Some personal electronic organizers from Sharp Electronics of Canada Ltd. didn't make it into the new year with data intact.

People who turned on their Sharp ZQ-5900 electronic organizer after Dec. 31 found all data in the device inaccessible. Instead, the message ``data impaired'' appeared on the screen. The company believes the error occurred when the device failed to recognize the year 2001.

``We have a glitch with this organizer,'' said Eileen Evans, Sharp's customer service manager. ``It usually corrupts the memory and it's almost impossible to get the data back.''

Evans said the company first learned of the problem when the customer service centre opened Jan. 2. About 50 customers have reported the problem so far. She said the company is not aware of Y2K problems with any other Sharp organizers.

About 2,000 ZQ-5900 organizers have been sold in Canada since 1996.

``Most people who have these organizers may not still be using them, but some people still like them so we are looking after those customers who are calling us,'' she said. ``We're replacing the organizers with a much better, current model.''

The replacement device, a ZQ-540P, has a manufacturer's suggested list price of $175.

People with defective units can call 905-568-7140 for a replacement.

The Star

-- Anonymous, January 16, 2001

Answers

Motorola pager not Y2K compliant?

SINGAPORE--Some users of Motorola's Scriptor Jazz Plus pager have noticed a time stamp error in the mobile device.

"1st January 2001 is shown to be a Sunday on the Time/Date function of the pager, when in fact it is was Monday," according to a user who wrote to Singapore.CNET.com recently.

A quick check with other Scriptor Jazz Plus owners revealed a similar time stamp problem. According to one user who declined to be named: "I had to roll down the date feature to 2007 to get the correct date."

When contacted, a Motorola Electronics Pte Ltd spokesperson said that the Scriptor Jazz Plus is Y2K-compliant. "The problem highlighted is caused by a leap year calculation error and will emerge the year after the leap year, that is 2001, 2005, 2009," she said in an email response.

Explaining further: "This pager was launched in 1999 and year 2000 is a leap year, which explains why the problem did not present itself sooner."

The company added that no other pager features have been affected.

The spokesperson said Motorola's priority goal now "is to deploy a solution so that the problem brought to its attention is fixed as soon as possible to minimize the inconvenience caused."

At present, Motorola is working with distributors and paging operators to rework the existing inventory, as well as compiling a list of names and contact numbers of customers who are affected.

The company said a remedy can be expected by mid-February. There will be no extra charge to fix the time stamp glitch.

Affected consumers may take their Scriptor Jazz Plus pagers to Motorola's main service center (toll-free no: 800-616-1753) at 10, Ang Mo Kio Street 65, Ang Mo Kio Industrial Park 3, #01-01, Techpoint, or they can visit any Motorola authorized service centers.

Singapore CNet

-- Anonymous, January 19, 2001