Aug 16
Second Guessing
Now that my husband’s Nokia N770 is in for repair, I have now begun to second guess my decision to buy it from Woot. My cost per tablet was 132.48. A really good price, but that comes with no warranty options. So does that make the offer still good? Usually I am not a fan of extended service plans and at the time I purchased the tablets I was unaware of the device’s possible screen failures. So really this is not an issue for this purchase, but I will keep it mind for the future. I was at Tiger Direct this morning and they are selling the tablet for $139.99 plus shipping for a total of $148.48. That’s a bit higher than what I paid, however Tiger Direct offers insurance. Their extended service plans start at $21.99, but only start after the manufacturer’s warranty ends. So I would’ve still had to go to Nokia. They also offer a 2 year Accidental Damage coverage that starts from day one. It’s expensive at $42.99, which is roughly one third of the tablet’s price, only slightly higher than the $37.99 two year replacement option. But when I really think about it, will the N770 be around in two years? For that matter will it be around by the end of this year? So what would I be buying other than a chance to get two-thirds of my money back? Most devices I buy, I only expect to use for about a year, and maybe less if I get bored with it. If it lasts until then I am satisfied if only for the excuse it gives me to buy something else. This whole thing has made me cling tighter to my dedicated e-book devices. My original Rocket e-book is still going strong after seven years. I have taken with me during Army field exercises to include a month in the Mojave Desert (in a zip lock baggie) and the cold and snow of Alaska. Imagine if I had an extended warranty on that, not that it was offered, but it would have been a total a waste of money. I may not be able to buy best sellers for it anymore, and when it finally does pass on to a better place, it will take my purchased books with it. But I have enjoyed it through the years and it has never let me down. I am not saying that dedicated devices are made better. What I am saying is that I only depend on it for one thing—reading. If any of my e-book readers die, I will not lose game playing, video, music, email, and web browsing. The Nokia tablet was a multi-function device and it’s sad to see my husband going through Internet Tablet withdrawal. So the moral of my story is that second guessing does no good. When we get a new tech toy, we should enjoy it, use it for all its worth, and not worry about whether it was a good deal or not.
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