07 August 2007
Nokia N76?!
They have failed,
miserably,
nobody wants to tell them the truth?
 First of all I have to say that I didn’t buy one for myself. It's not a secret that I don’t like stylish phones that much.
Design, weight, height, width or even price are almost completely irrelevant factors for me. Features before all - that’s supposed to be rule No1 for every real Symbian freak.
Anyway, I bought the black one for my girlfriend. I thought she would prefer the red color, but she surprised me completely with a preference for the black color and I had to exchange the phone for the black one. I believed that I finally found a smart phone that will meet her needs in terms of the features, design and size as well.
It truly looked like I managed to do so, as she loved everything about the phone. She was impressed with the features, design, everything, until the chrome started to peel off to reveal the
ugly, cheap, white plastic underneath after just TWO weeks, can you believe that!?
The chrome started to flake along the edge of the flip, from the back side of the phone, on the right side of the camera lens and near the memory card cover. After the initial peeling problems, she decided to take extra care of the phone to help prevent the chrome from flaking off. She is a girl, and believe me, she knows how to take care of sensitive stuff. Unfortunately it didn’t help and the chrome continues to peel. Now, a month after I bought it, the phone looks simply terrible.
*click to enlarge
As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t matter how careful you are. The chrome can be expected to peel off sooner or later, and is acceptable if this happens after a year or so... but after two weeks? I still can’t believe it. I’m more disappointed than my girlfriend is. Nokia N76 is her first Nokia phone, first smart phone and I’m afraid it is going to her last. She will switch back to the dummy Samsung and Motorola phones just because Nokia can’t make phones with acceptable case quality.
I might be wrong, but I think that this case problem is one of the main reasons for why Vodafone have decided to stop selling the phone hereafter. I am pretty sure that this issue will be fixed with the next wave of phones that come out of the factory, but what about the early adopters?? Freaks that have been waiting for a months on end, and spent hundreds of euros to buy this phone immediately at release?!?
Sure some people will say that if I decide to live on the edge, I have to expect to fall into the ravine once in a while. But on the other hand, in my personal opinion, buying a stylish and expensive Nokia smartphone shouldn’t be comparable to living on the edge?!?? SHAME ON YOU NOKIA, WHAT A BIG SHAME!!!!!
*click to enlarge
Last but not least, guys over at Mobile Review claim that Nokia is seriously concerned about the build quality because the warranty does cover chrome defects of the Nokia N76. By them all service centers have enough spare parts and they have to replace it for free but unfortunately the folks at service point near me don’t share the same opinion. They treat problem with cover as “physical damage” and by them it isn’t covered by the warranty.
Another problem is that the quality of the spare parts is anyway the same, because they are produced in the same factory and therefore replacement is just a temporary solution. Please let me know if any of you have had a similar problem and were successful in getting the phone replaced or repaired by Nokia for free???
Anyway, here are a few photos. I managed to find some time to take a few shots and I guess you will all agree with me when I say that it looks like a secondhand phone that is a few years old. This is pretty disappointing for a new phone that is only a few weeks old!! Sorry about the quality of the photos, but I was short on time and had to improvise, and take photos without acceptable lighting conditions. Sorry once again.
I like its design, features and specifications, but because of the extremely bad build quality (chrome isn’t the only problem) the phone is quite a shameful product for you Nokia, and for the team that worked on it.
It now indeed looks like a rude copy of a Motorola phone. Shame on you Nokia, you pay your designers for nothing. You should sack all of them as soon as possible!
So to sum up, congratulations Nokia... .. ...no really! Congratulations, because my girlfriend feels ashamed to have and to show an expensive, stylish and powerful Smartphone!!!
The Good:
RAM, Symbian v9.2, 3rd edition, FP 1, great outer screen.
The Bad:
Battery life, Camera quality, SIM slot
Te Ugly:
Quality!
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