chipanalyst.com

Let me first say that for all of the complaining I have heard about the AT&T network with the Iphone, I haven’t noticed any problems. I have had an I phone for a few months now and I don’t see why people are complaining. I don’t think it’s any less reliable than the next network. That being said, I always welcome the prospect of more options. It could be that in other parts of the country the AT&T network is lousy.

The most interesting thing about the article I read, which reported that T-Mobile, Orange and O2 will sell the Iphone in the UK, Germany, and France, is that those companies may have agreed to send as much as 10 percent of the revenues on to Apple. This would be quite an unprecedented development that would shift some of the power to the manufacturers of phones.

    I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that said that Yahoo had beaten Google in a major customer satisfaction report that is done every year.  Not only did Yahoo out due Google in the report, but it also showed that they were heading in different directions from previous years with Google’s satisfaction ratings declining.

I have to say that the findings were a little surprising to me.  I think I have just gotten used to Yahoo getting beat down by Google in about every possible way.  So, while it was a little surprising, I think the news is good news in some ways.  I don’t think it’s a good thing for one company to dominate as Google has recently because when they get too far ahead of the competition they tend to get more interested in the all mighty dollar and less interested in customer satisfaction.

I think the best scenario will be to have Yahoo rebound and become more competitive with Google and for MSN to catch up to both of them.   This would force all three to be a little more honest and concerned with the end users and publishers of the web, rather than what will bring in the most revenue.

You’ve done your research, read the reviews online, compared the features, and you’re ready to buy your next new electronics product. Stop right there! Before you pull out your wallet, get to know their return policy. It’s the single most important thing to know when purchasing electronics.

More important than all those subjective reviews you read online. More important than having 23 items listed on that features list instead of 22 items. More important than trying to understand a warranty that covers everything but somehow covers nothing. Let’s face it, electronics are fun but expensive. It’s not like a t-shirt you got on sale that ends up stuffed away in your closet because you wore it once and didn’t like how it fit after all. Electronics are usually used over and over and need to last a while because their expensive.

I recently purchased a digital camera from Sears but didn’t ask about the return policy.  I read the return policy on my receipt. Well, I thought I had read it. I read the front of the receipt which said that I had 90 days to return the item for a full refund. Satisfaction Guaranteed! I didn’t read the back of the receipt which said that I only had 30 days to return it because it fell under Home Electronics.  So when we got around to printing some pictures and saw that we weren’t happy with the quality of the images, we tried to return and found out that I should have read the fine print or asked about it when I bought it.

So here’s what to pay attention to in a return policy so you won’t make the same mistake I did.

- How soon do you need to return the product if you want to exchange or get a refund?
This is a big one. Just because you have purchased something at the same store and returned it 43 days after you bought it doesn’t mean you can do that with the camera you are about to buy. Most all stores have different policies for electronics. 30 days is common for electronics but not always the case. So make sure you ask.

- Is there a restocking fee?
15% on a $400 dollar camera is big deal for most. Thats $60. If your like me, thats going to eat at you. If you find a store without a restocking fee, I would go there every time.

Make sure you ask about the return policy and make sure you pay attention. If the product is $15 cheaper but the store has a horrible return policy you know what to do.