Neta 980 IR Port / Neta 980 Bugs

how much do they offer the new battery for?

does the battery have 18650 cells?

I have no idea what type cells the battery has. I guess I'll open the one I have once I get the new one. Prices quoted to me were:

NETA 980 Standard Battery: $29.99
NETA 980 Extended 8-Cell Battery: $49.99

I'm assuming these reduced prices are for customers within the one-year warranty period. I'll keep you updated on any further developments.

I’ve gotten to the point where I’m recommending people not buy the NETA or any item from Futurecomm. I’ve been waiting to have a bill sent to me for the battery that is supposed to be covered under warranty. Two days after asking for the bill to be posted via PayPal, It was finally filled out today.

Customer support from this company is pathetic. I still have not gotten an straight answer as to exactly what is covered in the warranty.


Edited by DataHaunt 2006-06-02 6:32 PM

oh well, two days, better than nothing.. i expected the cost to be higher, but you're right about the warranty

Oh, it gets much better. I again emailed the FC contact to verify what if any warranty was included and exactly what was covered. This is the response:



So, evidently there is no warranty with these units and any repairs or offers are made out of some sense of courtesy to their customers. I really should have stuck with the X-Pilot.

There are a few people I work with that like my tablet and think the functionality is perfect for daily use, especially after all the mods made to it to get the more functional programs working. The tablet may be priced very reasonable, but what good is it if the unit has support only via the company’s courtesy?

I guess if the ROM fails, I can still use the Viewsonic 3.0 ROM image.

Datahaunt,

Sorry about the problem with the Neta warranty.

I guess that with the change of name came a change in the service. Futurecom Global replaced one battery and one full unit for me last year with no questions asked. At the time they were located in Scottsdale Arizona. I still some the emails from their support folks. The company has changed it's name 2 times since then....

Note: I don't read in to the ebay listing no warranty:



The price they gave you was a great price on the batteries, The extended battery would be a great addition to your Neta. However, I believe that they should be held accountable for their product.

I wonder what the the warranty is if you purchase the unit off their site??

I included the comment on the Ciso Aironet cards because it shows how little they know about their units. The Neta's manual and Control panel show multiple card installations. I've used 4 different chipset cards with the Neta (the card must have 4.1 drivers). I've settled on a Linksys card.

Recently, I had a hiccup with my main battery, It started showing 80% as my maximum charge. I fully discharged it, etc. with no real change. A few days latter it unhiccupped and went back to 100% and has been OK for several weeks (go figure?)

Because of that I picked up a used Viewsonic Airpanel battery from ebay a while back. It works (and looks) OK with the unit. I am keeping it as a backup in case my main battery or 21st Sentry Tech fails.

I hope everything works out OK for you.

DG

When I get the new battery, I plan on dissecting the old one to see if I can determine what failed.

Well, here is the latest in the drama. I emailed Kimberly Kelly, the sales contact at 21st Century, again to ask just what is the warranty period and what all is covered.

This is what I received in response:



At this point, it feels as if I am getting a run around. So I called the company today and selected the operator to find out who Kelly’s boss or supervisor was if any. Can you guess who answered the phone?

So I asked Ms. Kelly if she could simply clarify what was covered under warranty. I finally got her to tell me that the battery was not covered.

I then asked what is the warranty period. She told me one year on all parts.

Just to verify, I stated “So I have a one year warranty on the unit?” “No” was the answer.

According to Ms. Kelly since I had not sent in my registration card in and had done so in the allotted time frame, I had no warranty.

I purchased the unit back in April and had to send the first unit back due to it being defective right out of the box.

I have not sent in the registrations card, but never in all my years of working in the IT field have a ever heard of such nonsense. Most if not all of the vendors I work with do not use these cards. They go by purchase date on your invoice records.

I have to re-read the warranty card, but Ms. Kelly is claiming that the card stipulates that my warranty will be void if I do not sent in the card within X amount of days.

She absolutely refused to give me a name or number of a supervisor, claiming:
I’m hoping this is just a problem with one salesperson. If this is how 21st Century is going to do business, I think their reputation will chase away any potential buyers.

I really don’t know what to think about this 21st sentry tech but my recommendation right now is that anyone interested in the Neta 980 should be warned that this company sounds like a simply single person operation with some very questionable business practices.

The story is now that Kimberly Kelly is the sole proprietor of the company, or that is what she claimed when I asked for the name of the owners of the company or her bosses.

This is what the warranty card reads:


According to Ms. Kelly, this means if you do not return the warranty card in the allotted 14 day, you have no warranty. She even tried to go by my original purchase date even though I had to return the entire first unit because it was defective out of the box.

Warranty cards are use to gather customer data only. Warranties are determined simply by date of purchase reflected in company’s records or invoice. There is not one vendor or manufacturer I have ever worked with related to the IT industry that has ever operated in such a manner.

She did offer a refund for the unit after I pressed the issue of who owned the company, my ability to find that information on the web and her sudden need to mention that I would have to talk to her corporate lawyers.

She also said that if I have a problem with the unit to contact her and she would see how she could resolve it. I guess only time will tell.

I hope the efforts with the replacement ROM image go well. Based on the glowing reputation Futurecom had, this is a sad development.

Just an update. I’ve received the new battery with a small twist. They had no standard batteries, so I was sent an extended battery instead for the same cost. It seems they have no standard batteries in stock now nor will they since the NETA 980 is a closeout item.

I’m still getting use to the new size. I prefer the smaller standard battery, but the extra battery time is nice to have.

I’m still testing several software packages and have made some headway on the Resco Explorer with the help of another application.

DavidG, do you have flash installed or functioning on your Neta?

Cmonex, If the batteries inside the bad standard one I have are 18650 calls, are they easy to replace?

well, 18650's are pretty easy to find. if you can solder then you can replace the batts.

I've always wanted an extended battery! Although you went through some pain you got a premo amount of juice.

Flash seems to work fine on my machine. At least the Macromedia test does OK... I think it is preinstalled?

DG