My wife's fairly new Motorola Defy phone just cracked all the way across the screen after she plugged it in to the charger. Motorola says it is not covered under the one year warranty. T-Mobile is not willing to help either. We are positive this is a manufacturer defect because:

1. We were just using the phone (Remember the Milk app, which we are both figuring out how to use), and it was fine. She plugged it in to charge, came back 15 minutes later, and it was cracked all the way across!

2. This is marketed as a rugged phone. This is why we bought it. It is water and shock resistant. Yet this phone has not even the slightest scratch and the screen has completely come apart.

I did a quick google search and it looks like we are not the only ones having this issue.

So far we called Motorola, and they said "physical damage is not covered under warranty regardless of how it was caused". So, if Motorola screws up manufacturing and puts out some defective handsets (e.g. there is a piece of debris under the glass mount because they didn't follow clean room manufacturing practices, and then the glass fails because of this) they are not going to help you.

Contrast this with my friend's experience with his Apple product. He dropped it on the floor 9 months after purchase. The screen cracked. They fixed it for him even though it was actually mistreated.

What are my options here?

1. Get screwed by motorola and t-mobile.
2. Get a lawyer.
3. ???

We will update this posting with what happens next.

I asked for refund on defective product not living up to stated warranty from TMobile and they said the will not after 14 days.

Congratulations Portland Oregon! You had the worst air quality in the nation today.

Updates: see Part 2



Oh and thanks for giving my two year old asthma. Awesome. The greenest city in the USA!
[End sarcasm.]

Source: airnow.gov "USG" means unhealthy for sensitive groups. Portland allows 100% unregulated wood burning even when there is an air stagnation warning, like today.

Why do other cities have no burn days, but we don't?

More thoughts after the cut...


Continue reading "Portland, Oregon worst air quality in nation today."

This follows up on my original post on Portland Oregon having the worst air quality in the nation today.

In my first post I asked why Portland doesn't even have burn advisories like other cities. Turns out our immediate neighbor to the North, only a mile away, has these things. This doesn't mean they have clean air, as you can see in the photo in this story, but it is a step in the right direction.

Washington State, in general, has more laws regulating very dirty fires than Oregon.