dbman

In case it is not common knowledge, HP offers refurbished 4700/4705 PDAs. Their current price is $467.10. According to the sales rep, refurbs are indistinguishable from a new PDAs and each carries a 1-year warranty with a 3-year option. In addition, all accessories are 50% off their current price. For example, I added a second 1800mah battery for $27.50. A 3800mah battery is going for $50, a 1GB SD card is going for $50, .etc.

You can get a complete list at:

http://www.hp.com/sbso/buspurchase_r...computing.html

medic2109

Thats a real great price for both the unit and extra's..Wish I had waited an extra 3 weeks to get my wifes!!! Especially since they come with the same 1 year warranty!!!! Good find!!! Those on the fence may want to jump in here to spend less for the same power we all have!!!

abb1

I would say to stay away from refurbs! I have had nothing but bad luck with them over the years, then my friend who is a computer tech at Compaq told me that the way they test their returns is to plug it in and if it boots, then it is OK. That is what you get if you see 'Refurb' written on it. He explained to me that with the amount of returns that they get, it is impossible to diagnose every aspect and he claims that there is nothing wrong with the majority of returns from customers so therefore if the system boots, it gets a refurb sticker on it and it is classified as OK . He still is a friend of mine so don't even ask me about any more details. However, this has explained the bad experiences that I have had with refurbs. Two years ago, I purchased an HP printer Deskjet 990C on sale (or so I thought) for $99 cdn. I took it home and the printer would not print anything properly. I was going to take it back to Staples and then I noticed the 'REFURBISHED' sticker on the side . I was furious because these printers were not advertised as refurbs I took it back complained to the management and then they were advertised as 'Refurbs'. I ended up paying about $175 more for a printer at Futureshop, but I still have it to this day and it works flawlessly. When buying 'Refurbs', you are buying other peoples problems, and my rule of thumb is 'you always get what you pay for'.

Raiderhp4700

good points... face it.. whenver you buy a refurb from anywhere..its a turkey shoot..but . even if you have to send back one or two to get a good one..youve saved $200.. thats worth it.

AshleyJ

Originally Posted by Raiderhp4700

good points... face it.. whenver you buy a refurb from anywhere..its a turkey shoot..but . even if you have to send back one or two to get a good one..youve saved $200.. thats worth it.

Hmm... Can't quite see where the $200 saving comes from!
Looking at the link given above a saving of 10% for a refurbished product does not seem a very good deal to me. I am certain that you could probably find a source prepared to give a discount of 10% or more for a NEW unit if one looks around.
I know when I bought mine here in the UK there was at least 10% difference in advertised prices.
Personally I would have expected nearer 20-25% discount for a refurbished unit.

dbman

As a follow-up, I received the refurbished 4700 late last week. Cosmetically and operationally it seems to be perfect. There are no physical defects. The screen is unblemished and does not have missing or locked pixels. 802.11b wireless works as well or better than the socket card I had in my Axim X5 PDA. The only problem I have had so far was getting the plastic shield off of the screen!

I've moved all my data and applications from my Axim X5 to the HP and so far, no there have been no crashes or unexpected resets. Everything works as well or better than it did on the X5. As a bonus, the Marware case I purchased for my X5 fits the 4700 very well.

Given the quality of the build and the awesome screen, I am sorry I waited so long to upgrade.

If I encounter any problems, I will post them here.

medic2109

dbman,

Do us (and yourself) a favor and check to see if the factory seal is present in the top left corner screw hole. That is the only way that HP will cover repairs.

latinware

HP Colombia replaced mine hx4700 after three month waiting, and what was my surprised when I got a "refurbished" instead of a new device! I complained to HP Colombia and HP USA and finally after many lies they told me it was refurbished just because I told them did not had the HP seal present in the top left corner screw on the back of the unit. So far, it's working perfect but that type of experiences left a bad flavor about HP in general.

__________________
Luis Gomez
www.latinware.com
RadioShack...Palm>H3850>H3950>H5450>hx4700!!

dbman

Originally Posted by medic2109

dbman, Do us (and yourself) a favor and check to see if the factory seal is present in the top left corner screw hole. That is the only way that HP will cover repairs.

Yes, the little screw hole is covered with a HP sticker.

porksoda

Wow... HP likes to make thier dough.. the refurb cost is more than the actual cost of a brand new 4700.

Originally Posted by dbman

In case it is not common knowledge, HP offers refurbished 4700/4705 PDAs. Their current price is $467.10. According to the sales rep, refurbs are indistinguishable from a new PDAs and each carries a 1-year warranty with a 3-year option. In addition, all accessories are 50% off their current price. For example, I added a second 1800mah battery for $27.50. A 3800mah battery is going for $50, a 1GB SD card is going for $50, .etc. You can get a complete list at: http://www.hp.com/sbso/buspurchase_r...computing.html

gee52

i just bought one for $412, shipped. Didn't have the half off on accessories though.. really liked to have had one of those $50 3600mha batteries.

amin

Where did you get one for $412 shipped, Ebay? I would be very interested in buying one at that price.

geatches

Originally Posted by porksoda

Wow... HP likes to make thier dough.. the refurb cost is more than the actual cost of a brand new 4700.

Current price at HP is $649 but I've seen them at stores fo as low as $579. Where are you guys finding these lower prices?

__________________
hx4705
1G CF Card
Franklin Covey PDA Binder

gee52

Originally Posted by amin

Where did you get one for $412 shipped, Ebay? I would be very interested in buying one at that price.

it was a referb from a place called technoretro.com. I had bought a Dell PDA from them a year ago and I was pretty happy with them and the deal.

dbman

Originally Posted by gee52

i just bought one for $412, shipped. Didn't have the half off on accessories though.. really liked to have had one of those $50 3600mha batteries.

As I understood it, you could buy refurbed accessories separately. There was no requirement to purchase a 4700.

Go to HP's refurb site and see what is available. Then give them a call and see if they have any sales lower than the listed refurb price. As a bonus, these parts come with the full warranty!