Mistaken gadget identity caused by unexpected delivery
Here's a little story about how procrastination and a poorly planned delivery can result in a missed gadget opportunity.
About two weeks ago, I got an email from a shipping company notifying me that a package containing a "UMPC sample" from Viliv was headed my way. I wasn't expecting anything and hadn't been asked by Viliv or anyone else to confirm my shipping address (or my interest in reviewing a new device), so I just assumed that the X70 UMPC would arrive a few days later. The 7-inch slate had already been distributed to a few other sites, the Dynamism launch event was around the corner, and Viliv presumably still had my address from when I reviewed the S5 Premium MID, so it seemed reasonable. I also received an email response to my tweet about the UMPC's impending arrival that basically confirmed my suspicions about what would be in the box.
I wasn't exactly looking forward to the delivery, as I didn't want or request the X70, but I figured that I should make the best of the situation and try to work at least a mini review (a full review was out of the question) into my schedule.
A brown box with Viliv branding printed on all sides arrived last Monday (June 22). The mintpass mintpad, which I actually wanted and was waiting for, showed up the following day. Combined with a busy week in my offline life and my original disinterest in the X70, the Atom-based slate fell to the bottom of my priority list and sat untouched in my living room for the next six days.
It probably would've sat there a bit longer if my husband and I didn't have plans to travel later this week, but since we did and I wanted to return the loaner unit before we left, I opened the box this past Sunday (June 28). My plan was to unbox the UMPC, take a bunch of pictures, and start taking some usage notes to compile into a "Thoughts on the Viliv X70" piece I wanted to put out before leaving for vacation.
There were about six smaller boxes nestled into the delivery box. Accessories! I opened the smallest ones first and found items like a VGA-out cable and AC adapter and then moved on to the bigger ones, which contained a car mount, leather case, and battery charging cradle. I hadn't seen the cradle in person before, so I removed its outer wrapping to take a better look. At the bottom was a sticker that said something like "battery charger for S5."
Wait a minute. S5? Either Viliv accidentally sent the wrong accessory or the largest inner box, the one I hadn't opened yet, held the S5 MID I reviewed in April.
I sliced open the packing tape holding the box sealed and recognized the S5 packaging immediately. Great. Had I dealt with the main box when it arrived nearly a week earlier (or better yet, actually requested a review unit myself so I could've skipped the guessing game), I would've seen what was inside it and gotten it out of my living room and my mind the next day. The thought of having to test a device I didn't want in the first place had been hanging over my head the entire week! Note: I realize that the thought of unannounced gadget deliveries sounds heavenly to some people, but when you're about five months pregnant (as I am) and not keen on taking on more work than you planned for, the mere sight of an unwanted box can stress you out and fill you with dread. And that's not good for the baby.
But hold on. This silly saga doesn't end there.
After discovering that the X70 wasn't in the box as I had believed for about a week, I sent an email to arrange for the S5's return and received a return shipping label the next day (yesterday). I printed the label, repacked the main box, sealed it up, and got ready to drop it off at FedEx.
Then I received word that the S5 I was about to return was actually the new 3G model with SSD. Unwilling to rip open the box I had just packed and anxious to get whatever it was out of my life, I shipped it off untouched anyway.
Long story short: that's why I won't be reviewing the 3G Viliv S5 or the Viliv X70.
