VIZIO All-in-One CA27-A2 27-Inch Desktop

VIZIO All-in-One CA27-A2 27-Inch Desktop
Customer Ratings: 4 stars
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I purchased this computer directly from the manufacturer. On arrival, I soon discovered that what they had sent me was not the A2 configuration, but rather the much lower performing A0 configuration. Nothing on the exterior of the computer indicated this fact, I had to actually turn it on to discover it.

After calling customer support and answering a few questions, it turned out that the serial numbers on the packaging and on the computer itself did not match. They sent me a return shipping label, and I sent it back.

Vizio took my credit card number and placed a hold on my card so that they could ship me a new computer before the old one was received. However, it took several calls to actually get the correct machine shipped, and it took almost two weeks before I had it in hand. I never spent much time on hold, but every time I called, the representative assured me he would get back to me "within an hour" on the status of my case, and never once called me back. Being repeatedly blown off like this definitely did not leave me with a positive impression of the company.

The replacement machine was the correct model though I still can't verify it has a 32G solid state disk but it arrived with a defective keyboard. The space and backspace keys do not work at all. I haven't bothered contacting them about this yet, since frankly the keyboard and touchpad shipped with the computer are almost unusable anyway, and I'd had it with their customer service. (The trackpad in particular is infuriating to anyone accustomed to the smoothness of, say, an iPad the mouse cursor is nearly impossible to control.)

[Update: It turns out the keyboard is NOT defective, but the operation of all the wireless devices included (keyboard, trackpad, remote) suffer greatly from interference from other devices. As I use this computer alongside another one with a Logitech wireless mouse and a Bluetooth keyboard, and have a wireless router nearby, I have been able to reduce the problem but not eliminate it. As there appear to be no obvious non-wireless alternatives to using Vizio's wireless devices, this may be a sticking point if you are using other wireless devices in the vicinity.)

On the plus side, it's a snappy machine that boots in just a few seconds. The color on the monitor was a bit washed out at first, but fiddling with the gamma settings improved it greatly. If you are looking for a fast, elegant, space saving, all in one computer, this is a good bet if you get one that actually works as advertised. But it's clear that there is something very wrong with their quality control and customer service, so buying this brand is taking a risk. This is perhaps not surprising given that this is Vizio's first PC product, but buyers might be better off waiting until they get their act together.

UPDATE 2: It's now been several months that I've been using this computer, and it was working fine until this morning, when Blink! the monitor went black. I am in contact with customer support and they promise to call me back today. After the mis-shipment debacle and my problems with their wireless peripherials, this is pretty much the last straw, so I have asked them to let me return it for a refund. Will they actually call back this time, or will I get blown off again? Let's find out!

UPDATE 3: Well, some better news to report. Vizio did call back promptly, and agreed to a return. But there would be a 10% restocking charge, and I would have to pay shipping as well. Under the circumstances I decided that I would accept yet another replacement computer. The new one arrived fairly quickly and is up and running now. Happily, the problems the previous one was having with RF interference do not appear to affect the replacement so much; the keyboard and trackpad work just fine, while the remote still suffers interference with an HP TouchSmart being used in the same room. Hopefully there will be no further problems. If I had received this computer first, I might have been quite happy indeed with the whole experience. It's unfortunate it took so long to get to this point.

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