As I used my new calculator I noticed a white spot at the top left edge of the screen. I looked closer and I noticed that the screen is surrounded by black foam. I assume that this is to seal it from dust and reflections. And I think that it is a good way to do that, the foam will conform to the screen and small dimensional differences in the production will do nada. That would give problems if a ridgid material was used.
However, on my particular Ti-84 it seems as if this foam piece is either damaged or got caught up and folded over in the manufacturing process. Instead of forming a nice black edge it shows the white plastic beneath and above the screen:
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| Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus CE-T showing damaged foam surrounding the screen - iPhone 5s |
Obviously this is just a cosmetic problem, the calculator works fine. But it still feels a little uneasy to pay for a new toy and find a fault such as this - after you have seen it for the first time it will stand out every time you look at it. And you will look at it because you know it´s there. Just like the first scratch or dent on your new car.
I sent ti-cares@ti.com an email and asked them about their opinion. They replied within two business days and asked for a picture of the problem. I sent them the one the above cut-out is taken from and within one hour I got this reply: "We have looked at the picture you sent and it is for sure a warranty exchange." Then they provided me with several options to have it exchanged.
My experience of this is that Texas Instruments have a great customer service!
I´m looking forward to exchanging this unit under warranty. Good customer service Texas Instruments!
Now I have to go and refresh my math a little bit. Or perhaps a little bigger bit....
Hey!
ReplyDeleteMine has the same thing in the upper right corner. Mine has a lot of dust inside the screen too. The dust has been common in TI models sin the TI-83 from what I can tell, and the foam thingy in the upper right of this model seems to be common too.
Upper left, sorry
ReplyDeleteYes, it seems like a small annoyance with this model. Too bad really, seems like a well-fitting continuous foam piece that seals around the entire screen would solve those issues.
ReplyDeleteI have the replacement calculator now, and while it´s certainly better it´s not perfect. Oh well, it still works fine for calculating. Perhaps I´ll make my own foam seal and install it after the warranty expires. Some black rubber foam or gasket material, a razor knife and some patience should do the trick. Or perhaps I could spend my time on something important instead ;-)
same
ReplyDelete