Are you sure about this???

Most Dell laptops come with on-site warranties; there should be no reason for you to send it to Penang...someone from Getronics will just pop by and fix whatever needs to be fixed. This is NBD by the way...

If you opted for the Year 2 to 3 Collect and Return service, Dell will send someone by to collect the laptop and return it to you within four business days.

There is absolutely no reason for them to take that long to fix a laptop - a friend of mine actually managed to replace his motherboard three times and his screen twice to fix some little problem and all this was on-site, mind you. I've never had any problems dealing with Dell for any of the systems I support either.

All current Dell laptops come with NBD on-site warranties, at least for the first year/first 90 days. I've actually gone through every Dell laptop sold through their Malaysian site (one variant from each model) to verify that.

If you call their helpline and sound completely clueless, they are going to assume the fault is yours (quite likely, actually). If you use a landline, you're wasting time only; it's a toll-free call. Was your friend's problem a fault of the computer or a configuration/driver issue? They only come on-site to fix hardware issues. Software problems should be solved on the phone.

I've read through every bit of warranty information I can find on the Dell Malaysia site and I really don't know what about the "four business day thingy" is wrong? There are exclusions in the warranty policy, but you don't honestly expect them to fix your computer if you dropped it down the stairs do you? Again, if it's a software issue it can probably be fixed over the phone.

And what was that you were saying earlier about a friend who had to send a PC for over a month to Penang?? The 2nd/3rd Yr CAR service is pretty new in Malaysia....your friend must have opted for that service when it was just launched. Having dealt with Dell support (and having many friends who have dealt with Dell support) many times, a situation such as what you mentioned would probably have ended up with your friend getting a new PC. If they can't fix the problem, they'll just continue swapping parts until the problem goes away.

foongkh,
For that kind of money, the IBM ThinkPad T40 is probably your friend's best bet. It is probably the best built laptop mentioned in this thread so far, and T40s come with a 3-year international warranties; something to consider if this notebook is not going to be upgraded for a while.

It is reasonably thin and light, and does have very good battery life. A lower-end model variant like the ones in your friend's price range might not have a fantastic graphics card, but a businessman should be working and not gaming on his laptop

Damn it - my first double post, ever!



This post has been edited by AAY: Jul 29 2003, 10:33 PM

wildcatz,
TI's computer division (or was it just notebooks?) was purchased by Acer sometime in the late 90's, I think. That's why you'll find old TI model names like Travelmate and Extensa sold as Acers.

sonic_cd,
Gateway pulled out of selling computers in the whole of Asia, I think. I don't know if they sell anything in China/Japan, though, but they are definitely out of South-East Asis/Australia. They shut down their factory in Melaka in 2000 or 2001 I think.

wildcatz,
The 90-day warranty policy only applies to some of their new bottom-end systems (laptops and desktops).

I don't think I've ever seen any of their refurbs go with 90-day warranties, depending on the line many even come with 3-year warranties.

Just something to add to qwerty's post: The PC Suria Permata is a rebadged Twinhead efio 2400 (not sure about the model though, but it's definitely a Twinhead).

OT: Nascom is still a company that intrigues me. So little is know about a company that received a massive RM2 billion cash injection...interesting, eh?

AjAx,
All of Dell's phone support/sales for South-East Asia, and Australasia is handled in Penang. Japan and China get their own support centres.

chong,
Dell only sells direct. If you want to buy a Dell you can either call their toll-free number as netboy said, or order online through their site. I think the delivery guy who drops off the system usually boots up the computer just to make sure everything is working (could be wrong though). They don't have any shops anywhere in the country, but if you're in Penang you can visit the factory and see the systems!

chong,
netboy is, as usual, right . Most of the low- and mid-range systems come with 1-year NBD on-site warranties. Only the absolute bargain basement systems come with 90-day warranties. If you're thinking of buying a Dell, it's probably worth it to pay more for the 3-year warranty upgrade; it might seem like a lot of money now, but it'll pay for itself if your screen dies in 2006 .

eddyann,
Most Dell Latitudes and Inspirons share many parts. Performance will probably be down to things like video adapters, hard disk choices, etc. Go with whatever suits your budget!

Most IBMs have incredible keyboards, but one thing to note is that many of their models don't have Windows keys.

SIWIS,
Delivery time depends on availability. Give Dell a call, and don't be afraid to tell them you're also looking at a few other brands of laptops - I know of people who've persuaded the sales guy to start throwing in freebies like extra adapters, batteries, etc.

SIWIS,
The Inspiron 8500 was replaced with the 8600, I think.

I don't think Toshiba has a Malaysian site. The closest would either be the Toshiba Asia or the Tele Dynamics site.

zeist,

If you're really desperate to get a new laptop at that price, keep on checking the stock at Dell's refurb store. I have seen a few Inspiron 1100s go for RM2399.