Complaint Review: Hewlett Packard HP Compaq - Palo Alto California

Steven said: > The actual price of the LCD panel from LG.Philips, the manufacturer, has gone DOWN. It's only the ripoff HP version that has gone up (if it has -- I'm not convinced that they didn't always have an inflated price on their parts replacement site). > No, it doesn't. Other manufacturers of notebook computers install OEM parts without modifying them to make them proprietary. From what I've now learned, the EVO series of notebooks from HP/Compaq were especially notorious for this dishonest practice, but of course when they were brand new that fact was not yet known. Besides, the problem isn't that it doesn't fit -- it fits fine. But if you install a replacement not sold by HP, it won't work -- because there is a proprietary electronic piece in the HP version, and if it's not there, the computer is instructed not to light up the panel. The modification appears to serve no other purpose than to force the purchase of HP parts at inflated prices, since the screen is in all other respects no different from the generic version. > In truth, you can go to a discount muffler shop and buy a Ford-compatible exhaust that is an aftermarket product. Ford did NOT engineer their cars to blow up unless you bought a Ford exhaust from a Ford dealership at dealership prices. Likewise, not too many automakers out there use a proprietary design to force you to buy THEIR brand of windshield wiper (except Land Rover, which is just as bad in this regard as HP/Compaq) or spark plug or tire or rim. And if your windshield gets a crack in it, you don't buy it from Ford, you buy it from a glass shop, which also does not buy it from Ford. So I have to disagree completely with your car analogy. When it comes to notebook computers, I expect to buy certain things from the manufacturer. A motherboard, for instance, or the plastic pieces that were especially designed for that unit. But I don't expect to buy batteries, or memory, or hard drives, or an LCD panel from the manufacturer for five times the open-market price. Those are generic items that are available on the open market for notebook computers made by honest companies, of which there are many.

First, let me talk to dennis, the above poster. Dennis saying you have better consumption costs on an Epson compared to and HP is rediculous. If you read some of the comments on this very site people are saying stores are selling empty Epson cartridges, and this isn't true. Do you know why? I'll tell you. Epson printers clean themselves when the printer is turned on after being off, or if not being used for a long time, or perhaps just because it feels the printheads need cleaned. If one of your epsons ever stops working (which it will just leave it sit on for a few weeks), take it apart and look at the ink soaked absorbent pad at the bottom. The reason this happens is because to spite no one else in the industry doing it, epson uses a different printing technology. They also keep their print heads outside of the cartridge which requires more cleaning than HP's cartridge. So you see the reason HP ink is more expensive, is everytime you buy a cartirdge you replace the head, basically your getting a brand new 1,000 nozzle print head. Epsons ARE NOT more economical and have an EXTREMELY low page count if you account for cleaning. Canon and HP tend to be much better in cost per page. Now, the main complaint. Your complaint are changing a part and price are rediculous. In technology part cost always goes up. For instance a stick of pc3200 ram is cheaper than 133. But pc3200 is newer and faster, it doesnt matter its produced on a lower scale. So yes, I'm sure it's alot more expensive than HP's original price. Lastly, You complain aboout them changing a screen to not fit, so you can't save money. This holds true with anything. Mitsubishi makes an exhaust for a Ford, is ford gonna let you order it from a competitor because they made it? No they paid to have it developed and engineered so it's their product, regardless of who made it. Same reason dennis down there is made he has to pay so much for HP brand ink, its HP brand ink, so buy it from HP, they developed, and packaged the product. Expect to use theirs regardless of cost.

We "disposed" of every HP product we had. Mainly printers as they kept sticking it to us for ink. We now use Epson's with OEM grade ink refills. We are saving about 80% to what HP was charging. They will wake up some day and say where did our business go? Maybe when the HP fat cats all stop getting out of this world bonus's they will come back down to planet Earth and play fair with their customers. Doubt it but you never know...