Jason's Notes About Stuff

Last January, I bought a Panasonic Lumix camera when living in New Zealand. I was wary of buying something expensive overseas, but was assured that it came with a 1-year "worldwide" warranty . When the camera went dead in Thailand, I phoned the Panasonic support numbers in New Zealand and Canada (which of course both routed to India). They asked where I lived, and told me I should deliver it to a Panasonic authorized repair center in Canada . Very inconvenient , but I that's what I did once I returned. However, after I sent it to the repair center, Panasonic decided they wouldn't pay for anything unless I could send them a copy of the warranty card that came in the box. So now I have to pay for the repair estimate (they determined it was unrepairable) and shipping both ways. I have the original receipt , the manual, and all accessories. The warranty is still valid through next month. Why should a photocopied piece of paper make any difference? Oh right...

Back last September, I reviewed my then-recent mobile phone watch purchase . All in all, it has done me fairly well.  For this review, I'll do a simple pros and cons list, followed by an overall recommendation. Pros It's on your wrist, so it's pretty difficult to forget to take it with you. It's quad band, so you can use it anywhere in the world. It has a camera and plays audio and video. It's a great conversation piece. Everybody calls you "James Bond" when you're wearing it :) But it's all not puppies and rainbows.  There are some serious problems. Cons The user interface sucks .  A lot.  The software is just plain awful and it's difficult to use. The Bluetooth functionality is buggy as hell. The build quality sucks .  A lot.  (see next few points) The stylus fell off within the first few weeks. The latch for the USB port broke after a few months. The band broke today.  This subsequently broke the casing and now it just say...