I doubt most Nokia N76 buyers in the UK (it's been an exclusive with Vodafone, remember) were reading my review, so I'd love to know the reasons given by users, but a reliable source is quoted as saying that "Vodafone has decided to withdraw the Nokia N76 with immediate effect. This is due to the high level of customer returns of the phone." Can anyone at Vodafone fill in more detail?
Read on in the full article.
Maybe its the battery?
The N76 always seemed like it was rushed out to get in on the RAZR market. Maybe they rushed it too much.
It's also quite ambitious to try and put a cutting edge smartphone in such a thin and elaborate casing, perhaps too ambitious. The real RAZR only has a fraction of the functionality.
I think it's the paint. Aside from the 'cheap' looking chrome paint - I've heard a number of complaints about the paint chipping off. Some in under 2 weeks time. Nokia needs to address this paint flaw right away - since they're marketing this as a stylish and 'fashion' smartphone.
Perhaps they ought to have just given us a version of the N75, instead of making that model US-only.
I have an E61i and N76 on the go at the moment and I have to say that the N76 keeps hold of the SIM Card pretty much all of the time. Yes- there is a little paint peeling off from the chrome around the camera and flash but nowhere else. It has a real good 'feel' to it and build quality seems great. It has a 'firm' hold on the 'fully open' position and doesn't move about at all unlike most Nokia 'sliders' I have handled. Yes, I could use WLAN occassionally but in reality I'm not very far from a connected computer very often and if I am the 3G and GPRS gets me by (even synch'ing Gmail with Goosync). Battery seems fine to me too for longevity. But the overriding factor is that it looks and feels like a 'phone' firstly. It pops in the pocket nicely and is a good size. It will answer calls when flip opens and ends them when closed. That's great. The camera is fine for what the average person is going to use a camera on a phone for. The front LCD functionality is a little gimmicky, I'll admit and I don't use that much at all - most usefully to dismiss alarms quickly.
I don't often keep a phone as my No.1 for long but certainly until the E90 arrives, it's holding it's place. I think it's a great phone - never had to reboot it - oodles of RAM - bought SIM Free, incidentally - and for my personal needs/desires leads the S60 field at the moment.
Tim
I find it ironic that this phone has been returned by so many people, considering it's the one that finally made me happy after 2 months, no less, of researching, dithering, getting a 7390 then returning it.
It's not a perfect phone but I get the impression none of them are, I've had it 2 months now and I still adore it even though the silver paint has started coming off. For me it's the best compromise of style and function around, but perhaps that's why it's such an unpopular phone - perhaps most people want either flawless functionality or flawless style.
I have yet to meet someone else who has it, I just hope I don't now look stupid for having one if everybody else hates it so much! At least it's only people on Vodafone..
I live in Hong Kong and my mother also bought one from a local store. Aside from all the problems aforementioned, the battery overheated after talking into the phone for about minutes, and my mom couldn't get her phone turned off properly.
She's already tried 7 phones at that store but none of them worked. She kept exchanging phones (all N76) and now she;s thinking of giving up and just have her money back.