Defects of Nokia 5800 that you should know

Visionew — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:34:34 +0800

I think this is an important issue which merits a thread to catch the attention of potential buyers, in the topic title itself. With thousands of posts in hundreds of pages in the now v3 of Nokia 5800 specific threads, some people might miss this important defect of Nokia XM5800.

I have been (and still is) seriously considering buying Nokia 5800, after years of not upgrading. Since I came to know of Nokia 5800, I have given iPhone, Blackberry and LG Renoir a pass.

With AP set selling at RM1500 -1650 one week ago, it came as a pleasant surprise that the original sets can be had for as low as RM1335 from various LYN dealers in past one week. I am not familiar with handphones market, but rarely if ever do retail price of original sets go lower than AP sets, and this must have caught many AP sets dealers by surprise!

Though the launch date is a few days from now, some posters in the 5800 thread are saying that the RRP of original Nokia 5800 is RM1499. Why Nokia themselves give us such a good deal? With its functionality, style, and hype, a price of RM1700 - 1800 should still remain competitive against other touch screen phones!

Now there is one very plausible reason. Looking at this poll http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/897979, about half users experienced erratic earphone volume problem within days of usage! And those that fortunately have not (yet) might get it later on! Reading through Nokia 5800 threads, this problem is attributed to manufacture defect whereby the earphones does not have good contact with the circuit board. Though it is claimed to be easily repaired, the questions that keep bugging me as a potential serious (but not so easily swayed by excitement/'poison' ;-) ) are:

QUOTE

1) do I like that idea that a new set is sent back for repair or exchange within days of usage?

2) If repaired, do I tolerate the idea of dust entering under the screen etc, during opening up?

3) How long-lasting can the repair work? Will the spring mechanism of this touch screen phone go "out of touch" again with time, some impact, vibration etc?

4) If exhanged, do the dealers/Nokia do 1:1 on the spot exchange? If many users start exchanging, will the exchange time be prolonged later on?

5) If the exchanged set has the same problem too, will they accept another 1:1 exchange within days - SINCE it is a RAMPANT systemic manufacture defect?

Some argue that earphone volume is not big deal, but isn't a phone primary function voice call? For me, it must be a tool first, a gadget distant second, and a toy never.

Don't get be wrong. I am not campagning against XM 5800. RM1350 is still a fairly good price for all its good features, even if one use it as a PDA-cum-Bluetooth earpiece phone. But psycologically, when the problem hits you, when it fails your expectation, RM1350 will suddenly seem pricey. You will start asking: no wonder Nokia prices XM 5800 orig so low.

So, for those who have not bought but consider buying it, be a smart discerning calm consumer, and better start asking now rather than later:

QUOTE

Perhaps Nokia price it so low so as too phase out quickly those batches that are defective?

Can I get it at a even lower bargain price (<RM1200) soon in a few weeks when the news of this defect spread?

If I am not in a hurry to get new hp, and I still like XM5800, should I wait till the defectless new batch arrive?

(As an aside, apparently those Finland sets are okay, but those made in China sets are defective. That is why many users in forums of Chinese users found out the issues first.)

Any bargain buy at PC Fair April 2007?

Visionew — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:29:10 +0800

I intend to go to PC Fair Penang on the last day (Sunday), but may go tomorrow if any bargain buy are selling like hot cakes. Those who have gone there today, please share any worthwhile/bargain purchase.

For Penang, from my experience in the past years, products that have good discount during the Fair are, in order of % discount:

pendrives
DVD writers, optical discs
scanners, printers
networking devices
some peripherals
monitors
certain brands of RAM

On the other hand, the prices of CPU, motherboards and harddisks will remain much the same.

Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Visionew

Defects of Nokia 5800 that you should know

Any bargain buy at PC Fair April 2007?