[sdog]

I was thinking about buying a N97. Having read all the post's, I have the impression that Nokia have not or are not willing to publish a response.

Does Nokia check this site ?

Does Nokia publish responses to these problems anywhere ?

Sdog

[psychomania]

Nokia will not publish a response on this site as this is just a user to user forum. Various people within nokia do monitor this site along with other websites and blogs.

When common issues occur they handle it through the care point network.  A bulletin of a known issue will go out to the care points telling them to repair/replace under warranty.  As with all major manufacturers hardware is constantly being revised within the product, so the issue may have already been solved.

Not all N97's are affected by the issue either, so it is possible that they have already solved the issue, or the problem only affected certain batches.

On the rare occasions that they do make important announcements it is on their official blog, or the press site.

http://conversations.nokia.com/

www.nokia.com/press

So if you are thinking about buying an N97 the only advice is to buy from a retailer that accepts returns, buy with a warranty and test the lens cover heavily for the first few days.

Personally I do not suffer from the issue, and I have use the camera a lot.

Message Edited by psychomania on 07-Aug-2009 11:00 AM

[celios]

Nokia are saying... "la la la, I've got my finger in my ears... I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

I think a few people from other forums are going to try and approach them at Nokia World about this, showing them devices, pictures of others and the huge number of forum posts about the problem.

I would wait until the problem is fixed for certain if I did not already have an N97.  It's like playing russian roulette with a gun containing 4 bullets at the moment, you might get lucky... or you might not.

The current firmware is not great either, if you wait until after Nokia World (early Sept) there may be more clarity on both issues. 

[sdog]

Thanks for the info. It a shame they are not alittle bit more forthcoming with information. As in yes we know and have fixed the problem. I presume you are nokia in someway ?

[sdog]

Celios

Thanks I think I will be waiting until I get an answer. I even wrote to the CEO, got blank as well. Its a shame they can not do better.

Sdog

[psychomania]

---

sdog wrote:

I presume you are nokia in someway ?

---

I am not an employee of nokia, just a regular user that participates heavily on this forum. Nokia empoyees here have green or orange (for the mod/admins) user names along with a nokia badge.

It's rare that you will find any major manufacturer that goes on record and holds it's hand up to hardware faults.  Common industry practice practice is to handle hardware flaws under warranty, unless the flaw can cause danger in which case a recall is issued (like the recall of the batteries a few years ago).

[sdog]

Thanks Psychomania, It wasn't meant as an insult Your info has helped me make my mind up. Do you have the web link for iphone !

Sdog

[psychomania]

Don't worry, I didn't take it as an insult. You asked in a very polite way, compared to others in the past!

Don't get me started on the iPhone, it has way too many flaws that makes it too useless for me to ever consider!

As for a link for the iPhone, here you go:

www.reghardware.co.uk/2009/08/03/apple_ipod_explode_silence/

Message Edited by psychomania on 07-Aug-2009 11:29 AM

[celios]

Keep your money in your pocket until September.  If you can't wait, buy another phone.

[psychomania]

---

celios wrote:
Keep your money in your pocket until September.  If you can't wait, buy another phone.

---

I would say that depends on what type of user someone is.

If they are the classic "early adopter" (like me) then buy now.  I've certainly not regretted getting the N97 and have had very few problems with it after updating to v11.

If you really want the phone ASAP, but are worried about software problems then still buy now as it can be easily fixed by software.

If worried by hardware issues (that may now have been fixed) but live in a country where after sales service is good then take time to think about it.

If worried by hardware issues (that may now have been fixed) but live in a country where after sales service is poor then wait for the hardware to mature.

If you want an easy hassle free life don't buy any smartphone, get a dumbphone instead

Message Edited by psychomania on 07-Aug-2009 11:52 AM

[celios]

I would further qualify your advice by saying that if you already have an N95 or N96, definately wait.

The difference between the N95 and N97 is not as great as you would expect after 2 years and the N95 has (unsurprisingly) much greater stability in many key areas. 

[psychomania]

Obviously the N95 will be more stable as it's seen many updates.  

Do you remember when it was first released with the awful initial firmware and hardware flaws?  The handset was a slow mess with a dodgy slider, various other hardware issues and received far more flak on these boards than what the N97 has done. 

As you know the N95 went on to be a classic.

As for the difference made in two years, thats purely subject to opinion.  They appear to be taking the same approach as apple which is evolution, not revolution.  

Message Edited by psychomania on 07-Aug-2009 12:14 PM

[celios]

I had an N95 from day one.  My slider was fine - I compare the slider issue on the N95 with the hinge issues on the N97 (it is shaky if you push the right hand side of the screen, particularly the top right).  It's an irritation, but it didn't stop anyone using their phone, like the scratches on the camera lens stop you using your camera with flash.

I was prepared to give the N95 time, because it was the first 5MP N-series.  It was also the first mainstream phone with GPS.  i.e. There was real innovation there. There seems very little difference functionality wise between the N95 and N97 - certainly not enough difference to justify 2 years and £500 more.  The N97 is essentially the same feature set as an N95, but with a touch screen and querty.  That's fine.  I just expected it to work.

[psychomania]

Like you lots of people didn't have issues with the slider on the N95, like me lots of people have no issues with the N97's hinge or camera.

For some people the slider could become lose after a few days which caused them not to like the phone.  Many actually returned it.

The N97 isn't £500 more, the N95 originally launched at the same price. Two years and they haven't increased the price. 

As for saying they have almost the same feature set apart from touch and qwerty is ridiculous.  Did the N95 have any of the following:  RDS Radio, FM Transmitter, 3.5" screen, 360x640 resolution, 32gb storage (expandable to 48gb using memory cards), 1500mah battery, fast start up times, 16:9 video support and a much more customisable homescreen to name a few things. Only a handful of phones can offer a feature set like that.

If that amount of evolution was not enough for you then why did you even consider buying it???????

For many users it does just work, but for some, just like it was with the N95 it doesn't just work.

Message Edited by psychomania on 07-Aug-2009 12:54 PM

[au_n97_user]

---

psychomania wrote:

If you want an easy hassle free life don't buy any smartphone, get a dumbphone instead

---

Lots of other things not to buy too - VISTA (death to occur in October - yeah), Dell XPS M2010, GMH cars (my daughter's new Commodore died within the first week), New Zealand wine....................... 

[au_n97_user]

---

celios wrote:

the hinge issues on the N97 (it is shaky if you push the right hand side of the screen, particularly the top right).  

---

OK - I've read this rhs thing on a couple of threads. I'm curious - WHY would anyone push on the rhs side top of the screen?

I mean, what functionality requires that?

[celios]

@au_n97_user, 

I'm beginning to wonder if you actually own or use an N97...

When the phone is in landscape mode (with the keyboard out), the soft buttons are displayed on the right hand side of the screen.  Go into the contacts app with the keyboard open and "Exit" is at the top right.

As you press the area this soft button is located at, the screen can move a little.   This movement is beacause the N97 has two hinges on the left and only one on the right.  Kind of silly to put two hinges on the side you won't be pressing and one on the side you will press, but hey, kind of silly to design a lens cover that skims over the lens by less than 1mm each time you use it.

[celios]

The N97 IS £500 more if you already own an N95.  And it you remember, my earlier post was warning users who already had an N95 to wait.  

Another useful side-effect of waiting is the price will drop.  So if you wait until mid-Sept, you will:

a) Be able to see if the new firmware fixes many of the problems

b) Be able to see if a modified lens cover design has been released

c) Save around £50-£100 off the original price 

[psychomania]

Sounds to me like you are pressing a bit hard on the screen, or are using a poor quality screen protector that requires harder presses to react.

If I press mine normally it does not move at all.  If I press it hard it moves a very tiny amount, hardly a deal breaker.

[au_n97_user]

Given I paid just under $1,000 for it, I can assure you I own it - in conjunction with my credit card provider, I guess.

A very light tap is all I need to hit the "Exit" button/icon/whatever you want to call it.  I certainly DO NOT need to "push" it!  When I read that first post I did actually push hard on my screen to see the difference, but hell, I had to push REALLY hard - WAY harder than I would ever do in the normal use of my phone!!

Um, also, well, no lens scratches here either.  Hate to rub that in, but there you go.

Are you sure YOU own a N97??