The NSW Department of Fair Trading has opted not to widen its investigation of display problems in Nokia handsets beyond the 8210, citing an insufficient number of complaints as the reason for its decision.

NSW Fair Trading spokesperson Christian Fanker said the department was still to register a sufficient level of complaints concerning display problems in Nokia handsets to warrant widening its investigation beyond the 8210. However he asked consumers who have problems with their handset to contact the department if they are dissatisfied with its manufacturer's efforts to resolve the problem.

In April NSW Fair Trading directed Nokia to repair display faults in all 8210 model handsets manufactured in the last two years. However following a period of disquiet in the media concerning the quality of a wide range of Nokia models, NSW Fair Trading re-opened its investigation.

Fanker said that consumers need to contact the department directly in order to ensure that complaints are logged correctly. According to Fair Trading, most queries it made concerning media reports about Nokia revealed instances of dissatisfaction with the Nokia's customer service rather than its handsets.

ZDNet Australia has received dozens of complaints concerning handsets displays in connection with a broad range of Nokia handsets. Of those the Nokia 8850 and older 5 and 6-series handsets are mentioned most frequently.

Anecdotal evidence from mobile phone repairers that ZDNet Australia contacted do not conclusively point to a significant rate of screen failure in 8850s.

One handset repairer said that Nokia's high-end mobile, the 8850, carries the same display problem as the 8210. However he said that the problem appeared far more frequently in the 8210.

A technician from a competing service centre agreed that the 8850 had a display problem but said that it was not linked to the 8210 display fault. He said that two bolts linked to clips anchoring the display in place often break the first time the phone has a tumble.

Many repairers felt that a problem that causes the 8250 handsets to freeze was a more significant than anything that encountered with the 8850.

-We get an awful lot of 8210s and 8250s in here but I would say that there the largest number of phones by percentage out there," said a spokesperson for Fone Fix Australia.

Fanker said that consumers who wish to contact the NSW Department of Fair Trading should call 13 32 20.

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