[quote author=“deathstar”]The people in this forum really amazed me. Too hardcore for me ... :wink:
btw, such upgrades will violate the warranty, right?
Pretty sure if they find out it will. You’d need to remove the upgrades before sending it in. I paid for a 2 year extension from CompUSA, mainly for the screen.
[quote author=“deathstar”]The people in this forum really amazed me. Too hardcore for me ... :wink:
btw, such upgrades will violate the warranty, right?
I agree. Its nice to dream about attempting this stuff but i might as well just smash my tr with a hammer before i attempt this because either way the computer will not work after i do it!
[quote author=“sillyrabbitt123”]
I agree. Its nice to dream about attempting this stuff but i might as well just smash my tr with a hammer before i attempt this because either way the computer will not work after i do it!
I’m worried my fat little hands will do the same.
The article was great and much appreciated. I’ve been considering making the leap from my rather aged Picturebook to the TR series for quite some time, but with some major trepidations.
I’ve been following the forums here long enough to know that I could simply buy the watered-down U.S. version and upgrade it with DVD-RW (and now Bluetooth) myself, but I’d still have to perform the upgrades (or, much more likely, pay someone else to perform them.) But then I lose that precious U.S. warranty.
I did a bit of math on this:
Assuming I purchase the base TR3AP from Sony US, it’ll cost me $2200 plus shipping and taxes ($100) for the base unit, $275.00 plus shipping for the Matsushita DVD-RW, and $150 for the Bluetooth. This’ll bring the total cost to $2625-$2725.00. Then I’ll have to find some tech willing to install these components for me. (An additional $50-$150.) Thus, the total could be anywhere from $2675 to $2875 and I’ll have voided the warranty.
If I just go ahead and purchase the Japanese TR3/SP from an importer like Kemplar.com, it’ll cost me $2950.00 (shipping, Bluetooth, DVD-RW, and Japanese warranty included.)
I’m still on the fence.
Any suggestions? Comments?
I’d really like to make the big push to the wonderful world that is the TR. ( I was able to review a demo of the Japanese edition a couple of weeks back and fell in love.)
[quote author=“Continental Op”][quote author=“sillyrabbitt123”]
I agree. Its nice to dream about attempting this stuff but i might as well just smash my tr with a hammer before i attempt this because either way the computer will not work after i do it!
I’m worried my fat little hands will do the same.
The article was great and much appreciated. I’ve been considering making the leap from my rather aged Picturebook to the TR series for quite some time, but with some major trepidations.
I’ve been following the forums here long enough to know that I could simply buy the watered-down U.S. version and upgrade it with DVD-RW (and now Bluetooth) myself, but I’d still have to perform the upgrades (or, much more likely, pay someone else to perform them.) But then I lose that precious U.S. warranty.
I did a bit of math on this:
Assuming I purchase the base TR3AP from Sony US, it’ll cost me $2200 plus shipping and taxes ($100) for the base unit, $275.00 plus shipping for the Matsushita DVD-RW, and $150 for the Bluetooth. This’ll bring the total cost to $2625-$2725.00. Then I’ll have to find some tech willing to install these components for me. (An additional $50-$150.) Thus, the total could be anywhere from $2675 to $2875 and I’ll have voided the warranty.
If I just go ahead and purchase the Japanese TR3/SP from an importer like Kemplar.com, it’ll cost me $2950.00 (shipping, Bluetooth, DVD-RW, and Japanese warranty included.)
I’m still on the fence.
Any suggestions? Comments?
I’d really like to make the big push to the wonderful world that is the TR. ( I was able to review a demo of the Japanese edition a couple of weeks back and fell in love.)
Unless you speak Japanese, you’ll need to switch the keyboard over to a US one.
Personally, I love to mod things, i’d rather do it myself.
Unless you speak Japanese, you’ll need to switch the keyboard over to a US one.
Personally, I love to mod things, i’d rather do it myself.
No. The keyboard is in English with Japanese subtitles. (Which is true of all Japanese keyboards.) They can add an English only keyboard for about $50 more as well, but I think I’d stick with the standard (the Japanese characters add a bit of the exotic.)
My problem is, I absolutely hate to mod things. I still haven’t called around to find out how much a tech would charge me for doing the upgrades.
[quote author=“deathstar”]btw, such upgrades will violate the warranty, right?
Warranty? Who needs a stinkin’ warranty!
Seriously, if anything does go wrong then yes, I would swap out the upgrades and put it back to normal before sending it in. I probably do need to buy a set of case screws as you can tell I’ve been in my system. :wink:
Yeah, the Japanese keyboard isn’t exactly the same as the US keyboard. It is QWERTY but there are some minor differences. Because of the special language keys, the space bar is shorter and the location of some of the special characters like colon, semi-colon, dollar sign, etc. are located in different places. It’s not too big of a deal (I’ve had a couple Japanese keyboards before) and it takes about a week to get used to it…especially if you’re a touch typist.
Continental Op: You make a good point about the warranty issue…but only if you don’t want to mod things yourself. As I mentioned earlier, as long as you put the original parts back your warranty is still technically good. It’s not like the old Apple warranties where they actually had a sticker inside the system…and if you opened it, it would tear notifying the technician that the system had been tampered with thus voiding your warranty.
When you buy an import, in some sense, you’re also not really getting a warranty. First of all, you cannot legitimately register your product for warranty. Japanese models get 3 years warranty by default. Perhaps the importer actually registers the product and can handle it for you. You do end up having to pay international shipping which is more than domestic. Also, I suspect your downtime will also be longer due to the longer shipping times. So, for me, time is money and I use my TR for business so it’s not worth it.
Unless you speak Japanese, you’ll need to switch the keyboard over to a US one.
Personally, I love to mod things, i’d rather do it myself.
No. The keyboard is in English with Japanese subtitles. (Which is true of all Japanese keyboards.) They can add an English only keyboard for about $50 more as well, but I think I’d stick with the standard (the Japanese characters add a bit of the exotic.)
My problem is, I absolutely hate to mod things. I still haven’t called around to find out how much a tech would charge me for doing the upgrades.
Yeah, gr00vy0ne is correct, it’s not exactly the same just with subtitles. Personally, i’d have to switch the board, it would be annoying. Plus, your warranty would only be good in Japan, not in the US, so either way you really don’t have a warranty that does you any good. Like I, and others said, pull out the mods before sending to Sony.
Yeah, gr00vy0ne is correct, it’s not exactly the same just with subtitles. Personally, i’d have to switch the board, it would be annoying. Plus, your warranty would only be good in Japan, not in the US, so either way you really don’t have a warranty that does you any good. Like I, and others said, pull out the mods before sending to Sony.
Well, I’ve got the Picturebook C1-MSX, so I’m accustomed to the extra keys and the relocation of the @, /, and ‘. As grOOvy stated, it only takes about a week to get used to.
As for the warranty issue, I’ve found the Japanese warranty repair takes, on average, a shorter amount of time than in the U.S. When taking my old broken down Toshiba into CompUSA for repair the last time, they held it for 6 WEEKS before I finally got it back (only for it to sow the same problem two weeks later, but that’s another story.) The one time I had to send the Picturebook to Japan for repair (for a broken screen), I got it back in a week and a half.
The Japanese warranties are actually only good for a year nowadays. Not three. I believe you’re right. The importer usually registers the products for you and handles the shipping and repair advocacy for you.
I think you’re right. If I were willing to do the mods myself it would make more sense, as I could with equal ease take out the mods if and when the unit needed to be sent in for repair. But being uncomfortable within the insides of a laptop this size, I’d probably just be creating more frustration for myself than necessary. I’d have to pay someone to take out the mods before sending the unit in for repair. That’ll just take more time and money. In my case, the import might be the better deal, both short-term and long-term.
I appreciate the feedback!
I needed someone to play Devil’s Advocate. I’m going to sit on the decision for another week or so, but I think I will likely go with the import.
At any rate, your find, gr00vy0one, was spectacular. For those willing to do the mods, that really is a fantastic deal.
Japanese TRs come with a standard 3 year warranty that covers manufacturer defects. There is an additional accidental coverage that adds notebook drops, coffee spills, water damage, and fire/heat damage. So, if you get an import, make sure the importer offers a three year warranty with it…or at least will help you deal with the manufacturer for 3 years.
Japanese TRs come with a standard 3 year warranty that covers manufacturer defects. There is an additional accidental coverage that adds notebook drops, coffee spills, water damage, and fire/heat damage. So, if you get an import, make sure the importer offers a three year warranty with it…or at least will help you deal with the manufacturer for 3 years.
Good eye! I hope I don’t actually do anything to my TR such as that described in those pictures.
Japanese TRs come with a standard 3 year warranty that covers manufacturer defects. There is an additional accidental coverage that adds notebook drops, coffee spills, water damage, and fire/heat damage. So, if you get an import, make sure the importer offers a three year warranty with it…or at least will help you deal with the manufacturer for 3 years.
Good eye! I hope I don’t actually do anything to my TR such as that described in those pictures.
You don’t set your LCD monitors on fire? I do, about once a week, it keeps them looking fresh.
