third time is NOT the charm

I just received my third 64gb.

What happened to my first two? #1 had a noticeable, uneven wobble due to the infamous bulge, so I returned it. #2 had a smaller, acceptable bulge, but also had a stuck pixel mid-screen left, so I sent that back as well.

So, I was really excited to open this one and discover a perfectly flat back. Unfortunately, it also has a stuck pixel pretty much smack in the center of the screen. Argh. Plus, the usb is loose or something. (I can wiggle the cord around and I'm concerned that means it might break.)

Now, I really like the Playbook, I do. I even convinced one of my friends to get one. But I have to say, I am extremely frustrated right now. I'm tempted to just say forget it and return it.

The ironic thing is that before my 64gb saga, I had originally purchased a perfect 16gb. I ended up liking it so much that I decided return it and upgrade the 64gb.

Do you have any store around that have a stock of them? You could buy a Playbook there but inspect it first.

Thanks for the suggestion, kennyliu. Unfortunately, none of the stores in my area have any 64gb in store - they are all either out of stock or only offered them online in the first place.

Besides a quick inspection (opening it and turning it on) wouldn't have helped me in this case anyway since the bright pixel sits in the middle of the screen. It's actually inside the white Blackberry logo throughout the start up. I wouldn't have been able to see it without actually sitting in the store and (if they had open and strong wifi) going through the entire set up/update process and then downloading screen helper or streaming a video with darker scenes than the demo.

And, to be honest, that seems kinda a lot to go through even if the store let me do it. And it doesn't say a whole lot for the product to I feel like maybe that's what I need to do to get a good one even after patiently going through three attempts.

Office Depot does have one 32gb in stock. Maybe I would have better luck since it would be from a different batch. I'm hesistant though, since as far as I know, they only offer exchange once you open the box. At least I can straight return this one to Best Buy if I want to give up on these altogether, which I will likely feel like doing if I get a fourth defective one in a row.

Heh..

No wyou are being anal :)

Stuck pixels suck for sure and are worth the return but the bulge?

If you hadn't read about it on crackberry you would of thought it was normal.

From my examination of playbooks with the bulge (we've bought a few here) it appears that its mostly the blackberry logo not being seated flush into the back cover.

The only time its an issue is when its laying flat on a desk.. It a minor annoyance.

Good Luck finding a 4th replacement :)

You could return the one you have and order one from Shop Blackberry. I got my 64GB unit in about 3 business days. It has no dead pixels and a mostly flat back (doesn't wobble). The quality control

A prior unit I bought from Amazon had a dead pixel and a bulge on the back. Not sure what's going on at the factory.

@ Adrenaline
Yeah, I'm probably a bit OCD and had I known for sure that I would be trading a bulge for a stuck pixel, I probably would have just lived with it, but I definitely would have noticed the bulge anyway. The 16gb I had originally was flat as a board and I used it without a case. The 64 wobbled/spun and the bulge was too lopsided to be mistaken as intentional. Plus, when I was debating whether to return it, I called RIM for advice. I told the rep I would keep it if she could tell me it was a known issue that was cosmetic only. She went to ask someone and then said it sounded like the battery swelling (which I actually doubt fwiw) and advised me to return it.

My second 64's bulge was smaller and centered. I might not have noticed it without prior knowledge. I would have kept it if not for the pixel.

Thanks for the suggestion, Barkomatic. If there return policy is good, I might do that. And yeah, kind of wondering myself.

Okay, since I had such bad luck with the 64's from Best Buy, I decided to go with a smaller one from Office Depot.

So, I returned my 64gb with a stuck pixel and bought a 32gb....with a stuck pixel. Argh.

But it's way over on the edge and I think I can live with it. At least it's not in the middle and it also has a flat back and a decent power button.

I'm just gonna keep it.

So sorry you have had all this trouble... I got my first one back in September, and then another one in November... Both are pixel problem free. I never checked about a bulge on the backs of them, as they live in the convertable cases and it's a non issue then for me.

There was a post on this site awhile ago about how you can correct the pixel problem, but I'll be danged if I could find it again, and don't know if it really works.
Maybe you could search the web and find the site, then DL from your PB and try it?

Thanks Jafobabe. I did run Screen Helper's fixer, but it didn't work. (It did get rid of one of the two stuck pixels on my second 64 though.)

No worries. I'm actually pretty satisfied. The location of the pixel makes it hardly noticeable. Also for some reason, the new 32 seems to play much nicer with my dlink router than any of the 64's. With them, I was constantly losing my connection and then the configuration would get disabled due to not acquiring the ip address. It was driving me bonkers and I was going to buy a new router. Now, it looks like I won't have to. The connection on this one seems much more stable. It hasn't really dropped while I'm using it (though it still gets disabled somehow when not in use). It also doesn't seem to "hang" as much when trying to open a page.

It does seem to run slightly hotter than the others, but that could just be that I haven't really put it down since I got it. (I must have played Plants vs Zombies for four hours this morning!)

So, I'm happy. Can't wait for the update.