Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bulsajo]

Now considering a refurb DELL Latitude series.
Particularly a c610 (P-IIIm 1.2Ghz).
Anyone have any experiences they want to share?

[Bo Peabody]

[deleted]

[blunder1983]

I too cant talk specifically about the laptop but I've been buying Dell desktops for years and only have good things to say about them. No problems at all.

[FUBAR]

Just be sure about the cooling system. They lattitudes heat up pretty quiclkly.

[Bulsajo]

There's one place in town selling them with 256MB RAM and 30 GB HDDs for $550CDN which is pretty sweet. Have to go and check them out though and make sure the pixels aren't half-dead and the hinges all shot to hell.

[FUBAR]

Check if the Ram is upgradable to 512mb.

[plattwaz]

I had a DELL Latitude my first year here in Korea and while I was very very happy with it, when I did have two minor problems, getting it serviced was IMPOSSIBLE, despite purchasing the extended International "WORLDWIDE" warranty. Dell Korea would, at that time, only service Inspiron laptops (when I purchased the warranty I was guranteed that it would be serviceable in Korea).

First, there was a keyboard problem, nothing major, two of the keys stuck and I couldn't type letters K or M. It was easy to fix - a $1.51 (Cdn) part, and 5 minutes of labour. DELL admitted that the part number was identical but that in Korea, their Inspiron technicians were not licenced to service Latitudes, so I was out of luck. Because I had purchased the warranty, having someone else open it and fix it would have voided the warranty. Had to ship it home, have it fixed in Canada, and returned to me - with major hassles at customs both ways. DELL originally agreed that they would pay for shipping, but then refused to.

Second problem was that one day it just wouldn't turn on. Went through HOURS of phone service help, with DELL in Korea, USA and Canada. No one had an answer and they refused to even send an Inspiron tecchie to my apartment to LOOK at it and make a judgement call on the problem.
Couldn't use it for final 2 months in Korea, but when I got it home, my father had an "IDEA" (which he couldn't have thought of two months earlier) and managed to fix it for me (hold down CTRL and POWER for 15 seconds solid, release, then power ON. Worked. ^%$##^*&)

So, my point is - if you're planning on getting one under warranty, make sure that DELL will service Latitudes - things may have changed in the last 4 years since that happened to me, but you never know.

PS - just noticed someone else mentioned the fan -- I had a fan problem, too -- when it was at home to have the keyboard fixed, my father noticed it was overheating, so he made them replace the fan while they were there, so I didn't have to go through the same servicing problem again. The technician refused to, and my father had to make him wait at my house for an hour while he called the DELL office and demanded it......

[dogbert]

[plattwaz]

[OiGirl]

I've worked in a school system where Dell had the state contract and was well pleased with their desktops. I had little exposure to their laptops, but the few times I used one, it was good. My sister just bought a Dell laptop and it's a great improvement over her last computer. If I ever had to go over to the Dark Side of Windows, I would do it with a Dell.

If you can get a Macintosh serviced in Korea, why can't you get a Dell serviced?

[plattwaz]

[mumblebee]

I have used an Ispiron 1100 for the past year, and it constantly overheats and shuts down. If you check out the Dell community boards you will find that this is a common complaint, one that hasn't been addressed by the techs at Dell...they won't even entertain the possibility of a cooling problem, and will endlessly try to tell you that it is a virus or something.

I had an IBM thinkpad before 'upgrading' with the Dell...and I've been regretting it ever since.

[Prince844]

Hey,

I've had a few Dell Laptops...nothing to complain - love em. I have an Inspiron 600 now...still works despite having spilt OJ and coffee on it and occasionally using it as an airport pillow.

After calling Dell Tech support and being routed through several US southern states I found a guy who helped me transfer my warranty from Canada to Korea to get this thing fixed here. They should pick it up tomorrow and have it fixed by Friday. I'll let you know how it goes.

[dogbert]

When I bought my Dell Latitude C810 in 2001, Dell Korea was only selling Latitudes then. I even wrote to ask them why I couldn't buy an Inspiron from Dell Korea, but got no response.

[Ekuboko]