NEC MobilePro 780

I just got a 780 yesterday from [unityelectronics]. My other handheld is a Jornada 680e from [tigerdirect.com] I have purchased items from tigerdirect for several years and have no complaints. The NEC 780 is my first unityelectronics purchase. The transaction is also my first exposure to [resellerratings.com]

I questioned unityelectronics before ordering the 780 {listed for $129 refurbished & their S\H is less than tigerdirect, which lists the 780 (refurbished) for $149}.

Unity answered my questions about usage and appearance by indicating appearance is excellent & by refering me to a site [resellerratings.com] I never heard of before, and now have reason to question. As I expected, unityelectronics is supposedly highly user rated and clearly rated over tigerdirect. Unity emailed me that "we will match customer ratings anytime, category by category, with tigerdirect"

resellerratings.com claims to be a site where buyers rate online retailers. Considering the high ratings posted for unity and the moderate ratings given tigerdirect, contrasted against my years of experience and that of ten people I know, I now have grounds to question the reliability of [resellerratings.com].

As tigerdirect advertises they do, they have always shipped (my associates and) I excellent, unused looking refurbished products. The Jornada 680e I bought 3 months ago looks brand new, which is what I expect from Tiger. Every post in here (there were several) reported the same outcome from their 680e purchases from Tiger. Their refurished 680e seemed unused. I should have spent $20 dollars more and a few more dollars for S\H and ordered from Tiger. I may still do so.

The unityelectronics NEC 780 , So Far, works well- as promised- but it was heavily used & arrived so dirty I had to wash my hands and the 780 before I did anything with it. The external top is worn and scratched up and the area around the AC plug is chipped like a moron inserted the AC plug. Although I performed the NEC stipulated 10-hour initial charge for the main and the backup battery, after 30 minutes use the backup battery charge fell a full level from "good". There was no reason for the backup battery to drop like that.

Surprisingly, the screen is new looking, no protector but no scratches. (tiger shipped my 680e with a screen protector). I put the 780 through its paces ASAP. It seems to be a full level superior to either the HP Jornada 600 or 700 line. The screen responds considerably better, like a high quality PDA screen. The screen is also better technology than the Jornada screens. They are a full generation easier to read. My 780 unit was made before 2000, so the technology NEC used was available when Jornada 600 and 700s were designed.

There are two mono speakers. They are definitely better than the 680 speaker, so is the built in microphone. The 780 has record formet settings. The setting, other than stereo or preset, produced a clear, realistic recording & playback of my voice. A lot is made, in a negative vein, about the larger size of the 780. I love my J 680e but I was delighted when I found the larger 780 gives me much more than any convenience it takes away. It is light and the size difference is not enough to make it a hassle to carry compared to a Jornada. It is still significantly smaller than & as light as the paper notebook I used to carry to libraries & job sites.

The NEC 780, provides an excellent click-type keyboard that is just large enough for serious typing. I have large hands. I did manage to develop a two finger style for fast typing on the Jornada 680 but I can two hand type on the 780 and I do not have to do odd hand & finger gymnastics to press "shift" and a letter, or to press a left end key and "end". My large hands can easily pick up and hold a 24-pack of soda or a professional basketball with one hand but I do not have to look at the 780 keyboard. I can not take my eyes off Jornada keyboards. The keyboard and keys are so small & so closely spaced that I must have eye & hand involved to accurately use Jornada keyborads. Even then, I miss-type as often as I do on a goofy notebook PC keyboard with their wide space from edge to first key row.

Since the NEC 780 keys begin near the edge, unlike lug-a-bouts (notebook & laptop PCs), I can type nearly as well with the 780 as I can with a desktop PC!

Tigerdirect return policy is more liberal than is unityelectronics & Tiger provides toll free numbers & email addresses for ordering, returns, customer service & tech support. Unity has only a toll free number for orders & you have only a few days to return a unit that doesn't work correctly and you return it on your dime. If Unity doesn't agree with your return, they return it at your expense. Tiger has a no questions asked 30 day return policy. Buyers have posted, on HPC Factor and elsewhere, that Tiger accepted returns and made exchanges- no questions asked- from uninformed buyers who thought their poor sounding 680e speaker was defective.

I also did not find Unity as fast at order processing as they claim to be or as resellerratings.com testimonials claim. They do not process orders from Friday afternoon to Monday. During the week they actively take orders from 9 to 5 only. Tiger takes and processes orders 24\7. I ordered my 780 Friday afternoon (5-13). It did not ship until I asked why my credit card was charged right away on Friday, when (Monday morning) my Unity's "account" indicated "unavailable". After I complained about Unity violating their own policy (no charge until items ship), my order was shipped UPS and I had it Wednesday (5-19) 3:15.

Given unityelectronics tight return policy, if you order from them, I advise that you immediately put your device through its paces. You only have a few days from delibery to return defective items without considerable cost and even risk (returned to you at your expense). My reaction to Tiger versus Unity purchase of refurbished computers is that Tiger is worth their 13% higher price for refurbished mobile devices.

Unity did impress me with the up-to-date CD they make and include. It has ActiveSync 3.8 and a full PDF format NEC electronic user's manual. The NEC manual for the 780 is more thorough than the HP Jornada manuals I have read.

...Of course, this is all just my humble opinion

--Bruised

Edited by bruisedquasar 2005-05-20 12:04 PM

interesting opinion

i should consider myself lucky because i don't have to look at the 720's keyboard constantly though i can believe if someone has difficulties with it.
another information: the 720 és 680 screen isn't the same (at least i heard that the 720 is better.. of course )

Just goes to show that there is something for everyone. I gave up long ago trying to determine "which of anything is better." I figure that you just have to find something that is right for you. One man's poison is another's ambrosia.

However, there is only one speaker in any of the Mobilepros...even the 900 series. The 900 series does play back in stereo however using headphones...and the 7X0 Mobilepros have a very nice hifi sound, though not stereo...but are cursed with that non-standard headphone jack size.

As always...it is a balance of portability versus functionality that makes our unique choices and decisions.

Rich

BQ, I got a unit from the bay last year (790) which had so much cuffings, I think it was a close cousin of your unit! ... fortunately the seller admitted to a shipping "mistake" and offered to reship the correct "A" grade unit to me ... at their cost!

The reshipped unit arrived as advertised, clean, like-new and working great. Only vibes I had about the 790 (or 780 for that matter) was the ultra thick LCD layer clamp-shell. I really wonder why NEC had to resort to such a thick cover for the LCD layer and not use some other means to reinforce the LCD piece.

PS: Corp, in case you misread the above, the unit you are getting is the reshipped unit, and not the cuffed up one. Although I must confess that I added one or two usage marks on the top cover! ...

BruisedQ,

Thanks for your warnings on unity, and resellerratings. I confess to not knowing of Unity before you brought them up, however Resellerratings I have seen before and been wary of myself. This just confirms it.

Likewise I keep hearing good things about Tigerdirect, it is just such a shame that they vastly over price everything they sell directly in the UK. If prices were comparable to those offered in the USA, then I would be much happier. I have, for example - seen them list 680's at double the price available through the website to those in the States.

Interestingly I believe you are the first person I've heard say that the MP screen was better than that of the Jornada. I'm glad that you have found a happy medium with the device.
The MP range does seem the better choice if you are looking to be a laptop replacement user and don't want to head for a sub-note device.

So what will you do now? Are you going to return the Unity device sighting the condition of the unit and head back to Tiger?

No worries on my part, your unit looked fantastic in the pictures and I trust that it's in as good condition as you say it is


And in regards to unity, I tried ordering a 790 from them myself and now I'm glad that they don't ship to Canada. Thanks for the heads up!

Edited by corporate 2005-05-21 2:18 PM