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Faulting me with my generalization is why we aren’t getting anywhere with this. “Many” is what I intend to argue—you can not disprove my argument by repeatedly stating that my argument is wrong. Why is it few? Because we’ve seen this before in other devices? Without data, how is that less of a presumption? Sure, I may have not fully mitigated presumption (or, admittedly, even come close) in my post, but I intended to write a short cautionary tale on a tech blog’s forum, not a graduate thesis on the quality control of phones.

If me saying “many” is your main gripe with my argument, then forget I ever said many. Let’s just focus on only the things I can say for certain that I’ve observed. After a lot of painstaking bickering, I finally got my fourth device (every replacement device has been a new retail unit, including this one). Stuck pixels. I’ll pretend that I have no internet connection. All four HTC Ones I have seen have dead or stuck pixels. To me, I think this alone is enough grounds to be suspicious of HTC’s quality control.

To be completely honest, you’re beginning to frustrate me a little more than the situation itself. But please take that as a compliment, if you will. I’m frustrated because you’re really starting to make me dissuaded from parts of my own argument! This is a very good debate and I’ve taken a lot from your position. You’re also very courteous and a good debater and I thank you for your concern. Also, I apologize for initially mistaking you as being accusatory and I’m sorry for being uncivil at times. Thanks for putting up with my snarky shit.

I’m done debating this, because words aren’t going to bring me a phone without dead pixels. I still maintain that my accusation of HTC’s QC remains plausible, and in regards to my situation, likely, and that, following this experience, I cannot recommend the HTC One. But I am willing to concede to you (wholeheartedly, no sarcasm this time) that it is very likely that I am flat-out wrong and that HTC’s QC is not remarkably different the industry standard. Considering the statistics alone: if HTC’s defect rate was on par with Foxconn’s, the odds of my situation (4 exchanges) are 625:1 (assuming that HTC’s only defects are dead pixels, or that every defective device exhibits dead pixels; it’s a rough estimate). This means that 8000 of the 5 million One customers have also gone through the same as me, which could line up with forum numbers.

I’ve decided to keep the device. I feel bad for causing the T-Mobile people so much trouble when it really isn’t their fault. It doesn’t feel great settling for something that I paid $630 for, nor does having lower resale value from Day 1, but the time I’m wasting doing these exchanges is costing more. It’s a $630 compromise. That’s the last thing I’ll say about it.

14 days ago on I thought we had something special: quality control and the HTC One

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It closely resembles the look of Motorola’s Aura handset, with a metallic body and curved shapes.

No. It doesn’t. At least I’m not seeing it. More like a frying pan than an Aura.

16 days ago on Asus unveils VivoMouse, 'world's first' mouse and touchpad combination for Windows 8 2 replies 1 recommend

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Yes. HTC is totally shipping off defective devices on purpose, hoping no one will notice, at a time when they’re verging on life or death as a company.

I know that’s supposed to be snarky, but, that is exactly what I am suggesting. You’re right—I can’t say that with any certainty. But from my experience, and from the experience of a few others (someone in iTechPR’s article said that they’ve simply given up after being unable to obtain a One without dead pixels, and there’s plenty more similar stories in many XDA threads, a simple Google search will turn up pages worth), is the hypothesis I’m making. Until we know the hard statistics, everything is based on small-scale conjecture and anecdote, and until then, we can only agree to disagree.

I recently spoke to someone who once held a management position at Foxconn. She was criticizing the wastefulness of Apple’s quality control practices. She spoke of one specific instance where a part of what I assume to be a power brick, or something of the like, (she only spoke in general terms) required two pieces to be glued in perfect alignment. Parts that did not meet this requirement, over half of them (I cite her), were simply tossed, as they could not easily be re-glued.

I’m not saying this practice is great, and I think responsible design is more important that any aesthetic value. But consider the HTC One, and how difficult it is to open (plenty of examples of its irreparable design at iFixit). This is a company who is, as you said, on the verge of life and death. Every financial figure is under intense scrutiny from investors and analysts. Let’s say a One rolls off the line with 15 dead pixels. You’re given three choices:

1) You replace the screen, which requires the device to be extensively disassembled, and risks damage of many components. The parts don’t result in much of a loss, but you lose time, which is ever so important to meet the demand.

2) You go the Apple route and toss this device, recycling what parts can be recycled and starting again. This noticeably isn’t within spec, and you’ve caught the defects easily. This is the biggest hit on your already low profit margin. This is HTC, not Apple: it can’t push nearly the same margin on its products to begin with.

3) You box it anyway. There’s a chance it won’t be noticed, and at the worst, someone sends it back and you’re back at choosing between 1 or 2.

Regardless of the choice made, all I can say for certain is that a phone with around that many dead pixels made it into my hands twice.

I get what you’re saying. Perhaps they didn’t notice the defects themselves and thought the devices I received were fine. They’re slip-ups and I’m simply really unfortunate (along with any suckers in my position). This is perfectly a legitimate point-of-view. But I don’t think you should fault me for believing otherwise. To me, getting a phone with around 15 dead pixels shouldn’t repeatedly “happen” to the same person. To you, it should. It’s fine to think either way, but I think we simply draw the line in different places and there’s no way around that.

16 days ago on I thought we had something special: quality control and the HTC One 1 reply

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I just saw urpert’s profile pic and was reminded of this beauty:

Chiclet keys go back even farther:

Point is, no one can really claim chiclet keys for themselves.

18 days ago on Razer's outspoken CEO slams HP and Dell, says he 'loves Apple' 11 recommends

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I respectfully disagree. But I don’t want to argue about this issue any longer, so I’ll just humor you and concede to your input on the matter. You don’t allow me very many ways to do so, but I’ll do the best I can.

I paid the same as you, I expect the same as you, but I simply don’t deserve a non-defective HTC One, and you do. Because good quality control is purely a matter of luck, and I just don’t have it.

HTC’s quality control is absolutely perfect. The onus is on me and my luck. Silly me for ever wanting better.

There. I hope you found that suitable resolution.

A sidenote: Your remark on “Antennagate” makes me think about how much things have changed. Now, in matters of consumer discontent, a company doesn’t need to tell you what to accept or expect; someone on the internet will gladly assume that responsibility.

18 days ago on I thought we had something special: quality control and the HTC One 1 reply

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Thanks! You’re too kind. That means a lot to me.

Ha, I’m a college student, so I guess you can say I have negative income.

19 days ago on I thought we had something special: quality control and the HTC One 1 recommend

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I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you’ve missed my point. It isn’t that I had a few bad experiences that leaves me dismayed. It’s because I am still unable to get a good One. What are the chances that of the few defective phones out there, many are consistently getting phones with stuck pixels? I’m glad you’ve gotten two perfect Ones, but I haven’t had nearly the same luck. There remains consistent and undeniable problems with the device.

Simply put, just because you have two good Ones doesn’t mean my bad experiences don’t exist.
“My phone is perfect so everyone else’s continued issues don’t matter.”

20 days ago on I thought we had something special: quality control and the HTC One 2 replies 3 recommends