Just a couple of weeks ago now, I posted up an article asking our readers if their N97 was self harming. Were scratches appearing on their N97's main camera glass.? So far, from various sources, including a bloated flood of complaints on Nokia Discussions, we are now well in the 100's of people who have purchased this latest flagship Nokia device, only to be dissapointed with the main camera slider cover, which actually scratches the glass that covers the lens when slid open, and closed.
We have also found out, thanks to Nokiausers member, brkix in Croatia, that the blue pad that you see under the slider, is not in any way, shape, or form, there to clean the glass that covers the camera lense.
brkis reports after dismantling his N97's Camera cover, exposes a very cheap, and tacky piece of hard plastic, with an embedded metal square magnet, which is used with a metal trigger in the N97, so it knows then the slider is open, or closed. This very blue pad, is the cause of all the scratches we are seeing. This is due to it being too close to the glass, but not close enough to prevent any foreign bodies getting trapped inbetween it, and the glass. Checkout after the break for full sized photos, reports on Vodafone's N97 return rate, and links to our public N97 Camera Glass Scratch Poll, and Discussion thread where you can let off some steam about your frustrations about this issue.
So there you have it. The N97's ugly reality of what is the cause of this self harm so many N97 owners are disgruntled with, so much so, Vodafone have reported a 40% return rate of all N97's they have sold so far, all due to this very issue..
Do you own an N97? Is your camera glass scratched too? Then please make yourself heard over on our forums, where we have a very active discussion thread where you can air your views, and stories. I have also set up a poll, which you can vote, and post a photo showing the damage your main camera glass has sustained by the slider cover. Our Poll has had almost 10,000 views since being posted less than two weeks ago.
It's common knowledge that I am indeed a Nokia fan, and have been for quite a while, but in this instance, I have to say, Nokia really could of done better, much, much better with the N97. Not only is there this issue mentioned here, but with not enough RAM, and Phone memory, not to the mention buggy OS, one has to wonder why has Nokia let all this slip unnoticed? I mean, the wrong amount of RAM in the N97, did this not go to a Board meeting at Nokia HQ, did only one person decide on fitting the old ARM11? Come on, please!
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brkix
said:
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... only small correction, magnet is in blue hardplastic piece, in phone is "trigger" or "switch" witch reacts to this magnet. magnet is not affected after loosing half of its size after filing down, and still works. |
roberth
said:
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... so why didnt nokia just cover the hard plastic with what we first thought was a lens cleaner? a thin piece of velvet/soft cloth etc would have done wonders! on the ram issue.....i hope this can be rectified even the n86 opens up with 80+mb ram yes i know the n97 has live widgets but shouldnt that have been considered from the get go? yes micky i agree with you totally.....who tests these devices before they hit the retail market? members on these forums could do a way better job......for free......and be happy doing it |
jared Eldredge
said:
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is removal reversible? is removal reversible? i'm interested in removing my lens cover and attaching some micro-suede or thin chamois to the underside of the blue plastic part. Chamois is used on car because it tends to pull debris away from the surface, allowing you to wipe a car clean without scratching the surface. also, i'm interested to know if scratch remover liquids might help relieve the scratches already made, stuff like this: http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Out-DVD-Scratch-Repair-Fluid/dp/B000FH9UOK it's generally junk, but cheap and possibly helpful for light scratches or at least temporarily if you know you're going out to take photos...? -bit |
AndyW
said:
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Happy to have cashed my Nokia refund check I was very excited by the N97 and ordered one, one day after preorder opened up. But now reading all the fallout, I am so glad I yelled at Nokia and was given a 100% refund for the phone. There are too many issues, I think Nokia needs to move on and not try to fix this phone but learn from their mistakes and make the next phone the correct way. Non scratching lens, more base memory. (have you tried moving your SMS's , the phone comes to a crawl with about 100 txt messages in your in box) I won't even get started with when to double tap and when to single tap. I'm waiting Nokia...... |
Jaakko
said:
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Why Nokia why... Amazing stuff, global market leader let this happen... Only place in earth, where people will not build up a big issue and hassle about this, is at Nokia back yard here in Finland. Gladly there are good products out there besides Nokia, Samsung as a one example with huge line up for touch screen devices with different OS. Im an true Nokia user, but in some point I have to open my eyes for something new, maybe Android device  |
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