Thanks to our sharp eye'd Nokiausers forum member, Bartmanekul for bringing this article from The Guardian UK to our attention, and oh boy is it looking ugly for Nokia.
Remember, I'm personally, a Nokia enthusiast through and through, and it pains me to write about this, but having read the Guardian Technology Article by Bobbie Johnson, it struck a cord with me too. I like many other Nokia loyal customers pre-ordered the N97 direct from Nokia before public release, and myself, also pre-ordered the N900, so you will see my similarities with below statements. These will also relate to many other people who pre-ordered this latest flagship device from Nokia.
Nokia really do need to address this issue with late firmware releases for the UK, especially when phone retailers are starting to refer their customers to look at other Brands of phone to buy, due to the bug ridden early released Nokia handsets. An employee of a Phone retailer said...
"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.
"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.
Full article from The Guardian UK can be found here.
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dani2xll
said:
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... I conclude. Perhaps Nokia's F in Firmware stands for Fallibility. Each update just leaves a burning desire for more. Perhaps at Nokia's show in October the v2.0 firmware was just available for show on those handsets and that a worldwide output of this version is now being scrambled together. I concur, do not buy a high end Nokia handset until it has been out for at least 6 months. I wont reiterate the n95 saga as I have now had the n97 since its second day of sale in the UK and I am still awaiting to flagship of this product to prove itself. |
Tricky Dick
said:
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Nokia bashing at it's worst What is this guy complaining about? Too many or too few firmware updates? Unbelievable nonsense! |
Techinsane
said:
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nokia i bought one directly from Nokia. It has been downhill ever since $700 for a phone that barely works. So many software application issues and stuck because i cannot return it. Thanks nokia. My old htc touch never crashed like this. |
user4567
said:
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dontbuyn97.com will soon address the same issue Chek this website out from Nov 1st to see how bad it can get! |
Techinsane
said:
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nokia http://www.guardian.co.uk/tech...97-updates http://discussions.nokiausa.com/discussions/board?board.id=smartphones need I say more? |
Jon2
said:
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Not nonsense This is not nonsense, if anything this article goes easy on Nokia. The trouble I've had with my N97 borders on complete incompetence by Nokia. A phone that doesn't work for at least 4 months after purchase, GPS and camera lens problems! It is not nonsense at all. Nokia's firmware release strategy is unhelpful and annoying for consumers. I will never by a nokia again and I will never recommend them to anyone! |
Tango whiskey indigo tango
said:
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For a bunch of techno geeks..... I am amazed that none of you have learned to never, ever buy version 1.0 of anything. Always wait for some other poor sucker to find the bugs first. Bet you guys all went out and bought Vista on release day too  |
ii ii ii ii
said:
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This is sad. This is is really a big problem. I am currently debating with myself if I should buy the new n900 or not, and one of the strongest cons I have is that Nokia is always late in their production. Only yesterday did I find out that the delivery of n900 to my country has been delayed "at least two months". And then that means a phone that may or may not work. Why should I waste my money and time waiting for a product that is something else than what I have been promised by the sales information? It just is not acceptable. |
jonkeys
said:
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v20 just released for N97 but still no UK!!!! Case in point, v20 firmware of the N97 has just been released, but once again!!!!!! the UK has been left out in the cold. I have an unbranded handset and there is no update for me. I hate you Nokia. |
