When we talk about warranty for laptops or many other gadgets, this usually covers any defects or if the device gets damaged during the time it’s still covered by the warranty. In these cases, the manufacturer may choose to repair or even replace the unit.
However, I have yet to see any warranty coverage that covers the replacement of devices that are working fine, just because they’re deemed as outdated.
So, it’s not really surprising that as for the outdated laptops that the Department of Education acquired, the supplier, Dell, confirmed that replacing them is not covered the warranty.
This was confirmed by Dell’s Country Manager Ronnie Latinazo in a statement to the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing. The laptops were flagged by the Commission on Audit saying these were overpriced and obsolete.
DepEd Outdated Laptops Under Investigation
However, Dell has delivered laptops that were within the PS-DBM’s Specs of 1.8GHz base speed with 4MB of cache.
Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III asked Latinazo: “So you, Dell Philippines, consciously, you knew that you were supplying a 1.8 gigahertz base speed. Now, if you are now told subsequently after you have delivered the notebooks, the requirement is 1.9 gigahertz base speed… is that part of your warranty?”
Mr. Latinzano replied “No” which Senator Pimentel agreed to since Dell was just following what was requested of them by the gov’t.
DepEd already said that it is willing to replace these laptops when their performance starts to deteriorate.
Lastly, the NBI also joined the investigation but needs more information before they can provide their official statement regarding this matter and saying only that the gov’t is in a “disadvantageous position”.
Started his freelancing adventure in 2018 and began doing freelance Audio Engineering work and then started freelance writing a few years later.
Currently he writes for Gadget Pilipinas and Grit.PH.
He is also a musician, foody, gamer, and PC enthusiast.
