Xbox 360 attained a 54% failure rate…..ZOMG!!!

If you wanted a slap in the face to rocket you back into the sad sick little world that *used* to be the Xbox 360, a non-scientific poll (paper only) conducted by Game Informer revealed that the failure rate on Xbox 360′s (presumably pre-die shrink to the smaller more efficient processors) was 54%! I don’t care who you are or what company you run, a 54% failure rate is beyond god awful. Of course, such claims can’t be verified by Redmond themselves as such data is locked away in some secret vault guarded by fire breathing dragons and a mean sea turtle who won’t hold anything back. It’s no secret no matter how much Microsoft wants to deny that the 360 was rushed to market. Soon after release RRoD (Red Rings of Death) issues were popping up left and right. It was so bad if you remember, that Microsoft had to end up spending several billion dollars extending warranties for RRoD victims. So far, my Xbox 360 has had RRoD syndrome twice. Adding insult to injury, Microsoft also managed to snatch up the award for worst customer service and longest service times with replacement/refurbished 360′s taking over a month to return home.

Since undergoing the die shrink which brought smaller, more efficient, less heat radiating processors, the RRoD problems seems to have been greatly diminished. Still, having a product that had a failure rate claimed to be so high is certainly not a consumer confidence builder. By the way, just to compare, the PS3′s failure rate is/was around 11% with the Wii bringing up the rear at a much more dependable 7%. Of course, a percentage point or two could be attributed to the 360′s generally longer playing times. But that’s a huge stretch to say the least and certainly doesn’t account for mountain of trouble that not so long ago plagued the system.

So we all know I’ve been at deaths door twice. Have you see RRoD on your 360? If so is it a return appearance or is it your first?

Source: CrunchGear, Consumerist

AT&T confirms: Quickfire becometh fire!

The mysterious and insanely quick removal of AT&T Quickfires from store shelves the other day got many people wondering what on earth would cause such a reaction.  At first AT&T said nothing leaving the web to speculate as to the cause.  Well that cause is now known, a combination of operator error and just plain uh-oh on AT&T’s part.  Apparently AT&T named the Quickfire all too well as the Quickfire can quickly turn into a fire if the charger is inserted improperly causing the device to overheat, melt, and eventually cause you to have a very bad day.  Big Blue is currently in the process of dispersing texts and emails to all Quickfire users alerting them of the potential dangers of being an idiot and not knowing how to plug in a phone.  Full Email and Text message below:

EMAIL

Please take special care when charging your Quickfire GTX75 mobile phone. There have been a few reports of significant overheating of the phone when the AC Charger adapter is inserted incorrectly and forced into the phone.

The clearly marked, embossed arrow on the AC Charger adapter should always be face-up on the same side as the display screen of the Quickfire when it is inserted into the phone. See the diagram below for proper positioning and insertion of the AC Charger adapter into the phone. You should never force the AC Charger adapter into the phone.

If you have any questions, please call 1-800-801-1101.

Sincerely,

AT&T

TEXT MESSAGE

AT&T Free Msg. Click www.att.com/wapmyaccountqf for an important safety message on how to properly charge your Quickfire.

Source: Mobile Crunch