I SAW an advertisement for Packard Bell computers in a recent issue of the South China Morning Post, and later found there is a three-year warranty on the computers.
However, on reading a US computer magazine, I found the authorised dealers there provide only a one-year, on-site warranty.
Is it possible that Packard Bell Hong Kong can provide a three-year warranty, or is it just playing a trick on local customers? I also found that there is no Environmental Protection Agency Star certified on any Packard Bell computers in the US, but that it claims to sell ''green PCs'' in Hong Kong. I'd like to buy a ''green PC'' but, if there is a chance I'll suffer by buying inHong Kong, I am perfectly willing to mail-order a PC from the US.
LUCKY TAM Central Packard Bell does, indeed, offer a three-year warranty in Hong Kong, but it is only valid within the territory. If you leave Hong Kong, it will not be covered. No tricks, according to a spokesman for the firm.
Packard Bell joined the EPA's Energy Star programme last year, and since then all the monitors sold with the company's ISA (industry standard architecture) machines in Hong Kong come with EPA certification.
The systems' power supplies and BIOS have been engineered to shut off the display if the machine is left unused for a preset length of time.
The spokesman said some of Packard Bell's dealers in the US may not be selling the same configurations as sold in Hong Kong.
