A former employee of Nokia Australia, who asked not to be identified in this report, has alleged that the company lied when it said it is unaware of the extent of an apparent problem with its handsets.
As reported by ZDNet Australia last week , several customers have complained that the liquid crystal display (LCD) on Nokia's 8210 mobile phone intermittently fails to function, a problem that alos appears to be inherent in several of the phone manufacturer's previous models.
The ex-staffer, who is anxious to stress that he maintains a good relationship with the company, further alleged that the design faults affect a broad range of Nokia handsets built after the company retired the Nokia 2110. This suggests that the company may have failed to address the alleged design flaws for up to 6 years.
Supporting the former employee statement, Adrian Morgan, spokesman for independent mobile phone repairer Phone Medic, says that the 8210 malfunctions when rubber connectors sandwiched between the phone's LCD and its circuit board fail. He says the problem is not new nor isolated to the Nokia 8210, but inherent with all handsets that use the rubber connector, including the 3210, 5110, 6110, 8850 and models carrying other brand names.
"The first model we can recall having this problem with Nokia, was the 5110. After about a year of moderate to heavy use, the conductive rubber compresses and wears indented bands on the circuit board end," he said. "Earlier on, Ericsson used the same connectors in both the LCD and microphone and these connectors also failed after time or heavy use".
Nokia released its 5110 and 6110 handsets early in 1998.
Morgan thinks that Nokia's awareness of the problem is self-evident. He said the company has attempted to rectify the problem in recent models of its mobile phone range.
"They've actually changed the [allegedly faulty] part in the 3310 and 3330," he said. "They have done away with conductive rubber connectors, and used metal contacts that are spring loaded".
Morgan's experience with the handsets suggests that Nokia's decision to release the flawed handsets on the market was a case of mismanagement rather than misconduct.
"I believe that in normal use the part should last, but I think Nokia underestimated the usage that people are giving the phones," he said, when asked why the handsets hadn't been recalled.
He says that the phones LCD is sensitive to pressure and after-market phone accessories, such as non-genuine leather cases and clip-on housings could be contributing to the high incidence of LCD failure among them.
"On some occasions, we have suggested to people that have pulled their phones out of very tight pockets such as jeans, that perhaps they shouldn't keep them there," said Morgan.
If, as Morgan believes, Nokia is trying to address the LCD design flaw, doubts remain as to whether the new part will do so, and the phone maker may soon find that it's caught between a rock and a hard place.
"In doing this [changing the part], we have had several of them [3310s and 3330s] in for repair with the metal contacts squashed and broken, and a few with cracked LCDs, " said Morgan.
"We rarely have to replace an LCD on an 8210 because it has cracked, so the conductive rubber concept seems to be protecting customers and Nokia from more costly repairs. Perhaps with the 8210, Nokia has used a slightly soft conductive rubber to protect the LCD, and it is wearing faster than one which was a little firmer."
This suggests that Nokia has been grappling with a difficult dilemma; a "firmer" substance will last longer but poses a higher risk of cracking the LCD.
Offering an explanation for the mobile phone industry's silence on the issue, the former Nokia Australia employee told ZDNet that the phone maker has such a strong monopoly over the Australian mobile phone market that its trading decisions can adversely affect service providers and individual dealerships' ability to operate.
When ZDNet Australia contacted Nokia to again discuss the reader backlash and the allegations, the company stood by assertions it made last Wednesday that it is unaware of any inherent fault with its product.
"All that I can go on is the figures that we've got and based on those I stand by the previous statements," said Nokia corporate affairs manager, Anthony Wilson. "Based on our volumes the problem is not widespread."
Nokia's argument is not likely to satisfy many disgruntled owners who claim to have experienced a high incidence failure with the 8210. They have reacted angrily to the company's business-as-usual response to the problem.
"I bought 18 Nokia 8210s in December last year and not long after I had to return 5 because the wires connecting the hands free socket to the base of the phone were never connected properly. Subsequently I have sent 7 phones back to have their LCD screens fixed," said Melbourne-based IT Manager, Martin Curlis. "If this is 'no more than usual' I will be certain never to buy a Nokia again."
The vast majority of feedback that ZDNet received echoed Curlis' complaint. One reader said that seven out of ten of his associates owned Nokia 8210s and that of that, group nine had had screen problems; at least four of those must have been Nokia 8210s.
"For Nokia to say that this is rare, is a joke," said one Sydney sales executive.
Some customers are starting to doubt Nokia's ability to manufacture handsets of an acceptable quality to operate throughout the term of their mobile service provider contracts, and their experiences corroborate allegations that the problem is widespread and that Nokia is aware of it.
"I've had three 8210s fail in the 13th month (one month out of warranty). Luckily because the problem was so well known our supplier fixed them at no cost."
After reading the feedback on ZDNet Australia, Nokia seemed to approach the task of appeasing Nokia customers with renewed enthusiasm. Nokia's Wilson said that the company takes the complaints "very seriously", urged customers experiencing difficulties with the company's mobile phones not to hesitate to come forward.
Nokia's customer care service can be reached on 1300 366 733.
I had one 8210 and one 8850 for personal use. The 8210 have 2 time LCD problems with in the first year and the 8850 have been back to repair 3 time in the first 6 months with 2 time is LCD related. Futher more, the 8850 has been back to repair/replace another 2 times in the next six months making up total of 5 times in first year with 3 times LCD related problems.
I am sure I will not buying another Nokia's phone unless they can prove to the consumers that put their act together and at least, not lie to them.