Computing Center

Refurbished Notebooks, Take II

Readers weigh in and tell of good experiences and bad.

James A. Martin

More Tips on Buying Refurbished Notebooks

My May feature about refurbished notebooks generated more e-mail than any topic I've written on so far. Of the messages I received from readers about their experiences with refurbished portables, almost three quarters were overwhelmingly positive.

For example, Toby Nemiroff of Brooklyn bought a refurbished Hitachi 7630 for $1000 two years ago. "The model had sold for about $5000 just about a year before," he writes, so he realized a savings of about $4000. The notebook has "held up extremely well, and I still use it today," Toby continues. Buying a refurbished notebook "was a good move, and I'd do it again," he concludes.

Of the negative responses, some reported mixed results. Others recounted tales of woe, full of computer glitches and poor tech support. The following are three representative reader responses.

By the way, in case you missed the original column, here's the gist: Based on my research, I found that refurbished notebooks (computers returned to the store or manufacturer, then repaired, retested, and resold) sometimes offer more features for the money than comparable, brand-new models.

Crashing Waves Didn't Crash His Tecra

Randy Finke, a graduate student studying marine biology in Las Cruces, Chile, is a self-proclaimed notebook abuser. For years, Randy bicycled or rode the bus to the university, with his refurbished Toshiba Tecra 520CDT notebook in tow. He used the Tecra for many purposes, including field research on the impact of crashing waves on marine invertebrates, which he performed only 30 yards from the water, at night, with the notebook screen covered in mist.

Randy purchased the refurbished Tecra for $800 in 1999. "At the time, new models were well out of my reach," he writes. Nonetheless, the Tecra "ran like a champ," often outperforming some of his colleagues' newer desktops. "I even used the Tecra to process satellite images of sea surface temperatures," he writes.

Recently, when the Tecra's motherboard developed a glitch, Randy picked up a replacement board on EBay for $25. The notebook's H key stopped working, too, he adds; so now he uses the portable exclusively for field work.

Randy has also bought a used Tecra 8100 on EBay for other purposes. That purchase hasn't gone as smoothly, he reports. For instance, the modem recently ceased to work. But overall, Randy says he's happy with his refurbished and used notebooks and would consider buying another "if the price is right."

Tip: Refurbished or used notebooks can serve as affordable secondary computers, especially for use in harsh, rugged conditions where you wouldn't want to take a more expensive notebook.

But Crashes Can Happen

Bill Fogg of Red Cloud, Nebraska, purchased a refurbished Dell Latitude CPX J650GT from TigerDirect in October 2003 for $549. The notebook came with a 90-day parts and labor warranty--which came in handy. Before long, the Latitude's DVD drive crashed and two keys on the keyboard stopped working. Both problems were repaired at no cost to Fogg, as the computer was still under warranty.

"I don't think my problems were severe, since I've heard worse problems from those who paid full price" for their notebooks, Fogg writes. "Ultimately, I got a great machine for a small amount of money."

Tip: If you buy a refurbished or used notebook, make sure it has a warranty. Anything less than a 90-day parts and labor warranty makes for a risky purchase. Better yet, spend a little extra money for an extended warranty, if one's available. Also, keep in mind that some credit card companies, such as American Express, automatically extend the life of a warranty for products purchased using their cards. Check with your credit card company before you buy.

Did I Mention Crashes Can Happen?

Verne S. of Raleigh, North Carolina, has purchased a total of four refurbished Dell computers. Three of them have worked fine. One, a desktop, is still in use after six years, he notes. But a refurbished Dell Inspiron 8100, which Verne purchased in January 2002 from Dell and later upgraded himself, began developing problems after the first year, he reports.

The Inspiron's glitches began with the "blue screen of death," Verne recalls. He also experienced display malfunctions, which were fixed with an updated graphics driver downloaded from Dell.com, and other issues that haven't been resolved despite multiple calls to Dell tech support, Verne says.

Verne's unresolved Inspiron problems may have stemmed from the third-party memory he installed, says Jennifer Davis, a Dell spokesperson. Dell's standard support contracts don't cover third-party PC components, such as RAM that is not installed by and/or purchased from Dell, she explains. This is true for brand-new and refurbished PCs.

Despite the problems with the Inspiron 8100, Verne says he purchased two refurbished, two-year-old Dell Latitude notebooks in December 2003 from a small, local reseller. "So far," he adds, "they've been great." But Verne's experiences with Dell tech support have soured him on buying new or refurbished computers directly from the company again, he adds.

Tip: Buying a low-cost, refurbished notebook and then upgrading its components yourself is certainly tempting. But as Verne's experience shows, you may be left to your own devices if upgrade components not purchased from the computer maker are faulty or cause problems. So read the warranty/service contract details closely and order upgrade components from the same manufacturer or reseller you purchased the computer from, if possible.

And Now, a Question

Time for a complete non sequitur. (We were getting way too serious with all that refurbished stuff, don't you think?)

Have you dumped, or are you planning to dump, your PDA in favor of a mobile phone/PDA combo device? If so, why? If not, why not? I'm just curious, given Sony's recent decision to stop releasing new Palm PDAs in the U.S. and concentrate instead on converged cell phone/PDA devices (see the "Gadgets & Services" section for details).

So please send me e-mail and satisfy my curiosity (about your PDA plans, that is).

Notebooks & Accessories

News: Slim External DVD Burner

All this talk of notebook glitches has me thinking about backup devices. Here's one with potential: Targus's new USB 2.0 Rewriteable DVD±RW Slim External Drive. The drive weighs under a pound and measures less than an inch thick, the company claims. It draws power from the USB connection and is "hot pluggable," meaning you can connect and disconnect the drive without rebooting your computer. Also, the $490 external drive supports the CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD-RW formats.

News: Compact USB Hard Drive

And here's another potential notebook backup device for your consideration: the 1.8-inch Apricorn EZ Bus Mini hard drive. The drive is "the smallest and only (USB) bus-powered hard drive available with certification from the USB Implementers Forum," according to Apricorn. The EZ Bus Mini weighs 5 ounces, comes in 20GB ($199) and 40GB ($279) capacities, and has a rotation speed of 4200 rpm. Included in the package are a travel pouch, encryption and synchronizing software, and back-up software.

Hands On: Dell's Inspiron 9100

IDG News Service's resident gearhead Agam Shah tried out Dell's Inspiron 9100 desktop replacement notebook. His assessment: It's a powerful machine with lots of features, but carrying it between office and home "almost broke my back." (The 9100 weighs 9 pounds without an AC adapter.) Another nit: The $2310 notebook's battery ran only about 2.5 hours on one charge. Read Agam's review of the 9100 in "Disco Umbrellas and Other Gadgets" (it's the second item on the page).

Gadgets & Services

News: For Now, No New Clies

Sony won't introduce any new Clie PDAs in the U.S. this year, the company announced. Product development and sales will continue for the Japanese market only.

So what's up with that? Clie sales in the U.S. are down, according to IDC. Meanwhile, PDA users are showing more interest in smart phones than in traditional PDAs, according to an IDC analyst. Sony will continue to honor warranties and support contracts for U.S. customers, the company says.

Review: Pocket PC With Built-In GPS

Mitac's Mio 168 GPS Pocket PC ($495) combines a Pocket PC with a GPS receiver. But as PC World's Rebecca Freed discovered, the Mio 168 didn't perform either function well.

The device's buttons are confusing, and the manual offered nothing more than canned information about the Windows Mobile 2003 operating system and its apps. Whenever you start the Mio Map application, an annoying dialog box appears, and to make it disappear, you must agree that the application shouldn't be used by someone who's driving. And it took about 3 minutes of standing in an open area outside to get a strong enough satellite signal--a bit longer than most GPS units.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a PDA with GPS capabilities, this gadget isn't likely to meet your needs.

Hands On: DeLorme's Earthmate Blue Logger

A GPS for Bluetooth-enabled PDAs, the Earthmate Blue Logger records location data as you travel. Later, you can download the data and map your course on your notebook. PC World's Tracey Capen, who tested the $150 device with DeLorme's Street Atlas USA 2004, found that the Blue Logger sometimes had trouble finding a GPS signal. Overall, though, the GPS gadget worked well with his Bluetooth-enabled Palm Tungsten T3. For Tracey's review, read the second item in July's "Quick Takes."

Suggestion Box

Is there a particularly cool mobile computing product or service I've missed? Got a spare story idea in your back pocket? Tell me about it.