Comments on: Cracked Palm IIIc Cases

The Palm newsgroups have been full of reports of cracked or cracking IIIc cases with a very poor response from Palm. Some Palm web site(s) should look into this issue and try to get a response from Palm since they are obviously blowing off their customers by saying they are the only ones with the problem and that it will cost $100 to get the case replaced. Anyone who is in doubt that Palm is out of touch with their customers should read the editorial in this months Pen Computing magazine.

It appears that Palm, in addition to the poor service
I received in regards to the software questions I had
(minus lack of cognizant function from "Dosti" opinion),
hardware problems are now surfacing. I have been tooling
around other news sites in regards to the Palm IIIc for
information, and so far it seems that there are serious issues
with the sensitivity of the touch-screen, battery recharging,
cracked cases and memory leaks. As it stands, there has
been no interaction with Palm or it's "Technical Support"
personnel to rectify these problems. It seems that in
order to receive any relief, the item must have been
purchased from a third party vendor, i.e., CompUSA which
in my opinion has little to no customer service, either.
I am still very happy with the Palm IIIc since I have yet
to experience any technical problem which I cannot handle
myself. I keep away from any Palm developed software as
it seems they do not have the programming talent as most
third party companies. In the event I do experience a
technical problem, I would, and I would suggest this to
everyone, you immediately request to spreak to a manger
and/or a shift supervisor or other person in authority
to make an actual decision. If not. Demand your money
back because the first thing out of their technicians'
mouths is a request for your serial number so they can
charge you for the call.

I too, have a cracked Palm IIIc back. The crack starts on the left side of the HotSync port and goes up and edgeward. I called Palm and they are supposedly sending me an advanced replacement (read: a refurbished unit) Will see what develops... A side note: in all my palm units ( a Pilot Pro, a visor and now my Palm IIIc) I've bought and used a PDA Panache custom stylus, and they all have cracked, chipped or otherwise broken stylus wells; apparently the way the replacement stylus is held, puts excessive tension in the plastic housing. A small price to pay perhaps for what I consider a superior sylus

Thus far, I haven't had the cracked case problem. I have had some technical glitiches that cutomer service seems cluesless about. like why I het a log message after synching saying that fdatebook synchronization has failed. The data is synching between my handheld and PC but I get that message. Customer support said oh well we don't know but as long as it's working don't worry about it. That's patronizing in the least.
As for the cracked cases, that is appalling. Palm needs to own up and do a recall. If this were the automotive industry they're heads would be on the block. If they are serious about enterprise computing and handhelds they need to get a grip. Any large company would have their heads for faulty equipment as such.
I bought the extra warrantly offered by best buy. I was skeptical about it and haven't needed it but having heard all of this I'm glad I have. The additional features of OS 3.5 are nice however if the upgrade were now available I wouldn't put it on my husbandsIIIx or daughters III until they get it straight. I certainly wouldn't pay for the upgrade at this point.

My IIIc developed a hair line crack in about two weeks. I did not abuse it, drop it, or do anything I could think of that caused it. When I finally found time to contact them, they wanted $100 to replace it because the warranty did not cover abuse. OK. I asked them to send me a new back and I would pay them, NO! That is not possible. Social engineering did not work, I could not get a new back. I finally barked my way up to the manager of the problem children. As I waited on hold I removed the 4 screws to see how easy the back would come off. (Really easy) When I told manager that I removed the back she said I had just voided the warranty. OK I have not been so misshandled since I last contacted IBM in 1985.
Palm is totally out of touch. I would not do business with them again for anything, or for any new product they may invent!

We've posted a story regarding this thread on PalmLounge. I've seen the stylus holder of my IIIc chip and crack. I've photographed it and have included links to this thread in the article. The story will run on PalmLounge on Wednesday but you can preview it here::

http://www.go2mac.com/displaynews.cfm?newsid=6471" CLASS=NEWS>http://www.go2mac.com/displaynews.cfm?newsid=6471 Please keep us informaed of any developments so we can help keep Palm users updated on this story.

Thanks,

Rob Parker
Managing Editor
PalmLounge.com

I to have a crack on the back on my IIIc. I've never droped it. I rang Palm and they TOLD me I Droped it! And they will charge me $195 to get it fixed! If this doesn't get fixed soon (and for free) i'm never going to buy another Palm.

lucky for me, i havn't seen any cracks yet. will keep an eye out though. thanks.

Yep. Me too!
My IIIc also has a Y shaped crack in the top right corner. I certainly will not be forking out 100 bucks for a fix!

I purchased my IIIc from Staples and added THEIR extended warranty for another $80. It is a 2 year extension above and beyond the standard Palm warranty, it is also a guarenteed replacement warranty instead of repair. Since I have another 2.5 years left, I'll hang onto my cracked one until they fix the design problem.

I just called Palm and reported the crack on the back of my IIIc. Apparently, Palm is acknowledging this as
a common problem with their IIIc as the rep I talked to said he just received a memo on this a few minutes
before I called. There is a qualifier though ---
your IIIc has to be manufactured within specific dates,
I believe he said it should be beween January (?)and February 28,2000, for it to be covered by their warranty. They are going to send me a new replacement in about 3 days. Let's hope this one doesn't break!

Does anyone has similar problem, i.e. broken case with a IIIxe? Mine seems to be showing the same symptom with IIIc.

I too have a Palm IIIc with a back case that developed a crack for no reason... and the crack is spreading, not unlike the crack in a windshield.

Ouch, I just noticed it last night. On the bottom right of the back side. I use this palm IIIc since May.

I also have a cracked case lower right hand conner.
It is true that 3com want to charge $100 for a .20c Item. I like my IIIc very much but I feel the cover is cheeply made, and #com should produce a stronger replacement.

Dan

I've had my palm 3c a little over a year, and it's been developing cracks on the front part of the case, around the screen. These are getting worse, and the cracks separate easily. It's never been dropped or bumped. Had a IIIx before, without any problems, even after dropping!

I too have suffered from the cracked palm iiic case problem.... first it started with the hairline cracks... i thought hey they're just small cracks.... well after about a month the cracks got bigger.... well its been 6 months since i saw the cracks and my case finally OPENED up... it sems teh cracks reached the corner i called palm an they gave me the 100 dollar bs... well i taped my case from teh inside, but now my stylus holder is cacking... where did they get there plastic ????... simply put its not fair to dish out 300+ dollars for a technology that cracks faster than a cracker!

I have also received a crack on my Palm lllc. It started a while ago and I now noticed that its becoming bigger. Im searching around to buy a new case but the 3c's don't have anything for replacement.

After reading this post I called Palm and told them I am one of the people who's palm iiic has cracked.

Fortunately I was under warranty, they are sending me a refurbished palm. I think I may just replace my back with the refurbished palm's.

What is a reasonable price for the little green power button? Palm wants $100 - $150 to replace it, and won't sell me the part so that I can do it myself.

Yes I have the cracks on the back of the Palm IIIc also. Had a Palm III for years with no case problems.

Although I am not a fan of law suits and I do think the recent one against Apple is frivolous, I feel the only way to get a response out of Palm regarding these IIIc issues is a Class Action Suit. My IIIc is my 5th upgrade and I would love to have a m505, but Palm has lost me as a loyal customer and enthusiast.

Interested? E-mail me - andrewthurman@earthlink.net

The back of my IIIc is falling apart. I cannot synch without holding it in place. Of course I
contacted Palm and they offered to fix it if I sent in $100+. The back has four screws and
would take about 30 seconds to replace if they would sell us the part. I agree that Palm has made
a very poor slection in materials and case design, which make this case very prone to cracking.
Coupled with their unwillingness to sell you a 50 cent part makes the IIIc a poor choice. I told
customer service that I would continue to advertise their product with the circuit board sticking
out the bottom. When it quits functioning, it won't be Palm that I will be contacting. I have
warned by brother and a friend not to get the Palm when they made their recent PDA purchases.

If anyone starts a class action suit, please contact me.

I have the same cracking problem with my 3c case. It developed around the serial interface connection. I belive it is due to the stress of a poorly designed docking station, and a weak plastic case. This is definately a defect. Palm will not ship a replacement case to the public, but insists on a repair /exchange that costs a whopping $160.00. Shame on palm. The rear case probably costs about 25 cents to manufacture, and $1.00 to ship.

Palm gave me the same run around with my Palm IIIc. Same cracks on the back case as everyone else. They told me I could send it in for repair (at my expense). They refused to acknowledge that it's a known issue.

For as little as plastic costs, and as much as I spent on this, you'd think they'd jump to replace it, or as I requested, send me the part and I'd do it myself.

I purchased a new IIIc and Vx for home use. Several more for work. You can bet I won't be buying any more of their products in the future and I'd highly recommend anyone thinking about buying a PDA to consider other manufacturers if this is the route Palm wishes to take. As part of my job, I'm a purchasing agent for the Federal Govt. and I ALWAYS remember who took the opportunity to fix an issue and who didn't.

Not impressed.

Robert
spectrum@cfl.rr.com

As I posted earlier, Palm didn't replace my IIIc case when it cracked. To make matters even more fun, my wife's Vx developed the all too common "mad digitizer syndrome". Again, no longer under warranty even though it's a common issue.

Well Palm, I warned ya. I bought myself a Handspring Visor Pro and bought the wife a Visor Edge. When we need to replace the ones at work, they'll likely be a Handspring brand too. You can bet they won't be Palm.

Meanwhile, I have at least $1000 worth of Palm related goodies that make poor paperweights. :-(

Robert
spectrum@cfl.rr.com

My name is sean dalgety. (sean@axxess.web.za) I bought a palm iiic 9 months ago. It is cracking all over the place, almost half the rear cover is now covered with large cracks. I almost never use it, (its been recharged 5 times in the nine months, it lives in a protective body glove, and this is unacceptable!

Nobody ever returns my email from palm support, except for the automated one, which really doesnt help now does it?
Now, today, I read the warranty for the first time, (doh!), and see the warranty specifies that it doesnt cover cracks to the outer case of the palm(makes me suspicious that they stipulate this...)

Oh, woe is me, I've been screwed...

Yeah. It's happened to me too! What junk!

Well, all the comments about Palm Inc. are correct. I too have had and still do have a IIIc with the infamous cracked case. I called Palm at 888-956-7256 and talked first with Ed (No, Ed doesn't have a last name and no, Ed doesn't have an email address). This should have been my first clue. I told Ed about my issues with the cracked case. He actually acted surprised by this new information. I sighted this web page with its more than 75 people who have had and are having issues with the IIIc case. He assured me that he would look into it and call me back with an answer. Three days later, still no phone call. Stupid me calls again today and asked for Ed. Linda says she doesn't know an Ed. Linda listens to my complaint again and now tells me that I'll have to call 847-493-7256 and stay on the line to talk to "corporate level" customer service personnel. Ten minutes later, Connie at "corporate level Palm" answers. According to her, it is my fault my IIIc is now not hardly useable. You see, because I didn't turn in my IIIc when it first broke and was "still under warranty" I am responsible for their inferior plastic and case design.

To say that my case is now cracked is an understatement. I had no idea it was a manufacturing defect until I read this web page. It didn't even cross my mind that if you paid over $500 dollars for something you can throw (sorry, not throw place) in your pocket that it would/could turn to trash in less than 3 years. She, Connie, told me I could contact gethightech.com and purchase a replacement case there ($60). I explained to her that the problem is so horrific that they too can't supply them....there are no used units (with a good case) to be scavenged. The cases Palm was/is putting on the repaired units (I have read) have an indentation in the plastic back to accommodated the expansion and contraction of the battery. Obviously Palm is aware of the defect but refuses to accept responsibility. All I wanted was for someone to bill me a reasonable price and send me a $10 piece of black plastic in the mail. The original IIIc I love but can't stand the stonewalling and total denial by their customer service reps.. No wonder the other guys are eating their lunch.

By the way, they said they'd do me a favor and fix my unit for half price...$125. What is the best replacement (not Palm) for a IIIc?

P.S. I'm talking to the guy in South Africa who says he has made a replacement case for the IIIc. I'll post a follow-up if he ever sells me one and I actually get it. I'm not ready to drop this thing in the trash yet.