At least someone is listening, even if Nokia isn't:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/oct/21/nokia-n97-updates
[SIZE="5"]How Nokia put its biggest fans' loyalty on the line[/SIZE]
As Nokia struggles in the high-end phone market, its approach to updates is turning off some of its keenest UK customersAs the company behind more than a third of the world's mobile phones, Nokia is still the biggest player in the wireless industry � but at its Helsinki headquarters, things are starting to look grim. Last week it reported sales down more than 8%, creating losses of �836m over the past three months � and the chief financial officer was subsequently shuffled out of his job.
Pundits and analysts put much of the blame on Nokia's inability to keep up with the likes of the iPhone and the BlackBerry, high-priced devices that are more desirable to customers, and more profitable.
But while the company has indeed gone several years since its last hit handset, there may be more subtle clues to Nokia's malaise � not least in the way it is treating some of its most fervent supporters.
Late updates
Disgruntled British customers are running a campaign claiming that Nokia's software updates often arrive in the UK weeks or months after other places.
Mobile phone companies release their software updates to fix problems, and to add or improve features. In some countries, such as Germany, Nokia's updates are sent over the air to mobile phones as soon as they are finished. For British users, however, it can sometimes takes weeks or months � and in some cases, approval for the UK market takes so long that an update is superseded before it is approved.
These delays not only occur for those who have contracts with mobile networks, but also those who paid extra for unlocked phones supported directly by Nokia.
The problem is particularly pronounced on some of the most high-profile handsets � including the N97, a phone that Nokia's chief executive, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, called "the world's most advanced mobile computer" when it came out in July.
Not everybody feels the same way.
"I was a pretty loyal Nokia customer," says James Gurney, one consumer who bought the N97 shortly after it hit the market. "At �500 I thought I was paying a bit over the odds, but trusted that the user experience would be good." Instead, he suffered bugs including memory problems, charging issues and difficulties with the screen. Nokia said these would be fixed by a software update, called v11, that reached British users three weeks after the phone went on sale. But it didn't fix everything. A further release, v12, was completed this August. Many British customers, however, have yet to get it: it was only available to those who bought unlocked, unbranded phones for a single day at the end of September before it was pulled. Meanwhile, Nokia is already previewing the next set of updates, v20, which it says will be available this month.
Some users are sceptical.
"The problem has steadily gotten worse over the past two or three years," says Stephen Oiller, another customer who has been affected by the software delays. The question he wants answered is: "What makes the UK different to dozens of other countries?"
We asked Nokia UK to explain. But a company spokeswoman did not address delays in updates reaching British customers, only suggesting that: "The team are working hard to speed up the process and ensure consumers in the UK and around the rest of the world can get all software updates as soon as possible."
The v20 software would definitely be available in Britain at the same time as in other countries, she said, probably in late October. But she added that it took time to complete a "wide-ranging variety of country specific additions" for UK users and that networks often held back updates. while they did their own approval processes.
But this does not really address the concerns of those who are up in arms over the lack of updates: customers who have, in many cases, spent hundreds of pounds precisely so they can bypass the networks and get faster updates direct from Nokia.
Hard sell
At present, the firmware problem is bad enough that one employee of a mobile retailer, who asked not to be named, said he is finding it difficult to recommend the latest Nokia smartphones. "I've found myself advising customers to wait three to four months from a [high-end] N-Series handset's initial release before purchasing, as we expect all of them to have flaws in the original release."
What's worse is the users complaining about the lack of updates are exactly the sort of people that Nokia needs to stick with it: high-spending long-term fans who think nothing of spending large sums on buying the latest handsets direct from the company. These are some of Nokia's biggest supporters � and all they are asking for is parity with the rest of the world.
What's the solution? Better communication or faster delivery?
"Ultimately, I would like to see updates released for everyone at the same time � sim-free or carrier-branded � similar to the way Apple operates," says Oiller.
Gurney is less convinced that there is a simple way to recover his loyalty.
"Will I buy Nokia again?" he wonders. "Not until I know it works and they've had to drop the price � I'm an easy sell for a good alternative."