For my 1,000th posting I thought I might update a previous posting of mine from back in November of last year, entitled, "My N97 experience-not all bad".
See here:-
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/90298/&highlight=experience+N97
In this I lambasted Nokia for ever releasing the N97 with firmware v10, although versions 11 and 12 would have hardly been any better, and I still stand by this. It was truly an awful descision by Nokia to rush out the N97 with this immature firmware version and thus began, justifiably so IMHO, the first wave of complaints and detractors for the handset.
Nokia did themselves no favours whatsoever in releasing the N97 in this state just, in my view, to compete with the iPhone 3GS. We must not forget that we on these forums are in the minority who actually know, and can, update our firmware. By far, the vast majority of users are still on their original firmwares of v10, v11 and v12 unless of course they have taken their handsets to a Nokia Service Centre. This I believe, in part, has led to a higher than average number of returns for the N97.
Other areas that Nokia dropped the ball are undoubtedly the camera lens scratching issue and GPS. Whilst these have not been a problems for me it has caused trouble for a lot of users, as can be seen from postings on this and other forums. It does seem strange that I, and others, have not suffered from these two problems.
My N97 has never seen, thankfully, the inside of a Nokia Service Centre or had any modifications and yet, despite taking well over 400 photo's the lens is as good as new. Indeed, I would go as far as to say that my N97 camera is the best I have used to date and because of it I have consigned my digital camera to the drawer.
The same applies to the GPS. Even out of the box and after the "correct" setup I was achieving a fairly quick and accurate lock with the N97. This has improved now with the release of Maps v3.03 which, I think, knocks spots off of previous versions and other handsets.
Nokia should have addressed these problems immediately rather than sticking their heads in the sand and hoping they would go away, which they didn't. Thanks to the efforts of certain forum members, on this (davecozens, etc.) and other sites, Nokia now acknowledge these faults and offer a free repair so there is no need to suffer these shortcomings.
What I cannot understand, or work out, is why some handsets have these issues and others do not!
If we were to believe the postings on forums, some of which have been vitriolic, then virtually every N97 has these issues but, as we all know, it is human nature that we only tend to seek out or post to these forums when we have a problem. This is, in part, why they exist as self help and information. Therefore it would be all to easy to assume that every N97 owner is totally dissatisfied with their handset which is very far from the truth.
I am given to understand that handsets being shipped now contain the lens and GPS fixes as well as the v20 firmware which should improve things greatly. It is a penalty that we early adopters pay I'm afraid but, in the case of the N97, it was compounded by Nokia.
Lest anyone think that I have no complaints about the N97 then let me say that it's lack of RAM and small C: drive are a constant irritation.
IMHO the RAM should be double the size for a phone such as this. Prior to v20 it was the RAM, or lack of, that was resposible for most of my crashes and freezes. This happened with the original N95 and Nokia do not seem to have learned by their mistakes. True, in later firmware for the N95, they addressed this problem and virtually eliminated it. They have started down this road with v20 but I find it annoying and frustrating that to achieve this the handset closes down other applications, especially my home screen widgets, and so therefore I have to wait for them to reload.
The other irk that I have is with the size of C: drive which has meant that I am reluctant to install certain app's, most notably the Nokia ones that insist on going to C; such as Mail for Exchange, N-Gage, Nokia Messaging and Ovi Contacts. I know it's been said before, but why, oh why, have 32GB of E: drive sitting there. in most cases doing nothing, and yet have such a small C: drive that must have certain app's installed to it! It isn't rocket science Nokia... if you want us to use, or buy, app's that are designed for the phone memory then you have to either give us a bigger C: drive or redesign the app's to run on E:.
In my last tome I posed the question:-
"Perhaps smart phones are becoming too smart?
We get them and fire them up, sometimes ignoring the manuals, and then shove loads of third party software on them without a thought or adjustment to settings and expect them to work perfectly. I know from my own experience that I've had to uninstall software from a handset because of conflicts or poor programming."
An instance of this was a locksmith friend of mine who had a number of N97's for his work force and complained that the Maps were rubbish. It transpired that he had not downloaded the Maps Data to the phones and so they were constantly connecting on the move to download data. This made the GPS slow and inaccurate as well as using the 3G. It was this experience that prompted me to write the guide for setting Maps up. See here:-
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/forum//forum/thread/90325/
Another common fault I have come across is the myriad of settings required by smart phones anyone of which could affect the whole operation of the phone and will change as new app's are added. This is where phones such as the iPhone score with their closed operating system and app's approval. Although this does mean you are, by and large, restricted to the Apple Apps Store unlike Symbian's open access which allows 3rd party software and development.
Finally I come to the question of firmware releases. This has proven to be a big cause of postings on this and other forums. I wish I had a � for every time I had read, "Not available for firmware *******, Nokia are cr*p" or such like. For once, this is not all Nokia's fault.
Having developed new firmware you would think it would be simple to just release across the board to everone at the same time. It isn't. Every phone has a product code and this determines the restrictions placed on it, i.e. European, UK, operator branded. This means that for each stage permission has to be sought either from the various government telecommunications authorities or from service providers before that version can be released, not forgetting that for branded handsets there will also be additions/deletions to the firmware. Once you are at this stage it is entirely out of Nokia's hands and complaints should be directed to those government authorities or service providers who are tardy.
I realise how frustrating this must be, I de-branded my own handset because of it, and the only other solution would be for Nokia to wait until every government and operator globally had approved the releases, if indeed they do. This would cause, I feel, an even bigger outcry from some who may be forced to wait months for new firmware.
The best way to check to see if firmware has been released for your handset is the Nokia Device Update Checker online here:-
http://europe.nokia.com/support/download-software/device-software-update/can-i-update
In conclusion, there is no such thing as a "perfect handset" although, as I have pointed out, Nokia have done themselves no favours with the N97. However, they can, and should, rectify these shortcomings in future firmwares, as they did with the N95, now an icon.
I hope my fellow forum members will forgive me for the length of this, my 1,000th posting, and I would like to thank you all for making my time on this forum so informative and enjoyable.