Class Action Suite proposal against Dell re BlueTooth

[rroberts161]

My name is Robyn Robertson, and I am an Enterprise Engineer. I recently bought a Dell AXIM X51v only to discover that the supposed and advertised BlueTooth suport is just plain missing. If you look at the BlueTooth keys in the registry and compare them with the detailed description of the entries on the Microsoft MSDN site, one discovers that most of the keys are missing or not filled in.

I would have returned the thing in disappointment. When I spoke with Dell and their Indian or Pakistani technicians, they told me the problem was nearly fixed. Dell kept using the old "RSN" (Real Soon Now) line until my 30 day free return period had passed.

Since this time I have been passed back and forth between Microsoft and Dell until I finally lost patience.

I propose a Class Action Suite against Dell over the lying and double dealing they pulled over the failure of their BlueTooth stack. I plan to file in small claims court here in California, but since Dell's corporate offices are in Texas, I doubt this will go forward very far.

I am writing to ask any of you who have had AXIM X51/X51v BlueTooth problems if they would be interested in sending me their names and contact information while I start the process of a suit. In order to be certified as a class action suite, I think we need a substantial number of people who have bought the X51 line and cannot get BlueTooth working to form a discrete group all afflicted with the same essential situation, to wit, Dell advertised and sold a device and peripherals that they knew did not work when they advertised, sold and shipped.

I bill $120.00/hr. and estimate that the BlueTooth problem has chewed up about 60 hours of my time. I am sure many of you are in the same position. I see no reason why Dell should not have their feet held to the fire and why they should not be required to either replace the bluetooth stack with one that works, or let those of us who wish return their devices. I also feel that damages amounting to the time spent diddling around trying to get handsfree and Axim to cellular modem connections to work should result in some remuneration for time lost and money spent.

I think this is FAR more likely to get Dell's attention and have the problem remedied by filing a class action suit against their lying advertisments and defective systems than the current contests (of which I know of two) paying cash to the first person to get BlueTooth working fully on the X541 series.

Robyn Robertson
Eos Consulting
rroberts161@adelphia.net

[Mahstah]

Robyn-

Perhaps this goes beyond the manufacturer of the device and up to the Bluetooth SIG (special interest group), who hires BQBs (Bluetooth Qualification Bodies) to test developers' stacks for certifiability using special BQTFs (Bluetooth Qualified Testing Facilities).

Bluetooth SIG is ultimately responsible for ensuring compatibility between their certified devices because they issue the certifications. This company is one example of many such certifying BQBs that work for Bluetooth SIG. I notice that Microsoft is in Bluetooth SIG's "Component Listing", a list of companies that offer certifiable components. You can read Microsoft's entire Bluetooth Qualified Product details for Windows Mobile 5 (Windows CE 5.0 and 5.01) HERE, including their BQB company used, a Qualified Product Notice pdf, and a Reference Design Application pdf. This information may be useful to you on your quest.

You could start from the bottom up, but it might prove more fruitful to go from the top down. This problem is not unique to Dell and extends to other large companies, for example phone manufacturers and providers such as Verizon. We all want this standard to be just that, a universal standard, not a developer-specific mess that other "standards" (such as OPC) are.

My 2 cents, good luck...

Mahstah