Welcome to the latest in a now regular series of updates from around the world on HP’s MediaSmart Server 3.0 update. Today’s headlines are that users in the US and Canada have started receiving emails from HP stating that delivery of their update CDs would possibly be delayed, whilst on a brighter note, HP’s European service partners sorted out their problems and ordering re-commenced.
Let’s get into the detail….
North America
We started receiving reports late yesterday that readers who had ordered the update were receiving the following email from HP Support:
Dear Customer:
At HP our products are designed, manufactured and serviced, to meet our high standards.
We apologize for the possible delay in delivery of your service; however, we are diligently working on expediting your order.Service Order Number xxxxxxxxxxxx
Model # 589796-ZH1
Serial # NSNWe are striving to meet our estimated delivery date; in case where this is not met due to various reasons, an HP representative will attempt to contact you to communicate a new date and/or discuss possible alternative support solutions that could better meet your needs.
Please paste the link below into your browser to get shipment status updates and contact information:
https://warp1.external.hp.com/cso_status/order_lookup.asp
Or contact 1-800-HPINVENT, where we are always ready to serve you.
Please do not reply to this email message, it was sent from an address that is not monitored.
Sincerely,
HP Americas Consumer Support
Date: 3/2/2010
WGS contacted HP to understand the reason behind the delay – they responded as follows:
The CD/DVD replicators that HP contracts out to burn discs on demand and are burning as quickly as they possibly can to fulfil orders. The response has been high and we are greatly appreciative of our install base, want to service them as quickly as possible and will get them their discs as quickly as we can.
Understandably, readers in the US are growing increasingly frustrated by the delays, especially as a distribution date had previously been advised on each order. From the statement above, it appears HP’s partners appear to have now received the software and are now replicating CDs, so it may well be that orders start to be sent out very soon.
Europe
Over here in Europe, we reported yesterday that MediaSmart Server owners were still having trouble ordering their update CDs from HP’s service partner, Best2Serve. The company’s Michel Hendriks, who has helpfully been responding to WGS readers directly on the site over the past couple of days, gave us the following explanation:
“First of all, we’re very sorry for the inconvenience caused to all those that were anxiously awaiting this software upgrade. I would like to assure all of the customers that were able to place an order that their order is safe, and that we’ve just begun processing these orders as the software is now available for production and shipment. I would also like to emphasize that there were no technical problems with our website, the problem was an availability issue. Please know that Best2Serve will do what they can to make sure that everyone gets their upgrades as soon as possible.”
Now that the software is available for distribution, we should expect to see orders starting to be fulfilled in the next few days – those of you in Europe who have placed orders can check their status over at Best2Serve’s website. Michel also sent through a full list of links by country for ordering the EX470 update – here you go:
Austria – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589822-ZH1-EMEA&lang=de&cc=at
Belgium – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=nl&cc=be
Denmark – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=da&cc=dk
Finland – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=fi&cc=fi
France – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589804-ZH1-EMEA&lang=fr&cc=fr
Germany – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589822-ZH1-EMEA&lang=de&cc=de
Ireland – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=en&cc=ie
Italy – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=it&cc=it
Netherlands – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=nl&cc=nl
Norway – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=no&cc=no
Portugal – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=pt&cc=pt
Spain – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589821-ZH1-EMEA&lang=es&cc=es
Sweden – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=sv&cc=se
Switzerland – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589804-ZH1-EMEA&lang=fr&cc=ch
UK – https://www.best2serve.com/sales/declare_swcd.php?part=589796-ZH1-EMEA&lang=en&cc=uk
Please note it looks like only the EX470 series update can be ordered in Europe as the EX480 series was not released over here. If you imported an EX480 series into Europe, you’ll need to find a friend in the USA who can order the update for you.
Finally, the guys from Best2Serve wanted to make a gesture to WGS readers for the inconvenience. The price of the upgrade is low so it was difficult for them to offer any discounts, however, they also sell HP calculators and if you’re in need of one, they’ll happily knock 10% off the price if you use the discount code “wegotserved” at the checkout (Valid until March 14th). You can find the range here. Thanks to Michel for keeping us up to speed with progress over the past couple of days.
One final point to nail – a few readers have asked why CDs are needed in the first place, rather than HP allowing users to download the update. This is apparently due to Microsoft licensing restrictions (I asked the same question to HP a few months ago).
So, that’s all from the HP Update newsdesk this evening – feel free to keep the questions coming!
