Portion of touchscreen not working

[courtmagician]

Has anyone had this happen on any of their devices? I have a year old BenQ P50.

Basically, I can't write on a portion of the screen - when I try to write on it (or just click something), either it won't be recognized or more likely the alignemnt will be way off. In the image below, you can see where I've colored in using Phatpad, but the white part is where the inputting doesn't get recognized. This includes the buttons below the white area, following the same arc.

http://www.courtmagic.com/Screen003.png

I don't recall doing anything funny to my device - one day it was working, the next it wasn't. I haven't installed anything, dropped or done anything that might have caused a change in its behavior. I've tried a hard reset, with no change.

[Janak Parekh]

If a hard reset and a realignment don't help, that's usually a sign of a problem with the touchscreen layer of the LCD. :( Is this a unit you can get serviced within warranty?

--janak

[courtmagician]

Hey Janak,

Thanks for the quick reply. No, this isn't under warranty. It was purchased through eBay, which BenQ considers "out of warranty".

[Darius Wey]

You can contact Pocket PC Techs (http://www.pocketpctechs.com/main~unit~BenQ_P50-307~area~repairs~item~PPCDIAG.htm) and see if they'll be able to repair/replace your touchscreen.

[courtmagician]

Hello Darius,

Thanks for the reply. I jactually just saw it, but had actually given PocketPC Techs a call yesterday and the techs aren't completely sure about if they can get it replaced or not, but would be happy to do a diagnistic on it. I've decided to go ahead and upgrade my phone (to a TyTN, wee) and contemplate whether I should repair & sell the BenQ, or sell it with repairs still needed - just not sure how much I can get for a BenQ with a defect like that.

[Darius Wey]

I've decided to go ahead and upgrade my phone (to a TyTN, wee) and contemplate whether I should repair & sell the BenQ, or sell it with repairs still needed - just not sure how much I can get for a BenQ with a defect like that.

I don't think the P50 is selling for much these days. It's a device that entered the market too late, and already has a successor, the P51. A broken, outdated device is probably not worth fixing, but that's just my opinion. However, if you're a little tight on funds, and you can cover the repair costs in your sale, then by all means go for it.

[courtmagician]

Darius, I certainly appreciate your opinion.

I do occiasionally check the P50's on eBay, and they go for around $400 at their best, maybe $300 at the least (used ones, rarely any new as you pointed out - although Expansys sometimes puts them on there refurbished for $400). I'm going to keep it until I get the TyTN, and then see where funds take me. I think it is best if I get it repaired because that would be a selling point (i.e., Brand New LCD/Touchscreen). The cost of repair would be anywhere between $100 to about $180 according to Pocket PC Techs.

So if I can repair it, and get at least $300 for it, all would be well in my world. I am pretty good with posting auctions that sell on eBay.

Also keep in mind the P51 is still not available (unless you know something I don't), because I was initially thinking of upgrading to that, but the touchscreen problem I'm having has expediated my needs.

[Darius Wey]

So if I can repair it, and get at least $300 for it, all would be well in my world. I am pretty good with posting auctions that sell on eBay.

Cool, that sounds like a plan. :)

Also keep in mind the P51 is still not available (unless you know something I don't), because I was initially thinking of upgrading to that, but the touchscreen problem I'm having has expediated my needs.

I had a quick look at some online stores, and you're right, the P51 is still on pre-order status. I certainly hope that it doesn't suffer the same lifecycle of the P50, which was delayed for way too long. :(