27" Core i7 iMacs Arriving DOA or With Cracked Screens?

[ericinboston]

Then how does amex make a profit or get income for that matter, without interest?

Amex, like Visa and Mastercard, charge each vendor a processing fee on every transaction. Amex charges the most...about 3.5% I believe. So if I buy a $1000 tv at Best Buy, BB has to give Amex 3.5% of that sale which would be about $35.

Think of all the billions (literally) of transactions and Amex makes a nice profit.

And...considering Amex does not allow you to "carry a balance", they have extremely low risk regarding bum cardholders.

 

[WATCHDOG]

If the container was at fault, and allowing the box to flex, surely we would see crack both left and right, so far, from what I have read, all the cracks are in the lower left.

Why only the lower left, well thats the $50,000 question.

+++

Contact Holmes - toot sweet...

+++

 

[brisbaneguy29]

There is an old marketing trick, it goes like this..

Take 3 playing cards and on the back of each card write 1 of the following:

Fast Turn Around
Cheap
High Quality

Now pick 2 cards, you can never have all 3.

 

[brisbaneguy29]

+++

Contact Holmes - toot sweet...

+++

Sorry, I don't get what you mean?

 

[ericinboston]

Mine arrived with a cracked screen. Fedex dropped it off at 2PM...

So...in your opinion:

1)was this a manufacturing problem (unit was damaged BEFORE being packed)?...the manufacturer just put the busted unit in the box and hoped nobody would notice
2)was this a packing problem (Apple/manufacturer not packing the unit well enough)?... and hence even a slight drop by ANY shipper would have damaged it
3)was this a shipping problem (Fedex damaged it in shipping)?...did the outside box look beat up?

So which one?


Until more people on this and other forums really state clearly the conditions of the outside box, the packing, etc. this topic is just going to blame anyone/everyone. I'm sure Apple is asking the above (and other) 3 questions.

Now, my personal opinion without much data: I feel that Apple over the past few years has really slimmed their packaging to a point where there is basically no protection in the box. I look at people walking out of the Apple stores with their new iMacs and my jaw drops that it's such a slim box. Compare that to all sorts of electronics and PC things I buy and the device always comes in a LOT of extra space in the box, plastic air bag thingies, sometimes peanuts, and very often those plastic/squishy things that keep the inside box from moving. Not with Apple. I agree that sometimes the packaging is extreme...but I'm paying for this thing and the supplier and manufacturers don't want to fight it out about how something broke. Business 101 in any college will educate you on contracts regarding shipping and risk between a shipper and supplier.

If these cases are found to be a problem with packing, Apple will surely have to start packing them better. Nobody's going to buy a $2000 machine, wait a week for arrival (or get it from the store...afterall, it gets SHIPPED to the store somehow), open it up and find it busted...then spend time, money, and aggravation to get a replacement. Of course this problem can affect any vendor in the world but now it may seem to be Apple's turn to deal with it.

-Eric

 

[robeddie]

If I paid 2000 bucks for a computer, I'd want Al Gore to drive the damn thing over to my house, with the box wrapped in goose feathers and my driveway temporarily covered in bubble-wrap at Apple's expense.

...oh and I'd want it to work, at least for a week before I got bored and wanted a 38 inch screen

It is remarkable how much technology has spoiled us. In 1993 I bought a new Qualda 610 for $2,500 (in TODAY's $, that's probably 4k+).

It was a system that was 1000 times slower, had far less functionality, and a much much smaller ... no, wait, it didn't have ANY screen at all with it!

Now we think we're paying the king's ransom for a Corei7 iMac with an incredible 27 inch screen.

I know everything's relative, but when I relate to my own experience just a decade and a half ago, it still feels like today's computers are an absolute STEAL.

 

[Stevep67]

Apple Quality

I've been a Mac user since 1990 - bought probably 12 of them over the years. Apple used to be bulletproof - software and hardware. Nothing went wrong, nothing broke, these things lasted years. Since then they've become media darlings in 2000, went OSX and went Intel (read: off-the-shelf parts), the problems started. Too bad.

Kudos to Apple and Steve for ascending to be one of the coolest global brands. You have to progress with technology for sure, but it seems it's come at the expense of quality.

My i7 iMac is on the truck and should arrive tomorrow. ;-) I hope it works the way it should.

 

[motulist]

It is remarkable how much technology has spoiled us. In 1993 I bought a new Qualda 610 for $2,500 (in TODAY's $, that's probably 4k+).

It was a system that was 1000 times slower, had far less functionality, and a much much smaller ... no, wait, it didn't have ANY screen at all with it!

Now we think we're paying the king's ransom for a Corei7 iMac with an incredible 27 inch screen.

I know everything's relative, but when I relate to my own experience just a decade and a half ago, it still feels like today's computers are an absolute STEAL.

Totally. I mean if you magically had this iMac i7 back in 1993, you could literally get millions of dollars for it, maybe even billions. The amount of technological advancements in today's imac compared to any computer available in 1993, it's just staggering. This is not to say that it's okay for computers to show up damaged and not have the problem be dealt with by the manufacturer, and it's definitely no fun to be expecting arrival of a new toy and then have it show up damaged, ... BUT at the same time, today's computers are such a tremendously amazing value and provide *SO* much power and benefit, some people seem to be spoiled and not appreciate how much they really have.

 

[Knawlidge]

I just picked up a core2duo 27" iMac and it had a cracked screen on the lower left corner. This is not just an i5/i7 model problem. Best Buy where I bought gave me problems exchanging it so I went to a different BB, no problems there.

 

[Povilas]

I think cracked screen is a result of "careful" transportation.

 

[VoR]

I'd still be worried about getting an imac delivered without a broken screen reading all these reports and packaging comments.
Maybe the glass survived a bumpy journey in an badly packaged box, but everything would have had a rough time in transport, increasing the possibility that components might fail early in the life of the machine.

 

[mabhatter]

I'd call that a pathetic excuse.

not really, due to the number of reports this looks systematic... i.e. somebody's making/designed a mistake and repeating it faithfully.

I'd say it's one of two things:
a) package handling. I'd guess the bottom left corner is about 6"-8" from the bottom of the box opposite the barcode. Operator reads the barcode and pushes finished box down a chute to shipping. The extra weight of the 27" size is more stress than the packaging can handle even though it doesn't show damage on the box.

b) torsion stress builds up when you fasten 27" of glass to a metal frame. Just like when you fasten tires with a "star" pattern, that much glass with screws needs relief. That it's consistent means the same order of fastening screws is being followed every time.. either the fastening is to tight, or the aluminum frame is relieving stress from production and snapping the screen at the first/last screws tightened stress point.

 

[Lordedmond]

but the glass is held on as per usual practice with magnets not screws

 

[MH01]

Well mine is sitting next to me at work right now. Fark its big, not quite sure how I will get it home.

The outer brown box packaging looks fine. So no evidence of it being abused. Will see tonight if there are any issues with it. Fingers crossed.

 

[Bubba Satori]

Well mine is sitting next to me at work right now. Fark its big, not quite sure how I will get it home.

The outer brown box packaging looks fine. So no evidence of it being abused. Will see tonight if there are any issues with it. Fingers crossed.

Was it shipped or did you pick it up at the Apple store?
Be interesting to see if that makes a difference.

 

[mouztrpd]

I'd be interested to know if any pieces of glass are being found in the boxes with the iMacs with broken screens? Are there any small pieces missing?

 

[clydebest]

to the left

I'd be interested to know if any pieces of glass are being found in the boxes with the iMacs with broken screens? Are there any small pieces missing?

Im from england bought 27inch imac 2 core duo 3.06gh and yes it came with a 2inch crack in the extreme bottom left hand corner of the glass surround.The box was in pristine condition,the glass is cracked not broken so no glass in box.When you inform apple they do not inform you that this is not a one off.Because today is the first time i was aware that this problem was as wide spread as it is.I beleave its a compensation job.

 

[bigwig]

If the container was at fault, and allowing the box to flex, surely we would see crack both left and right, so far, from what I have read, all the cracks are in the lower left. Why only the lower left, well thats the $50,000 question.

That assumes that torsional stress is concentrated equally across the glass. Either the design of the iMac, or the design of the container, may concentrate stress on the lower left part of the glass, leading to failure.

 

[Dozer_Zaibatsu]

I used to have a rule of Taiwan, yes, China, no. I would pay extra for a blender or coffee maker if it were made in Taiwan or Mexico instead of China. Partly it was a sense that the Butchers of Tianamen and stranglers of elderly Falun Dafa meditators didn't deserve my dollars. Also it was a sense that Chinese mainland manufacturing wasn't good quality, anyway. Now, I guess holding on to those standards when purchasing goods is as much a lost cause as anything.

The best machine tooling in the world is putatively Switzerland/Germany. Japan, though, is arguably better or at least as good where they want it to be. (VTEC, Baby.) Technology and economics of scale and national pride has seen that Taiwan and South Korea were determined to match and surpass Japan.

Now, because of the cheapness of mass-manufacturing and automation, all that machine tooling has been shipped/copied to the mainland. Thus, you can get the best manufacturing from China, or just as often the absolute worst.

Does Apple still make anything in Taiwan? Anything at all?

If they want to make stuff in the USA, I have it on good authority that empty factories can be bought in Michigan on the cheap. Real cheap.

 

[Greysquirrel]

There is a Taiwanese circuit board company that has a factory in mainland China and they stamp their boards Made in Taiwan because many manufacturers do not want to use boards made in China even though the quality may be just as good as ones made in Taiwan.
The Chinese government built the factory in six months, working 24/7 just so they would move their operation there.

 

[MorphingDragon]

So...in your opinion:

1)was this a manufacturing problem (unit was damaged BEFORE being packed)?...the manufacturer just put the busted unit in the box and hoped nobody would notice
2)was this a packing problem (Apple/manufacturer not packing the unit well enough)?... and hence even a slight drop by ANY shipper would have damaged it
3)was this a shipping problem (Fedex damaged it in shipping)?...did the outside box look beat up?

So which one?


Until more people on this and other forums really state clearly the conditions of the outside box, the packing, etc. this topic is just going to blame anyone/everyone. I'm sure Apple is asking the above (and other) 3 questions.

Now, my personal opinion without much data: I feel that Apple over the past few years has really slimmed their packaging to a point where there is basically no protection in the box. I look at people walking out of the Apple stores with their new iMacs and my jaw drops that it's such a slim box. Compare that to all sorts of electronics and PC things I buy and the device always comes in a LOT of extra space in the box, plastic air bag thingies, sometimes peanuts, and very often those plastic/squishy things that keep the inside box from moving. Not with Apple. I agree that sometimes the packaging is extreme...but I'm paying for this thing and the supplier and manufacturers don't want to fight it out about how something broke. Business 101 in any college will educate you on contracts regarding shipping and risk between a shipper and supplier.

If these cases are found to be a problem with packing, Apple will surely have to start packing them better. Nobody's going to buy a $2000 machine, wait a week for arrival (or get it from the store...afterall, it gets SHIPPED to the store somehow), open it up and find it busted...then spend time, money, and aggravation to get a replacement. Of course this problem can affect any vendor in the world but now it may seem to be Apple's turn to deal with it.

-Eric

Doesn't ASUS make the iMacs? If so Asus' QC has dropped megatime since 2007. I don't even consider buying them anymore for a board of any level.

 

[halogram]

You all need to know something about the label "Made In".....

If a product has a label that says "Made in Italy" or "Made in France", that does not mean that the entire product is made there. Almost all products nowadays are actually made in China, Taiwan and South Korea. But when it comes to the ever important label, that just indicates where the FINAL assembly has taken place. E.g. if a luxurious handbag or shoe has the "Made in France" on the inside, that just means that maybe the handbag's handles or the shoe's sole is put on in the "made in" country. While the rest of it is made entirely in China.

That means that if Apple made all its computers in China, but they perhaps put on the glass screen in the USA, the product could boast the label "Made in the USA". But that does not make the quality any better nor worse.

 

[halogram]

I used to have a rule of Taiwan, yes, China, no. I would pay extra for a blender or coffee maker if it were made in Taiwan or Mexico instead of China. Partly it was a sense that the Butchers of Tianamen and stranglers of elderly Falun Dafa meditators didn't deserve my dollars. Also it was a sense that Chinese mainland manufacturing wasn't good quality, anyway. Now, I guess holding on to those standards when purchasing goods is as much a lost cause as anything.

The best machine tooling in the world is putatively Switzerland/Germany. Japan, though, is arguably better or at least as good where they want it to be. (VTEC, Baby.) Technology and economics of scale and national pride has seen that Taiwan and South Korea were determined to match and surpass Japan.

Now, because of the cheapness of mass-manufacturing and automation, all that machine tooling has been shipped/copied to the mainland. Thus, you can get the best manufacturing from China, or just as often the absolute worst.

Does Apple still make anything in Taiwan? Anything at all?

If they want to make stuff in the USA, I have it on good authority that empty factories can be bought in Michigan on the cheap. Real cheap.

You all need to know something about the label "Made In".....

If a product has a label that says "Made in Italy" or "Made in France", that does not mean that the entire product is made there. Almost all products nowadays are actually made in China, Taiwan and South Korea. But when it comes to the ever important label, that just indicates where the FINAL assembly has taken place. E.g. if a luxurious handbag or shoe has the "Made in France" on the inside, that just means that maybe the handbag's handles or the shoe's sole is put on in the "made in" country. While the rest of it is made entirely in China.

That means that if Apple made all its computers in China, but they perhaps put on the glass screen in the USA, the product could boast the label "Made in the USA". But that does not make the quality any better nor worse.

 

[Trek2100]

If I paid 2000 bucks for a computer, I'd want Al Gore to drive the damn thing over to my house, with the box wrapped in goose feathers and my driveway temporarily covered in bubble-wrap at Apple's expense.

...oh and I'd want it to work, at least for a week before I got bored and wanted a 38 inch screen

I love it. Actually, he invented goose feathers several thousand years before he invented the internet. He actually invented Apple, or was it the "real" apple, Hmmm.

Sorry for the folks who are having problems, received my i7 this morning and OMG, this thing is truly a speed freak and it is gorgeous. It's been on for almost 10 hours without a glitch. I loaded lots of software and am currently transferring my iTunes through my network from my MBP.

You have to wonder if the breakage in shipping is from here or abroad. We will never know. I've seen the horrors from shipping in the U.S. as well as from overseas. Even though the iMacs are double boxed there is still too much space between the box and the screen and if hit hard enough, could rupture.

 

[jazz1]

So What Strategy Should a Buyer Use?

If you buy at the Apple Store will they let you open it and check it out and turn it on? If you want a "special order" one can you have it shipped to the store and check it out before purchase? I'm guessing not. Does the Apple Store check their stock before they sell it?