Green Umbrella has a very interesting service plan: a all-in-one extended warranty plan that covers all your gadgets for three years. You pay US$9.99 a month, and it’ll cover most of your home electronics (TVs, Computers) and appliances (Washers, Dryers, Refrigerators, Microwaves) as long as they come with at least a 90 day warranty if you purchase after you sign up, and 1 year if you purchased before. The downside is that they don’t cover mobile phones, and they don’t cover accidental damage.
Man, companies are always trying to screw ya. Take warranties, for example. They’ll void them for practically anything these days! Just ask Keith Walendowski of Milwaukee, WI (pictured). All he did was shoot his lawnmower with a sawed-off shotgun, and now the company who makes it says the warranty is voided. What a load of bullpap!
The bulk of Cliff Biffle’s excellent first impressions takes apart the Eee PC’s impressive streak of GPL violations, such as removing code attribution. But for our gear-glued brains, the more relevant issue is the nice yellow “warranty void if seal is broken or removed” sticker chemically bonded over the RAM upgrade slot. Say what? “Yes, you read that right: a computer manufacturer has decided that it voids your warranty to replace a DIMM.”
The likely reason is the mini-PCI-express slot hidden under the door, which might be the site of a future SSD upgrade, since plugging something in deactivates the built-in SSD. On the upside, according to Cliff, the warranty-voiding sticker schtick is unenforcable under the 1975 Magnuson-Moss Act. But, forcing them to not enforce that warranty clause would probably take more work than a $US400 laptop’s worth. Either way, it’s a bit shitty on their part. [Cliff Hacks Things]
A PlayStation forum poster claims that a Sony customer service rep told him his broken PS3′s warranty was voided because he plugged the console into a surge protector and not a wall socket, and that he’d have to pay $150 to fix it. When reached for comment, Sony said this wasn’t the case and that your warranty won’t be voided if you use a power strip.
The $69 iPhone Apple Care we told you about is now live on Apple’s site. You can order online (free shipping) in order to extend your one year of complimentary iPhone repair service to two years. Telephone support, on the other hand, is still free for two years even without AppleCare. AppleCare is not available for residents of Alabama, Connecticut, Nevada, or Wyoming, so don’t bother ordering it if you live there. [Apple]
In an unprecedented move, Microsoft has announced that they are extending all Xbox 360 warranties to three years to cover the “three rings of death” error code. The deal is retroactive, supporting those who have already purchased consoles and refunding those who have already paid Microsoft for repairs.
We’re guessing that recent bad press of the Xbox 360′s 30% failure rate spurred this decision, but we’re glad either way. Kotaku has an interview with Microsoft exec Peter Moore on the topic and it’s worth a read.
[Kotaku]
Backstory: Some guy sends his MacBook into Apple for under-warranty repair. Apple says there’s spill damage. Guy claims there isn’t. Apple sends it back. Guy smashes MacBook with a sledgehammer.
Seriously? You think Apple, or any other reputable company, would lie about spill damage? You could have asked for photographic evidence of the damage, and if that was vague enough, worked your way up the support chain until someone gave you the repair for free. To us, it’s obvious that this guy actually did spill something on his laptop and tried to lie his way through Apple to get a free repair. – Jason Chen
Man Teaches Apple To Not Repair His Macbook By Smashing It With Sledgehammer [Consumerist]
