Sticky tape, Sharpies, Copper Wire and Plectrums - WTF

Well, my �0.02p's worth...

I am one of those who blew �500 on a handset.

I'm in Saudi, so use a PAYG basis, and then I can swap sim's over when I'm back in the UK. Didn't want a UK contract phone, as I'm not there long enough to use the talk plan, so paying a monthly fee didn't make sense, I didn't want it locked either, as I need to use my Saudi sim card when I'm back here.

Also wanted an unbranded one so I can access FW updates as soon as they are out, so to me, it made sense to buy a handset only, rather than on contract. The bulk of phones sold here in Saudi are sold as handset only anyway.

So, after all of that, I've just been a but underwhelmed really, the overall daily usage of the phone some days leaves me really pleased with it, then other days, I have to tinker around with it to get it to do what I want. I have noticed my lens is also scratched now, though it doesn't run right through the centre of the lens.

What really disappoints, is that Nokia have now just announced the N900 for sale( pre order online ) and have brought out the N97 Mini ( WTF is that? ) . I get the feeling that the N900 will work better from Day 1 than the N97, and have the feeling that I've spent �500 on a phone that is quickly moved down the flagship list for Nokia.

I am disappointed, and make me think very hard about buying another Nokia phone. I've used several Symbian devices, and have a real fondness for my previous phones, esp the 6680 and the N95, but I can't imagine I'll have the same regard for this particular phone.

/rant.

lovesign wrote:No, but I've seen them jailbreaking Apple's ridiculously restrictive device simply to get it on a better network or get decent apps on it.

Agreed, that's silly. And it's because the iPhone is only available on O2 in the UK, that puts me off, only Vodafone offer 3G in the town I live, once O2 lose their exclusive deal (October this year I think), that will change.

lovesign wrote:
As one of the keynote's said at Nokia World this week, a mobile device is a highly personal choice. If people feel they have to resort to such arcane "fixes", surely they are the ones who need examining? What happened to the age old practice of consumers voting with their wallets? If the N97 is so crap, it's sales will suffer and Nokia will, one would hope, learn a very valuable lesson.

If Nokia offered me �450 for my N97 (I paid �499), I would bite their arm off. The fact is, they won't give refunds once you are out of your initial 14 days under the distance selling regs. Since I am 'in' for the N97, I point blank refuse to buy any more Nokias, and I won't pay them a penny for extra services. So I am voting with my wallet, in the only way I can.

lovesign wrote:
My bet is that by the turn of the year, we will see a much more positive set of posts on this N97 board 😊

6 months is a long time to wait to be happy. If every time I bought a new car or motorbike from a maker I had to fanny about for 6 months to get it working properly, I would look elsewhere.

I dunno, I go away for a couple of hours and everybody is fighting over the firmware and the forum...

The point that I originally raised isn't about firmware. I don't give the proverbial rodents buttocks about the firmware. It'll be fixed. It might take time but it'll be fixed. Worked for the n95 - best phone ever.

The point isn't even the hardware issues affecting a (granted relatively small) % of global N97 sales - although according to the petition I started there's at least 723 affected users, which at �500 a handset (through subsidy or direct retail) is a good �350,000 worth and may seem like a lot, but in relation to the millions sold it's nothing.

No! The things that bother me more than anything else is the fact that Nokia can claim no knowledge for so long and people just take it. To the point that we now have various inventive solutions involving sticky tape, sharpies, copper wire and plectrums.

Kudos to the inventive folks who came up with these solutions but it's the fact that somebody had to come up with them that bothers me more than anything else.

If you bought a car, from new, and the windscreen wipers scratched the windscreen you'd take it back. You wouldn't put tape under the ends of the wipers.

And you know what? I think the car company would apologise.

lovesign wrote:No, but I've seen them jailbreaking Apple's ridiculously restrictive device simply to get it on a better network or get decent apps on it.

The N97 doesn't require all those shenanigans mentioned by the OP and choosing to do those over returning the device under warranty for a refund or replacement is just plain silly.

One thing I think you have overlooked is the propensity for symbian owners to de-brand the firmware and return the device to a generic Nokia firmware and for the same reasons as you mention for iPhone jail-breaking.

ClockworkZombie wrote:One thing I think you have overlooked is the propensity for symbian owners to de-brand the firmware and return the device to a generic Nokia firmware and for the same reasons as you mention for iPhone jail-breaking.

Not really overlooked. It's a fair point, I guess. Jailbreaking allows users to break the restrictions placed by Apple on it's hardware and software. Debranding simply allows a user to bypass an operators hacked version of generic firmware.

A Jailbroken iPhone will have fundamental changes to it's OS & file structure. A debranded Nokia will just be running standard Nokia firmware.

That said, there were people hacking Symbian quite frequently so I guess that's similar.

Similar, but not quite the same.

Hi community, (hope also someone from NOKIA is reading this to help me)

I live in chengdu/china. I am one of those unlucky guys, who bought an N97, which is killing its lenses by itself.
However, I am reading tons of comments and ideas about this in the internet.
I am tired about this all!! Nevertheless I need a working camera in my phone, otherwise I can throw it away. I am willing to pay for this NOKIA, but why can your service shops in Chengdu not repair it?????
This people only say, they have no idea about the cost,.....may take weeks.....and may be they can not even make it. Sound to me....stupid customer you have paid for the phone, thats enough...now pls do not bother us.
I'd be happy, if by chance some here also from Chengdu, who knows a repair shop, which can do it for a reasonable price. I ask here the community because in October I have to fly to Europe does somebdy know a reliable repair shop in Frakfurt or London?
By the way, I saw some days ago, when I was driving in a taxi here, a man shaking and moving his N97 like I do, when I try to get this stupid Compass running. So, we can identify each other as N97 user if we do this movings.....hahaha
greetings from Chengdu