Review of Dell Inspiron 15R Laptop with Intel Core i7

Stay away from this Dell product. Don’t buy any Dell extended warranties - worst customer service experience I had in 30 years of computing!
 

Summary:

The hard drive on my five-month old Dell Inspiron 15 R laptop crashed. Dell returned it to me with the wrong operating system, corrupt drivers, and less than half the original applications - missing both Dell and Microsoft royalty software. Instead of Dell taking it back and fixing it on their time, since August 29^th, I spent almost a week’s worth of my time on the phone while Dell staff tried to reinstall and/or repair software and drivers.  Tragically, as of 10/29/12, I still do not have back ALL the functionality I paid for.

Detail:

I spent several months looking for the right hardware/software combination to meet my personal and home-business needs. In March 2012, Costco offered the perfect match in the Dell Inspiron 15R with Windows 7 Professional, Intel Core i7, and Microsoft Office 2010. Although it cost almost $1,000 USD, everything I needed was pre-installed.

The Inspiron 15R worked perfectly until mid-August when the hard drive began to fail. Although it was an inconvenience, I wasn’t worried because the laptop was well within both the Costco and Dell warranty periods. Little did I know then that my Dell Support nightmare was just beginning.

Hurdle 1. The “replacement” hard drive had the wrong operating system! After debating with Dell’s Tier 2 technical support for 20 minutes, I finally got to a supervisor. He strong-armed me into staying on the phone while he installed Windows 7 remotely and applied multi-dozens of related software updates. Three hours later, I went to bed leaving him to finish it up himself.

 Hurdle 2. Before leaving for work the next morning, I tried to create a system recovery CD only to find Dell DataSafe Local Backup was missing.  It only took Dell’s Tier 2 technical support 20 minutes to install this remotely.

 Hurdle 3. As soon as I got home, I booted up the laptop to find the flash screen still suspiciously looked like Home Office. Indeed, it was. Madder than a wet hen, I called Dell’s Tier 2 technical support for the third time. It was ugly. The first tech hung up on me. I hung up on the second tech. The third tech listened to me re-explain my dilemma and after another 15-minute debate, he finally put me through to a supervisor. Again I was strong-armed into staying on the phone for hours while this guy redid what the other guy supposedly did the night before.

Hurdle 4. With Windows 7 Professional finally installed, I tried to do my normal computing only to find the keyboard acted like it had epilepsy. The left lower corner was loose too. I knew it had to be the Dell Depot staff because it was fine before.  A fourth call to Dell’s Tier 2 technical support revealed the Touchpad driver was corrupt. But, of course, he couldn’t tighten the loose keyboard remotely so I had to act the Tim the Toolman Taylor.

Hurdle 5 and counting. As time passes, I keep finding the software that was not re-installed at Dell Depot. Each time I call, Dell Technical Support's solution is to wipe out everything I have on there and start over.  To date, Dell "wiped out" my computer four times. Two weeks ago another tech wanted to wipe it out a fifth time but I refused.  

I argued with them each time to take the whole laptop back and make it right on their time but they would not. Their staff time might be cheap, but mine is not. I keep asking for some compensation for weeks of lost productivity and time I could have spent building my business, but no. They refused.

 

Until this experience I was pro Dell. Now, I will run away from Dell products as fast as I can.

Apple Inc Should Go Green

My current desktop PC, a Dell Dimension 3000, is 6.5 years old and showing signs that it wants to retire. Instead of waiting until the last minute, I began searching for its replacement. Although I was never a Mac fan, many friends and co-workers have the iPad 2 and brief views of its functionality got me to reconsider my long-standing negative opinion of Apple products.

Four months later, I still have not decided to get a Windows 7 laptop or an iPad 2. Whenever I got close to picking one over the other, of course, some obscure point popped up and I was back on the fence. Now there's a third option since the local USA TV station is running a Kindle Fire Give Away contest. I entered every day.

As of today, the latest worry point involves, you guessed it, Apple products. My neighbor worked with Macs his whole publishing career and he claims the iPad can't attach to a printer so there is no way to get the documents "out of the icloud." (I don't know about you but I want my stuff with me, not floating in either Microsoft's, Apple's, or even Google's air space.) Next, my friend told me to wait to buy the iPad 2 because Apple is about to release the iPad 3 and she is expecting the iPad 2 prices to go down a lot.

This last point is what stuck in my craw. Apple products can't be upgraded. When there's a new version, one has to throw the old one away. Didn't Apple get the Save the Planet recycling memo? For all the annoying things that Microsoft products do and don't do, and I could write encyclopedias on my own personal experiences, you can upgrade to the next version.

So, my suggestion to Apple is "Go Green." Save the planet so you can still take a bite of an apple. --- Signed: the purchasing public!