screen, with GottaBeMobile going so far as to call Dell out to remedy the myriad issues with its N-Trig digitizer. Among the problems are "digitizer not found" errors upon restart, a digitizer that won't work properly without a few reboots and a nice selection of applet loading errors to top things off. It seems the readers of the aforesaid site aren't faring too well either, with the forums filling up with folks eager and willing to yell "amen!" and "me too!" Are you also experiencing wonky N-Trig problems? Are you fed up with Dell's public silence on the matter? Or have you figured out a solution that you've been keeping all to yourself for the past seven months? Chime in down below.

Orange pulling Bolds to fix software issues, AT&T smiles

by Chris Ziegler posted Oct 10th 2008 at 8:57AM

If you're wondering why you don't have an AT&T-branded BlackBerry Bold in your hand at this very second, the answer might lie a couple thousand miles away where Orange has allegedly pulled all units off the shelves to hammer out some "software issues" that have plagued early devices in subscribers' hands. The whole situation leaves us to wonder whether carriers jumped the gun on validating early builds of the Bold's firmware in an effort to get it out into the market in a non-ridiculous amount of time, while AT&T may have chosen to play it safe with a longer, more excruciating battery of tests -- leading to RIM's swipe that the October 2 miss was all AT&T's fault. It's just a theory, and probably a pretty meaningless one since this Orange fiasco should apparently take a couple weeks to clear up at most, and we're still hearing occasional whispers out of the AT&T camp that they're still pushing for an October release over there. Chop chop, guys.

[Via Mobile Tech Addicts]

Are OLPC XO keyboards having widespread problems?

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 20th 2008 at 8:04PM

The OLPC XO -- it's all rainbows, hugging, and laser beams of learning, right? Maybe not, kind reader. Apparently, users of the diminutive, educationally themed laptop are experiencing a rash of "stuck key" issues which are causing tons of headaches (and possibly some heartbreak as well). It seems that keys are becoming stuck in activated positions, and / or are being triggered by key presses nearby. The company is aware of the problem, but can't pinpoint a single cause, as the components are made by a variety of manufacturers. For now OLPC is asking customers to RMA the laptops so they can get the repairs they so desperately need, though we're not sure how this is going to play out in the developing areas where the XOs are being rolled out. Well, they can probably just take them to the hospital.

Xbox Live, Zune Marketplace down: what gives, Microsoft?

by Darren Murph posted Dec 30th 2007 at 6:59PM

We're nearly nauseous from all the spinning on the Xbox Live carousel. One minute we're in, the next we're out. Now, Microsoft is confirming that the issues are back via Xbox.com, and as if that weren't enough in and of itself, the outfit is also informing Zune owners that they "may experience intermittent issues logging onto Zune Marketplace." From what we can tell, there's no definitive ETA on a resolution that will actually stick for more than ten minutes, but if we were you, we'd lock down that Hotmail account, pronto.

[Thanks, Robert S. and everyone who sent this in]
Read - Xbox.com Support
Read - Zune.net Support

Rhapsody users experiencing login issues?

by Darren Murph posted Dec 12th 2007 at 5:59PM

Though not what we'd deem "common," outages extending beyond a few hours have been known to happen to the services we love so dearly, and it seems that some Rhapsody users have become the latest to fall victim to an inexplicable lapse in service. Over at the Real forums, a number of customers have been unable to sign into their accounts for up to two days, and no amount of chicanery has solved the quandary. To make matters even more frightening, many are getting a message that their account simply is nowhere to be found, and customer service doesn't seem to be getting anyone very far. Also curious is the fact that new accounts (as in, ones created while current customers are unable to login) seem to be working just fine, but we here haven't personally experienced any of the login difficulties. What gives? Any of you out there pulling your hair out over this? Got a secret for getting logged in that you'd like to share?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: This in from Real: "Our engineer and support staff became aware of a login issue affecting a small number of users yesterday. They're hard at work to fix the problem for the folks being affected." No ETA for the fix though, and it definitely sounds like more than just a few users, but your mileage may vary.

Rock Band gets a patch, but problems persist

by Joshua Topolsky posted Nov 24th 2007 at 7:46PM

Following up on yesterday's news of Rock Band hardware concerns, developer Harmonix has issued a software patch meant to mend issues that players have been having with downstrumming. Unfortunately, the software fix doesn't seem to be taking for everyone -- some users are reporting fully functional axes, while others are still plagued by the strum problem. Worse yet, other gamers are reporting that the patch has caused their strums to double up -- thus making the game considerably more crappy. On the silver-lining flip side, EA is actively honoring warranties for the Rock Band gear, though they say guitar replacement will take nearly two weeks -- which will put you dangerously close to not being able to jam through X-mas.

Rock Band users discovering hardware issues?

by Joshua Topolsky posted Nov 23rd 2007 at 9:37AM

While we're still quite early in the game (literally), reports have started trickling in that there may be some substantial issues with some of the hardware included in Harmonix's latest and greatest, Rock Band. According to forum posts from disgruntled users, folks who've just gotten the game are having a litany of problems, from drums with no sensitivity, an always-on whammy, and sticky buttons -- but most of the stress seems to be related to the downstrum. Current descriptions paint the problem as an overly- or ineffectual strum, resulting in a pretty annoying game experience. Of course, it's early on right now, and it's too soon to know if this is a widespread problem or if it's relegated to a small production batch. We pose this question to our readers: are you having Rock Band issues?

[Thanks, J]

Sony ups PlayStation 3 firmware to v1.7, PSOne titles not faring so well

by Darren Murph posted Apr 19th 2007 at 9:30AM

Another PlayStation 3 firmware update, another list of issues. Unfortunately, this seems to be somewhat of a recurring theme, and while users may not have found issues with last month's refresh, the v1.7 isn't as kind. Reportedly, the latest update enables the PS3 "to play PSOne titles that are already saved on your PSP," but numerous sources are suggesting that the feature, um, doesn't work. On a lighter note, PSOne and PS2 dual shock controllers will now shake, rattle, 'n rumble when connected to your PS3, and those with PSPs sitting around can also hit up v3.4 (required for the PSP-to-PS3 playback) on their handheld machine. So, dearest readers, we'll point the question at you: is your recently update PS3 playing nice with those PSOne selections?

[Via Joystiq, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Ground control to DirecTV TiVo users: reboot, please

by Darren Murph posted Jan 26th 2007 at 7:04AM

As a good few PC users will tell you, sometimes the only solution is the three fingered salute, and for TiVo users having an array of troubles with your DirecTV service, it seems the answer could be as easy as flipping the power switch. Oddly enough, it seems the list of recent complaints surrounding unexplainable deletions and problems with Season Pass recordings can be remedied with a simple reboot. A DirecTV spokesperson even stated that "a reboot will clean things up and the unit will start recording again," but we've got a sneaking suspicion there's just more to it than that. Nevertheless, that's the word from the higher-ups, so if you're on the verge of a total meltdown due to AV misbehavior, try the trusty restart trick a time or two, and if it still doesn't get things ironed out (read: the likely outcome), at least you now know precisely who to yell at.

[Via PVRWire]

Sony begrudgingly promises fix for PS3 720p output issues

by Darren Murph posted Nov 21st 2006 at 4:18PM

Apparently Sony's kicking off an early Thanksgiving break tomorrow, as they seem to be exhausting themselves today in preparation. After breaking the news that PSP Spots are US bound, floating the PSP 3.0 firmware out, and probably dealing with that massive invoice they just received from Thomas Menino and friends, the company is issuing a quasi-promise that the 1080i / 720p output problems plaguing some distraught PS3 owners will be fixed. Interestingly enough, Sony places a slightly unbelievable amount of blame on "antiquated HDTVs," as if having an HDTV that supports 720p is some sort of hidden requirement to operate a PlayStation 3. While we fully understand that most HDTV sets purchased today will indeed play nice with 720p signals, where's the love for folks who snagged those first generations sets produced by yours truly? According to Sony, a fix is on the way, but it doesn't sound like you'll be getting served with a smile.

Survey says: 20% of MacBooks are discolored

by Ryan Block posted Jun 27th 2006 at 11:27PM

Either TUAW readers have especially sweaty, acidic, bacteria-ridden palms, or they're being hit hard by the MacBook discoloration issue so many have dreaded might strike their own smooth, plastic Apple laptops. Granted, you can't really take a poll with 1,556 votes to mean anything about a problem of this nature -- especially with so many haters and fanboys out there just waiting to bust out a script and tilt the scales -- but there's one company that knows just how many MacBooks have been seeing this issue, and until that one company issues a recall it's unlikely we're going to know just how severe this problem really is.

P.S. -If you're having MacBook discoloration, don't be shy about sounding off in our comments. We're here for you, people, let it all out.

Apple initiating a "silent" recall of batteries?

by Ryan Block posted May 3rd 2006 at 9:26PM

So PCSIntel is reporting that Apple's effecting a "silent" recall and replacement of first and second week MacBook Pro batteries (which start with the serial numbers W8607 and W8608) due to such symptoms as failure, power cutoffs, mis-reporting of remaining power, and unresponsiveness to status polling. You know, the usual for a 1.0 product. We didn't hear either way from Apple PR (yet -- we'll let you know if we do), but a quick call to Apple support -- which according to PCSIntel should have yielded a quick blanket-return of any part with a serial that started as stated above -- yielded no recommendation for return. In fact the support rep we spoke with researched it and told us he had no documentation or instructions to initiate any such blanket return on MBP batteries -- which we're told is why it's a "silent" recall. So that doesn't necessarily mean the batteries from the first and second weeks aren't (often) defective, or that Apple isn't necessarily silently recalling them, but, well, it kind of goes without saying that if your new system is having problems you'll be giving them a call no matter what you read here or anywhere else.

[Via The Apple Core]

Update: Apple's Director of Product PR called to let us know that there's no such recall of MBP batteries they're aware of -- so take that how you will. We'll take that as "there's no such recall of MBP batteries they're aware of."