Originally posted by loveisageless expressing concern that in the internet age they currently have no internet presence in North America. Whether it is incompetence, technical challenges beyond their control, or a decision to not deploy perhaps scarce resources in this market, I have no idea. The outcome though is that anyone new to Pentax cannot find a website for their North American operations that touts their products, informs where to get warranty service, or makes available manuals and firmware updates.
It's not as dire as first impressions might suggest.
The Ricoh Imaging online presence in North America is served by two internet sites - one for Canada and one for the USA. The Canadian site appears to be fully functional (albeit, it's not an online store). The other one seems to be frustrated by a lengthy overhaul (completion date now further extended to 11 August). Even so, it's not totally dysfunctional - products are listed and described, warranty and repair info is given, dealers can be found through a map search, and firmware is available. However, user manuals don't appear at their link and parts of the site are not attractive, IMO.
We don't know the reason(s) for the progressive delay in the overhaul - could be the inherent complexity in the web site; overly optimistic original timeline; poor choice of new web components; glitches; person off sick; intern away for vacation... Who knows.
I agree that the Notice could have been better worded - it seems to suggest that a prospective buyer can't buy Pentax products during the overhaul period. It's obvious to us that that's not true, as the RIAC website is not the only source. But, the uninitiated buyer could be turned off.
- Craig