Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

We've bought a total of seven Ceiva units for relatives and ourselves since they were first introduced. Before buying a Ceiva III you might want to consider some of the things we've learned. 1. These things do break, so you'd be well advised to buy extended warranty coverage - add $20. 2. The subscriptions are relatively expensive ($100/year) and have tended to get more expensive over time - in an era during which everything network-related has gotten cheaper. 3. Ceiva insists on downloading renewal notices to receivers nearing the expiration date of a subscription. As other reviewers have noted, that's very annoying both to the people using these things and to those of us who pay for the products and services. I don't see where Ceiva mentions this practice either on their web site or in the Terms and Conditions, but there's nothing you can do other than complain (I have many times, to no avail). 4. Ceiva's sales reps will tell you that existing, unexpired subscription plans can be transferred to new units (I verified this on three separate occasions), but in fact Ceiva will make you buy new subscriptions first. 5. Ceiva has never offered upgrade plans for older units. As an existing customer you'll actually pay more to upgrade an older receiver in mid-subscription than will a new customer. The bottom line is that it's difficult to recommend this product to new customers on either a value basis or for customer care. Good idea, bad execution. Pity.