Toshiba Announces Pocket PC 2003 Upgrade Policy

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/pc/pc_news_display.jsp?newsID=3233524525' target='_blank'>http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/...wsID=3233524525</a><br /><br /></div>Bad news, e330 and e740 owners: it looks like Toshiba may not be offering an upgrade. :(<br /><br />The attached press release spells out the upgrade policy: "Toshiba Pocket PC e750/e755 Series customers can take advantage of the benefits of Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 software for Pocket PCs via a technology upgrade program**. Users who purchased a Pocket PC e750/755 Series device from May 23, 2003 - Sept 23, 2003 are eligible to upgrade to the new operating system for free plus $15.99 for shipping and handling. Customers who purchased the Pocket PC e750/e755 Series with the Pocket PC 2002 operating system before May 23, 2003 will be able to upgrade to Windows Mobile 2003 for $50.00 (shipping and handling included)**. Full program details can be found by visiting <a href="www.shoptoshiba.com">www.shoptoshiba.com</a>.<br /><br /><i>**Note: For Toshiba Pocket PC e750/e755 only. Not compatible with other Pocket PC 2002 models.</i>"<br /><br />While the wording doesn't specifically exclude any future upgrades for the older Pocket PC 2002 units, there appears to be no announced upgrade program. If anyone has more information, let us know!

[Tierran]

There's a lot of discussion at Brighthand about this and we're getting very mixed signals from Toshiba. They're going to have a lot of very angry customers if they do this to us...non-repeat customers at that.

[wu-wei]

As I stated over on Brighthand, the following is a redacted copy of the "inquiry" I sent to Toshiba via their online system:


June 23, 2003

Greetings:

Today, as you know, is the official launch date for the newest portable operating system from Microsoft - Windows Mobile 2003. Unlike other hardware platforms where an end-user is able to perform an upgrade on their own initiative, the Pocket PC devices require hardware manufacturers to prepare a new "ROM" image that is specific to a particular hardware configuration. This, of course, is the case with your e740 model.

I purchased your e740 model in January, 2003 for $500 US. I am learning today that I have no upgrade path available to me, despite the fact that your hardware is compatible with and capable of running this updated operating system and despite the fact that I made a significant investment in your products less than six months ago.

Ironically, the very reasons that I bought your hardware (Xscale processor and integrated 802.11b wireless network adapter) are precisely the hardware components for which this new operating system was designed.

Your decision to ignore e740 users by choosing not to provide an upgrade path for our hardware is deplorable. In essence, your company is telling early adopters of your hardware platforms to re-invest in a company that has demonstrated an unwillingness to provide industry-standard support, at the same or similar price as their initial investment. Somehow, your company has determined that end-users are possessed of sufficient funds to continue purchasing hardware that will be obsolete - with absolutely no option for upgrade - within one year.

Your decision to hold your company out as an innovative market leader by incorporating the latest technologies in your devices is meaningless in light of your later decisions not to provide end-users with the means for exploiting that same "leading edge" technology.

In light of your decision not to offer an upgrade to Windows Mobile 2003 for the e740 device, I will not purchase another Toshiba product in the future. I will also advise all of my family members and my close friends in the XXXX legal community to avoid your hardware on this same basis.

Regards,

XXXX

[Janak Parekh]

There's a lot of discussion at Brighthand about this and we're getting very mixed signals from Toshiba. They're going to have a lot of very angry customers if they do this to us...non-repeat customers at that.
I can totally sympathize. Re the mixed signals: that's why I left the end of the post open-ended. Let us know if you hear anything to the contrary!

wu-wei: nicely written, and polite. I hope Toshiba realizes the implications of what they're (not) doing.

--janak

[jkabaseball]

740 owners, its sad sad day :cry: i'd love to see someone hack it and get the 750 version on it. I know it can be done. so all you programmers out there start your emulators, and let the coding begin!! or you can start the petition or what ever. but where is the fun in that,

[sgyee]

You might have some problems with the ROM. Compal manufacturers the E750, Accelent makes the E740. There may be different structures between manufacturers.

[jkabaseball]

yes the rom would be the problem, but its almost the same hardware, can't you just tell it, it is a 750 not 740 and upgrade it

[cam87513]

Personally I've sent an email and talked in a web chat to the Toshiba PDA guys. It's important to be polite when talking to them, but I think if we make enough noise, we can make Toshiba give us an upgrade.

[Enderet]

Hehehe Im glad I sold my Toshiba e335 when I had the chance and made some profit off of it w00t! :oops:

[Janak Parekh]

yes the rom would be the problem, but its almost the same hardware, can't you just tell it, it is a 750 not 740 and upgrade it
Externally, it may appear to be the same hardware, but internally, it's completely different. I hate to say this, but given my experience, hacking the 750 ROM is an utter non-option. Even Toshiba wouldn't do such a thing. They would theoretically use the special Pocket PC image building tools, plug in the e740 drivers, and churn out a custom ROM for the e740.

--janak

[BugDude10]

I, too, am going to be extremely hosed off if there's no upgrade for the e740. I purchased mine in 09/2002 largely because it was upgradeable and advertised as such; Toshiba's decision, if it stands, not to offer the upgrade to e740 users approaches fraud in my book. And rest assured, I will not stop at mere threatening letters -- I'll take the matter up with my local judge... :twisted:

[Tierran]

Bitter irony :

We can run hack Linux and MacOS onto oru PPCs...but we can't get PocketPC to run on our PocketPC :roll: :devilboy:

[jmbneaf]

Even e75x users are getting the shaft too

HP's Ipaq ugrade only costs $29.99 - To$hiba wants $49.99 :evil:

How @#$%$^ greedy to me :evil: . I hope some new owners of PPC2003 will backup a copy of their ROM and share it with the rest of the e75x community. :mrgreen:

That'll be a kick in the pants too..

[Chris Spera]

yes the rom would be the problem, but its almost the same hardware, can't you just tell it, it is a 750 not 740 and upgrade it

Most likely no...

While the e310 didn't have much of an upgrade path, many users got really ticked-off and Toshiba ended up releasing EUU2 and EUU3 for these models anyway. However, Toshiba had made a conscious decision to DROP the e310 back when EUU2 was released, not even 3 months after I had made my initial purchases. I find that deplorable as well. It took a whole lot of complaining from a whole lot of users and MVP's to get them to THINK about changing their minds. I'm tired of riding and beating that horse...

In my honest opinion, I truly believe that the Toshiba Pocket PC division is a ship without a pilot. Its eventually going to hit an iceberg and sink. Toshiba has an uncanny habit of releasing top of the line, expensive equipment, building the capability for upgrading into the product, and then leaving customers at the altar. They just don't seem to have any real direction, leadership or desire to keep current customers...and as an individual responsible for corporate customer satisfaction at a previous job, that just p*sses me off. I find it purposfully irresponsible and very rude.

I have an e310; and I'm selling it. I am just a little tired of putting up with Toshiba's customer support policies. I have the device listed on eBay (check the Buy & Sell board here on 'Thoughts for the URL.) if anyone's interested...but this isn't a commercial for my auction.

I'd like to formally challenge Toshiba to live up to their customer's expectations. I'd like to challenge them to compete in the TRUE arena of Customer Satisfaction. They had it at one point; but lost it shortly after they decided to start releasing desktop computers back in the mid 1990's. Shame...

Since then, the company has been a real customer disapointer... Its doubtful that I will purchase any product, new or used, produced by any Toshiba division. I just don't want to get caught holding the bag when I need something from them AFTER they get my money.


Kind Regards,


Christopher Spera

[cam87513]

GAH! I just finished getting verbally abused by a Toshiba PDA Support agent. I called and politely asked if he had any information about a device upgrade for the e740's, and explained to him that the webchat agent told me to do so. He then spouted off that it was Microsoft's duty to release updates to the device. I calmly told him that it was actually the OEM's duty to release an upgrade. He then quickly said that he didn't have any information and for me to check their website next time. I am so SICK of customer support agents that treat the customers this way. Compaq does it, and on the two occasions that I've had to call about my Toshiba Satellite, the agents there have done the same. The only company that has had kind technical support staff so far has been Gateway. They must make sure that the rod is taken out of their agent's butts before they let them log in to take calls, unlike some other companies.

[yvilla]

Having just bought my e750 in April, I went looking for the upgrade as indicated in Toshiba's press release; even though it's expensive at 50.00, my main complaint right now is that it's nowhere to be found on the Toshiba site! Has anyone had any luck finding it?

[gbpackers4ever]

I bought my e750 before 5/23 and couldn't find the upgrade details anywhere either. I called Toshiba and the guy told me they are in the process of updating the web site with the upgrade information. I'd keep an eye on it for the next 24 hours. If nothing, I'll call them again and find out what's going on.

[gorkon280]

You might have some problems with the ROM. Compal manufacturers the E750, Accelent makes the E740. There may be different structures between manufacturers.

Agreed. Besides why should we FIX what is broke? I bet CompUSA and Best Buy are going to have ALOT of unhappy customers wanting to trade their e740 in for a iPaq that WORKS! Never will I EVER again buy a Toshiba ANYTHING!

[cam87513]

Ditto dude, hp all the way from now on. Once I get my update for the e740 (I'm not giving up without a serious fight), I'm never buying another pda or laptop from these dolts again.

[shindullin]

I never had any hopes of my Tosh being upgraded as it's the ugly stepchild Genio e550g, but Toshiba's lack of support will certainly make me think twice before I get another one. Maybe they don't understand that the people willing to pay extra to get the rom upgrade and install it are the one's everyone else in the office asks advice from and/or the IT professionals who guide their office's purchase of these types of devices... too bad for them. :soapbox:

[ExtremeSIMS]

I was assured by a Toshiba rep on the web long ago that the e740 was a top of the line unit, a corporate model, and would be upgradable. That's why I bought it at Best Buy. Now I find this is not the case.

The unit still works, but the guys at Best Buy said to bring it back anyhow. I might wait - I like the unit - but I am not pleased.

[Ed Hansberry]

Toshiba makes a killer device, but I will NEVER recommend nor buy their device for this reason alone. They very quickly abandon devices just a few months old. The 570 was completely ignored when the 310 came out. When the 330 came out their response was "what 310?" I am stunned the 740 users are out in the cold.

Shame on Toshiba. I'll take one 2215, thank you very much. :evil:

[cam87513]

Ed, any chance of getting some kind of thread or something together so that e740 users can post a formal letter to Toshiba, which could then be sent to Toshiba via email once we have enough replies? I'm not giving this up without a fight. What they're doing is downright dirty to their consumers.

[Peter Traugot]

I think its clear that, if you want virtually a garantee that the unit you buy this year will be upgradable to the next version, you might as well buy an ipaq.

I've owned pocket PCs for years, three different brands ( I own a 550g now.)

Brand and packaging aside, I firmly believe that at the moment, HP is the only game in town when it comes to supporting the customer.

&lt;sigh> :roll:

Not that I disslike HP, but I wish I didn't have to make this determination.
:?

[Kati Compton]

Brand and packaging aside, I firmly believe that at the moment, HP is the only game in town when it comes to supporting the customer.
The newcomers seem to be supporting their units. Which is especially good given that it's their first time through.

[Jonathan1]

I'm not really all that surprised. Toshiba support for older products really sucks. I've gone through 2 laptops and Tosh software updates has been next to nonexistent. Hence the reason I won't buy Tosh again. *shrugs*

[maximus]

I, too, am going to be extremely hosed off if there's no upgrade for the e740. I purchased mine in 09/2002 largely because it was upgradeable and advertised as such; Toshiba's decision, if it stands, not to offer the upgrade to e740 users approaches fraud in my book. And rest assured, I will not stop at mere threatening letters -- I'll take the matter up with my local judge...

Sorry to say ... companies operate in order to make money. And selling upgrades is not going to increase their income by a significant number ... Making upgrades for a not-too-recent-model cost a lot of overhead, and it is not going to make any profit for the company ...

What does the toshiba want ? They want you to sell the e740 and purchased a new one. That's how they make money. If they dont do that, they go lower than the targetted EBIT .. some of their people might be laid off, or worst, their mobile division might be shutted down.

Hence there will be no more future toshiba's for you. ... Think about selling the device, and purchase a new one. Think of it as an 'investment'. :wink:

[maximus]

Toshiba makes a killer device, but I will NEVER recommend nor buy their device for this reason alone. They very quickly abandon devices just a few months old. The 570 was completely ignored when the 310 came out. When the 330 came out their response was "what 310?" I am stunned the 740 users are out in the cold.

Agreed. That is exactly the reason I choosed an axim. Fever model means longer shelf time. Hence it will take you longer to get outdated.

Shame on Toshiba. I'll take one 2215, thank you very much

Ipaq has a lot of models too right ? :wink: 2215 kills the 19xx ... 6 months later ... 2300 kills 22xx ...

[saxamoophone]

It might not make much sense in straight $$$, but as far as business relations goes, toshiba is coming off as ass-holes (excuse my french).

How hard would it be for them to release updates for at least the 740 and the 330. Both were top of the line just months ago........and it seems like virtually all the other major PPC makers are supporting their own products that came out in the same time frame. How cheap of them. Futhermore, how dare they charge $50 for those with the 750! I would understand the charge for the 330 and 740 (since they need to recover the cost from it) but the 750 is still in production, and hence, something they had to do anyways!

I won't be supporting Toshiba again in the future unless they decide to change their minds.....

[Tierran]

Sorry to say ... companies operate in order to make money. And selling upgrades is not going to increase their income by a significant number ... Making upgrades for a not-too-recent-model cost a lot of overhead, and it is not going to make any profit for the company ...

Thanks for clearing that up for those of us who don't understand economics. :roll: However, in order to make money they have to sell things. Even if the overhead were more than the revenue generated by the sales of WM2003, the goodwill generated would only help them in the future. As it stands now, I would never consider a PDA from Toshiba again, and I would strongly recommend against anyone buying any of their products simply because they show that they do not support their own products. A not-too-recent-model?? Please, I bought mine in January and six months is pretty recent to me when I plunked $500 on it. Maybe you're made out of money, the rest of us aren't.

What does the toshiba want ? They want you to sell the e740 and purchased a new one. That's how they make money. If they dont do that, they go lower than the targetted EBIT .. some of their people might be laid off, or worst, their mobile division might be shutted down.

I don't think they want us to sell our e740 and go buy an e755. Because anyone who's taken any basic, college management and economics knows that you don't treat your customers like @#$% in order to get them to buy a new product. My guess is that the managers are just extremely unorganized and really don't know what they're doing.

Hence there will be no more future toshiba's for you. ... Think about selling the device, and purchase a new one. Think of it as an 'investment'. :wink:

You're so funny. Remind me to laugh later. So what do you do on the weekends, steal candy from little kids and push old ladies in the mud?

[Janak Parekh]

Brand and packaging aside, I firmly believe that at the moment, HP is the only game in town when it comes to supporting the customer.
:cough: Jornada 567 :cough:

Absolutely, HP has been great with the iPAQ line... but, sadly, the Jornada fell of the face of the earth as a result of the merger. :cry: I saw someone using the 567 on the A train today... man, that was a great form factor!

--janak

[Christian]

You know, its sad that the only reason I'm not nearly as ticked off about the lack of support for the e740 is because mine is by now beyond repair (only due to poor Toshiba quality - it was never dropped or otherwise abused once) and the customer support from them was so poor that I eventually gave up having it replaced... well that and the faulty D-pad, the horrible speaker, the daily crashes, the random power-ons, the inaccurate battery indicator, the flaky WiFi, the application buttons that only worked half the time...

So I guess I'm one repeat customer that they had already lost. Its a shame considering how good it looked on paper at the time.

[gorkon280]

I think its clear that, if you want virtually a garantee that the unit you buy this year will be upgradable to the next version, you might as well buy an ipaq.

I've owned pocket PCs for years, three different brands ( I own a 550g now.)

Brand and packaging aside, I firmly believe that at the moment, HP is the only game in town when it comes to supporting the customer.

&lt;sigh> :roll:

Not that I disslike HP, but I wish I didn't have to make this determination.
:?

Yep. I agree with ya now. I was always jealous of all of those gadgets you could get for the iPaq but NO MORE! How come the big monolithic HP can understand this SIMPLE customer service thing but Toshiba cannot? :onfire:

[gorkon280]

Sorry to say ... companies operate in order to make money. And selling upgrades is not going to increase their income by a significant number ... Making upgrades for a not-too-recent-model cost a lot of overhead, and it is not going to make any profit for the company ...


I disagree whole heartedly with this one. I was going to buy the upgrade for this and in a year buy a new eSOMETHING because I did like it most of the time (excpet those bugs that I now know will NEVER get fixed). I was willing to PAY to fix these bugs, but it looks like I won't so they lost about a thousand bucks or more because I was going to buy the wife a e3XX series one when I could too. Well, no more!

The amount of the cost for doing this is negligable. They'd have MADE money doing this. If they wanted to charge 60 I would pay for it then too. Those who care would do it and it would have cost Toshiba diddly squat. I would not care too much if the thing was bug free but it isn't. So, I will NEVER EVER EVER reccomend Toshiba ANYTHING to anyone and I will NEVER buy anything either from them. Not even anything as simple as a TV!

[tinytechnews]

The first thing I did today when I heard about this was open about 15 IE windows and look for a different Pocket PC. Toshiba's lack of customer support has been my biggest complaint all along. It is hard to believe that HP will go all the way back to the 3800 series and Toshiba won't even go back one.

The product can handle the upgrade, like someone said earlier let's start a petition and put the smack down on Toshiba's customer support.

0X

[yvilla]

I never had any hopes of my Tosh being upgraded as it's the ugly stepchild Genio e550g, but Toshiba's lack of support will certainly make me think twice before I get another one.

shindullin, it's Audiovox we have to look to for the possibility of an upgrade for the e550G. While their support hasn't been stellar either, an Audiovox rep did tell Diane Dumas, of Pocket PC Magazine, that they would be looking into supporting the PPC 2003 upgrade for us when it was available. This was months ago, but I wouldn't completely give up on the idea just yet, at least not until we get word from Audiovox directly.

[guilmon]

I understand the fact of the matter at hand that Toshiba is completly giving us the cold shoulder in not allowing us to upgrade our os's on our ppcs, but looking at the feature list on micro$oft's pocket pc webiste (www.pocketpc.com), I see nothing that would warrent paying 50 dollars for.

I don't have a blue-tooth or wireless network, and I don't believe that if you buy a pocket pc of this value (assuming the early e-series, like the 310 and 330 were "value" ppc's), you would not be needing software to use it.

Sure, the picture viewer is a nice built-in addition, but similar software can be downloaded for free, or for a minimal charge, not that I have ever bought ppc software before online.

The window$ media player 9 for ppc, I imagine, is just a new number for the 8.5 series that looks like 9 already. This goes back to my previous point that if you have a value ppc, you won't be streaming content wirelessly, and therefore, it is useless.

The improved pocket internet explorer, again goes back to the wireless-less theory, that if you don't have it, you won't use it. However, I do sometimes surf the web on the ppc when docked, like if I am playing a game fullscreen and I am too lazy to do an alt-tab, but this is only looking for simple content, like text. The avant-go service is optimized for our ppc's and therefore would not be improved by a new p.i.e.

As for the new contacts features, I think I can manage by sorting alphabetically.

As for the new calender features, I personally don't use it enough to warrent a menial reason to upgrade, but I may just be an exception.

The new game, called Jawbreaker, looks fun, but I already have it for free by playing sytact (something-or-other) gamebox.

As for the new color from 98 gray, to the aesthetically pleasing 2000 gray, it is a pleasing change, but not for 50 dollars.

My final theory is that we don't need to upgrade, we just want to because we should be able to. But really, from what I have seen on micro$oft's website for the 2003 os, it really looks to be nothing more that any other euu or device upgrade, and hardly warrents spending money.

[Ed Hansberry]

The window$ media player 9 for ppc, I imagine, is just a new number for the 8.5 series that looks like 9 already. This goes back to my previous point that if you have a value ppc, you won't be streaming content wirelessly, and therefore, it is useless.
WMP9 is way more than just looks and WMP8.5 doesn't compare. If you are just doing music, then yeah, it is no big deal, but if you have downloaded some WMV video, the difference in 8.5 and 9 is night and day. Then again, maybe you should spend your money on a new keyboard and get that "s" key fixed. :roll:

[wu-wei]

Um, I thought the biggest benefits of Windows Mobile 2003 were X-Scale optimization and improved WiFi. I couldn't possibly care less about WMP, since I have never even opened it on my machine - I use WinamPAQ. All the rest of this misses the point - we bought an X-Scale device that runs an OS that wasn't optimized for that processor. Now the OS is optimized and we are left with an outdated, kludgy OS.

That IS the point, isn't it?

[maximus]

You're so funny. Remind me to laugh later. So what do you do on the weekends, steal candy from little kids and push old ladies in the mud?

Ok, perhaps I need to be more sensitive about this. I am not trying to offend anyone. I merely put myself on toshiba's shoes, and I somehow understand their logic.

Customer satisfaction is always an integral part of a company's success. But there will always be a tradeoff between the 'degree' of customer satisfaction vs. cost incured. Most commonly, companies will support their latest product only. That is exactly what Toshiba is doing.

As for the purchaser of the non-recent models, one short comment: you know that 750 is out, and you purchased the 740. By that action, you are putting yourself at-risk of being left out in the upcoming PPC2003.

...

"Life is all about action and reaction" -- The Matrix Reloaded.
"What you put into life determine what you get out of it" -- Someone.

[MonkeyGrass]

Ok, perhaps I need to be more sensitive about this. I am not trying to offend anyone. I merely put myself on toshiba's shoes, and I somehow understand their logic.

Wrong. There is no logic to their decision. Refusing to support customers who bought your "top of the line" device less than a year ago, in many cases less than 6 months, is NEVER a logical decision. Especially, when said device is not only BASED on the technologies that were improved in WinMobile2k3, but many people were sold on them because of flashable ROM and plenty of extra space that *logically* would only be useful in the event of an OS upgrade. Even their Customer Service folks are scratching their heads wondering why they are getting all these upset calls and emails, for a simple upgrade that *ought* to be available... :roll: Think of it this way, which is better for long term profitability, offfering an upgrade that may or may not make you money (and at $50, I'm pretty sure they are making money here guys... everyone else is charging $29) BUT leaves your customers with a warm, happy glow that they got "taken care of" by Toshiba, thereby telling family, friends, co-workers who are looking to get a PDA about their good experience and recommending they look at Tosh, not to mention coming back when they are ready to upgrade to a new device... Now, compare that scenario with a bunch of pissed off people who will never buy Toshiba again, and loudly and frequently tell everyone they know to steer clear of them.

Um, which scenario was more likely to result in long term profits? Pissed off non-returning customers? Or satisfied consumers who recommend the product and company because of good service and upgradeability?

Yeah. That's what I thought, too... But then again, what do I know? I only work in IT marketing and sales for a living ;)

Customer satisfaction is always an integral part of a company's success. But there will always be a tradeoff between the 'degree' of customer satisfaction vs. cost incured. Most commonly, companies will support their latest product only. That is exactly what Toshiba is doing.

Wrong again. There is NEVER EVER a tradeoff between customer satisfaction and profitability - THEY ARE THE SAME THING. What economic planet are you living on that says you can lose a SUBSTANTIAL number of your customers, who buy your MOST EXPENSIVE products, and remain in the market, much less profitable??? And as for product support, see every other PPC manufacturer to get an idea of which products are supported with this upgrade. Dell, HP, Asus, Fujitsu, practically every PPC maker, is offering upgrades for their last year's worth of products.

As for the purchaser of the non-recent models, one short comment: you know that 750 is out, and you purchased the 740. By that action, you are putting yourself at-risk of being left out in the upcoming PPC2003.

Wrong once more. I bought my e740 in January, BEFORE the e750 was announced. The e740 is also still available in some retail outlets. The only way any of us put ourselves "at-risk" was by actually thinking that Toshiba would support their products. The 740 was a dog from day one, and a dog with all bark and no bite. They finally have the chance to fix this, to *make it right* for all the people who gave them a foot in the door with the high end PDA market, and they instead choose to SH!T on everyone who bought in.

I have a VERY strong feeling that Toshiba will be bowing out of the PDA market in the not-so-distant future. You cannot piss off the people who buy your products, and stay in the game. They obviously have no direction, horrid product and software management, and some of the shoddiest product and software testing I have witnessed in over 6 years in the IT industry. About the only thing they get right, is product development. They have great specs, and decent marketing materials. Too bad they implement all these great ideas and features so poorly that they are essentially useless. :evil:

Sorry Maximus, you are WAAAAAY off base here.

[flux2k]

I'm new to the Pocket PC world as I just bought my e740 last week - that's right, last week. I've noticed that all the Canadian online and local retailers only carry the e330 and the e740. Even toshiba.ca does not carry the newer models. So what does this mean to Canadian Toshiba PPC users? The entire userbase up here is screwed over? Didn't the e740 just come out a year ago and already it's discontinued?

I actually really like the e740 but it's been a little frustrating finding accesories for it (at least here in Winnipeg). Even something as simple as a zippered case is pretty hard to find - don't even try looking for a thumboard.

Knowing that new software will be optimized for Windows Mobile just adds to the frustration. I was using my e740 for PIM functions but was also heavily into playing games and mp3's. Well everyone knows about the simultaneous button problem and my gripe with playing mp3s (and this may or may not be true on other ppc's) was the loud pops and clicks I could hear between playing songs.

Luckily, Future Shop has a 30 day return policy and once that's up I'm returning my e740 and paying more for an iPaq. At least I know HP supports their products.

[Ed Hansberry]

I'm new to the Pocket PC world as I just bought my e740 last week - that's right, last week. I've noticed that all the Canadian online and local retailers only carry the e330 and the e740. Even toshiba.ca does not carry the newer models. So what does this mean to Canadian Toshiba PPC users? The entire userbase up here is screwed over? Didn't the e740 just come out a year ago and already it's discontinued?
You are entitled to a free 2003 upgrade anyway because of the terms laid out at http://www.ppcupgrade.com Terms and Conditions:

1.This offer is good only for purchasers of a PDA preinstalled with Microsoft® PocketPC® 2002. Your PDA must be purchased between May 23, 2003 and September 23, 2003.
2. You must fill out the Internet online order form completely, including the device Make and Model number, Purchase Date, and Serial Number in order to be eligible for the upgrade. Please note that addresses must be for destinations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America or South America. (We cannot ship to a PO or APO/FPO delivery Address.)
3. You will receive the Microsoft® PocketPC® 2003 upgrade product in the same language as the Microsoft® PocketPC® 2002 product preinstalled on your PDA.
4. The terms of this product fulfillment offer may change at any time without notice including, without limitation, the expiration date.
5. The product will ship approximately 2 weeks from date of order.
6. This offer is subject to product availability and product supplies.
However, given the even easier 30day guarantee with your retailer, I'd jump all over that and enjoy your new 2215!

[flux2k]

You are entitled to a free 2003 upgrade anyway because of the terms laid out at http://www.ppcupgrade.com

I tried that route already and it seems that all e740 serial numbers are invalid. Well, that's my theory.

I just tried Toshiba.ca's contact form... and there's no submit button! LOL! They must think they're doing a dandy job becuase they're not receiving any complaints! Mind you, it could be my browser (Safari).

[sgyee]

One of the other industries that I track and sometimes write articles for is the automotive industry. I love this quote that came out of Automotive News recently from Honda's new CEO, Takeo Fukui. He said:

"Rather than sticking to a sales goal, we should make our customers happy. Then, sales will follow". (Note, he said that when Honda's sales are down 17% worldwide Year to date).

Mabye Toshiba's CEO Tadashi Okamura should see what his neighbors are doing to see what real customer service is like.

[rlobrecht]

You are entitled to a free 2003 upgrade anyway because of the terms laid out at http://www.ppcupgrade.com

I tried that route already and it seems that all e740 serial numbers are invalid. Well, that's my theory.


My E740 serial number didn't work either. :(

[ubiquityman]

This is unforunately more common with Japanese companies.
If you remember a while back, Sharp lost a law suit on one of their WinCE products because they advertised it as "upgradable" and they didn't release an upgrade for it.

I'll be staying away from Toshiba products.

[Tierran]

Customer satisfaction is always an integral part of a company's success. But there will always be a tradeoff between the 'degree' of customer satisfaction vs. cost incured. Most commonly, companies will support their latest product only. That is exactly what Toshiba is doing.

The only tradeoff is between conformance and nonconformance costs. The more they spend on making sure they have happy customers, the less they spend on unhappy customers and end up having more customers. And the rule of thumb is a happy customer might tell someone about it. An unhappy customer will tell at least ten people.

As for the purchaser of the non-recent models, one short comment: you know that 750 is out, and you purchased the 740. By that action, you are putting yourself at-risk of being left out in the upcoming PPC2003.

The e750 was not out or even announced six months ago. Did I think when I bought my e740 that they'd probably replace it at some point, probably this year? Yes. But the fact remains that the e740 was TOP OF THE LINE and still is a very high quality PDA that is very comparable to much of what I can buy today. I still can't find the e750 in any stores around me...only e740s. And of course there's a risk of being left out. They could have chosen to leave the e750 users out too. But it comes down to, should they? Of course not!

Well, there's a lot of great PPC makers now...I'll have my Toshiba and be happy with it for the 2 years on my service plan. Unless Toshiba learns how to treat their customers it will be the last Toshiba product I ever purchse.

[Pat Logsdon]

The whole idea that Toshiba will lose money on releasing an upgrade is laughable, as far as I'm concerned. If NOTHING else, they'll make the money back on brand loyalty purchases.

Another point that I don't think anyone's brought up: Look at Dell. Released a brand new razor-thin-margin Pocket PC 7 months ago, and they've already committed to providing an upgrade.

I'm positive that the profit margin on the Axims is WAY less than the margin on the e740, so as far as I'm concerned, there's really no reason for Toshiba to not cough up the cash and at least offer the upgrade at cost.

But maybe they don't care that they're systematically destroying a once good reputation in the Pocket PC market?

I agree with Chris Spera - this is a sinking ship without a captain. Lifeboats, everyone! :roll:

[Kati Compton]

You are entitled to a free 2003 upgrade anyway because of the terms laid out at http://www.ppcupgrade.com
Wait - did I miss something? I thought Toshiba (currently) has no plans to provide upgrades for the e740, which is the model that was being asked about.

[yvilla]

You are entitled to a free 2003 upgrade anyway because of the terms laid out at http://www.ppcupgrade.com
Wait - did I miss something? I thought Toshiba (currently) has no plans to provide upgrades for the e740, which is the model that was being asked about.

Right--if you look at Toshiba's press release, here:

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/pc/pc_news_display.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0060429108.1056352142@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccciadcijejmfjecgfkceghdgngdglk.0&comm=CS&newsType=Press%20Release&ruleSet=getPressRelease&newsID=3233524525

you will see that it points to the site Ed was quoting, but at the bottom specifically says the upgrade is for the e750/755 only!