Saturday, August 1, 2009

Eton FR100 Blackout Buddy Radio (Pearl) Review


I purchased this radio and charged it for two full days and got 10 minutes of listening pleasure. I called their 800 number to find out what was wrong. They indicated that I am supposed to charge it for 3 days (The booklet fails to mention how long to charge it yet has instructions in many different languages for your convenience). I did that, and enjoyed a full 75 minutes of play time. This was far from their 4 hours estimated play time. I returned it to the reseller and got another figuring it was a fluke. Charged it in great anticipation, and got about 70 minutes of play time for 3 days of charging. I called the 800 number again. Eton offered to replace it, but I had to pay for the shipping. I didn't think that was fair and tried to return it to the local reseller after my 30 days from the original sale was up. Luckilly the reseller took the radio back and refunded my money. Two bad radios just a fluke? Maybe so. But why penalize the the customer and ask him to eat the cost of shipping to fix Eton's problem? Plus the design is such that the bottom of the radio is rounded and the unit cannot stand up on its own. Eton said it is meant to be left in the electrical outlet. During a "blackout", I'd want it to be portable and set it just about anywhere. Go figure.

Buy it here now!

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