VisorCentral.com - WARNING! You can't return yadayada. No trial period! You're locked in.

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-- WARNING! You can't return yadayada. No trial period! You're locked in. (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=10961)

Posted by tvt on 01-17-2001 07:14 PM:

I signed up for the yada yada 12 months/free modem offer, but i dont get reception in my apt.

I called them up and they will not let me out of my contract. I can either pay 3 months of service or buy the modem for $299.

What kind of crapola is this??

__________________
Tony Tran
[email protected]
BVDx

Posted by EricG on 01-17-2001 07:41 PM:

If you can't send it back, try a better antenna!

Look at this thread for ideas:

http://discussion.visorcentral.com/...?threadid=10235

Posted by tvt on 01-17-2001 07:53 PM:

As cool as it looks, Im not going to tape a soda can to my visor.

I'd rather return and wait for the next killer app.

Or a faster connection.

__________________
Tony Tran
[email protected]
BVDx

Posted by EricG on 01-17-2001 08:03 PM:

Did you try a replacement Cell Phone antenna?, you don't have to tape a soda can to it..

Radio Shack carries Samsung 1000/1900 antennas that fit (and look) nice in the minstrel for bout $4. If it doesn't help return the antenna.

Just a suggestion.. Good luck. Keep us posted on your efforts.

Posted by pusfarm on 01-18-2001 10:19 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by EricG
Radio Shack carries Samsung 1000/1900 antennas that fit (and look) nice in the minstrel for bout $4.

What part of the country are you in? None of the RS's I've visited in the LA area [4] have such an antenna.

Posted by MicroChip on 01-18-2001 04:04 PM:

I specifically asked them when I was ordering, if there was a 30 day trial where if I was unhappy I could return it and the guy said absolutely there was. It turns out I like it and get good reception most everywhere (I'm in NYC).

It did seem as though no 2 people at YadaYada had the same information regardless of the subject. I'd call again and try a different rep.

MC

Posted by tvt on 01-18-2001 04:43 PM:

What was his name??

I told that to the rep, he went to his super, and came back saying that there was no such policy!

__________________
Tony Tran
[email protected]
BVDx

Posted by EricG on 01-18-2001 11:46 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by pusfarm
quote:
Originally posted by EricG
Radio Shack carries Samsung 1000/1900 antennas that fit (and look) nice in the minstrel for bout $4.

What part of the country are you in? None of the RS's I've visited in the LA area [4] have such an antenna.

I'm in New England, they typically stock them behind the sales counter on the wall, you probably won't have access to them directly.

What you are looking for is part number: RS# 17-209
(the Nokia antenna works too, it's just harder to deal with as it is recessed)

If they don't have it in the stores, order it from their website. http://www.radioshack.com , I actually saw them there first.

Posted by dredhead on 01-20-2001 06:30 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by tvt
I signed up for the yada yada 12 months/free modem offer, but i dont get reception in my apt.

Perhaps I'm being obtuse, but why do you need a good signal in your apartment? Don't you have a home computer?

Sure, it's neat to have web access on the can, but is that the reason you bought the Minstrel? I don't get access in my building either, but on the bus or train it's golden. If I need my VC fix at home or in the office, there's a computer. Everywhere else, the Minstrel rocks.

__________________
...the patron saint of the easily amused...

Posted by EricG on 01-20-2001 06:42 AM:

dredhead - How does the Minstrel perform when "in transit"?, I haven't had much opportunity to test it out as I am the one usually doing the driving..

Using a cell phone and driving is one thing, using a Visor and driving is something TOTALLY other...

Thanks.. Eric

Posted by timmins on 01-20-2001 04:59 PM:

My girlfriend and I were lost on our way to a social party. The subdivision we were looking for was no where to be seen. I used YadaYada browser clicked on Maps, typed in the address... and kept driving while it was loading. And this is in suburbian Chicagoland. It worked perfect... sometimes the data receive would take a little longer, but no problems whatsoever.

I am not sure if I want to cancel my package because my modem gets strong signals almost everywhere (except some buildings, but I have come to anticipate that even before it arrived) but I can't stop getting Fatal Exception errors when I disconnect the modem and other times in the middle of browsing.... DOES ANYONE HAVE A FIX?

__________________
what?<br>

Posted by EricG on 01-20-2001 11:52 PM:

I stopped using YADAYADA Broswer because of the numerous fatal exception errors I'd get.. I pretty much use Blazer and Palmscape, and sometimes Avantgo.. When I am feeling frisky and lucky, I'll dabble with YADAYADA browser.. Anything with a sufficently large enough list box on the web page ALWAYS makes mine crash.

The YY Browser does look promising, wish I could rely on it though.

-Eric

Posted by dredhead on 01-21-2001 05:17 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by EricG

dredhead - How does the Minstrel perform when "in transit"?, I haven't had much opportunity to test it out as I am the one usually doing the driving..

Using a cell phone and driving is one thing, using a Visor and driving is something TOTALLY other...

Thanks.. Eric

Depends on where and how fast. Up until last week, I was taking the train from the FAR northern 'burbs of Chicago to and from work (moved back into the city last week - gotta love those five-minute commutes). At any rate, teh signal quality went from excellent to hideous depending on the neighborhood (no rich peeps, no cell sites), proximity to the highways (lots of cell sites), speed of the train, and which side of the train I was sitting on as well as whether I was in the upper or lower tier of seats.

While driving - well, I pull over a lot. While stuck in traffic on one of those rare days that I drove, I managed to keep a pretty good conversation going with an old friend using AOL IMs. Bad me.

__________________
...the patron saint of the easily amused...

Posted by prismenvy on 01-21-2001 06:47 AM:

A YY rep told me last night that an enhanced browser that supports color is due in March or so.

BTW- My enhanced DLX got better reception than my new Prism... but I sold it. The color with Prism is just too cool. I got the Samsung 1000/1900 antenna and can't really tell a noticeable difference in reception.

Blazer is coolest. Palmscape does frames well. Eudora mail lets you tap links in email messages to be viewed in Eudora Web browser. Look into ThinMail http://www.thinmail.com it is very cool in conjunction with Eudora.

Posted by EricG on 01-21-2001 07:11 AM:

To be quite frank, I had to extend my Samsung antenna to improve reception, My antenna is now bout 6 1/2 inches total length, from screw base to the tip. I used a section of picture hanging wire (the braided kind, like the cell phone antenna), I clipped the top off the cell antenna and added the extra wire to the middle (a few twists with some needle nose pliers at each end), I then put the whole thing in shrink wrap tubing. Works very well now and looks pretty normal (just a bit long for a cell antenna). I carry the stub for when I am in good reception locations. I noticed the stub only seems to work well if the "cell tower" is line of sight and under 1/2 mile or so.

Posted by tvt on 01-22-2001 10:10 PM:

Called back again. Got same rep.

We had the same banter. I said that it didnt work in my apt. and he said (and Im boiling it down) that it didnt matter, that the fact that it works ELSEWHERE means it isnt defective, and they would only help me if it was defective. Whether it works where I need it to work (my apt), they don't really care.

He came up with the analogy, if i bot a 56K modem, and installed it, and i couldnt get it to work cuz my phone lines in my apt. didnt work, should the seller be responsible? i said, no but every retailer out there will take it back and give me a refund. duh.

am i missing something here? am i being unreasonable? its only been 2 weeks. its not like i had it for a month and a half...

__________________
Tony Tran
[email protected]
BVDx

Posted by timmins on 01-22-2001 10:14 PM:

I guess I hate being on the opposite side of the argument. I truly agree with the commonfolk here and their problems they have expressed.

BUT, I did ask YY when I ordered, do I have a 30 day trial in case I can't get a signal or such. The order taker said NO... so I wasted 5 minutes of their time and asked them to explain the service and their requirements. In that time, I ran down the benefits of it working and the probability it wouldn't.

Living in the Chicago Loop, I guess I would run into a very slight possibility that I couldn't receive a signal. I even get one 40 miles away.

But, to play devil's advocate... these are questions that should be asked before someone gets your credit card number and "signs" a contract for 12 months. I purchased Ameritech cellular for 2 years and got a great deal. I never knew that 10 months into the contract, Verizon would buy them out of cellular.

__________________
what?<br>

Posted by Coyote67 on 01-30-2001 10:42 PM:

Time to strike

Well heres my story, back when I first ordered the modem, I asked a rep if there was a charge for cancelling the service after 30 days. He told me there isn't, all I have to do is send them back the modem and the box, blah blah blah. Today I'm going to call YadaYada and tell them I want to cancel. If they refuse to cancel, I will tell them that I will take it up with my bank, and the better business bureau. If all of us, the people who were screwed do this together, we could really get somewhere. There is no way I'm going to continue with the service anymore. Even with the optimized Visor Deluxe, I still can't get a single, and when I do, YadaYada's browser/email keeps saying I don't have a valid account. Its been more then a month, and the only reason that I have returned it is that I just didn't have time. I say we join and fight the bastards. I would also contact the person in charge of quality controls at Handspring and inform her of what they are doing.

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