Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Alright guys, So its finally given up.

The USB port has broken, My local nokia repair center wont touch it because i dont have proof of purchase, and i dont trust these 'back street markets' to tamper with it either (charge the earth and last time knakared my N73).

Not only that, its clear that maemo is a dying platfrom and i am at some point gonna have to make that change, So i may as well do it now than stretch it out.

Unfortunatly there is not much i can do - What would be the next best phone to get, I wil likley go to android but no way can i go without a keyboard.

Is the Only choice a Desire Z???

Or is there somthing coming out in the NEAR future i can hold off until? (maybe get by on one of those £10 phones)

All help is appreciated!

Craig

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Il give you £10+P&P for it?

There are 'ropey' service points in existance. I think the nokia service point is like a franchise. Or more like an NHS dentist. They do the work and NOKIA pays them. Some dodgey service centres will fix your phone whether it is in warrenty or not, they don't care they still get paid by NOKIA. (obviously the phone still has to be within the warrenty period.)

I stripped a screw on the back of my n900 and took it to such a service centre (think capital city of scotland). The guy went through all the official procedure and fixed it. I had no proof of purchase, I simply walked in and said 'fix my phone'.

So, find another service point and try again.

Actually the guy who fixed my phone used a torx screw instead of a PH screw to close the back and he left a peice of dirt on the rear of the LCD. While I was able to sort this, the service point 'gave' me a new slider and charged NOKIA.

I got a call from nokia about a month later asking me to rate the service centre, at first I was going to say he left dirt behind the LCD but then I was like 'nah, he was a total bro and fixed my dodgy *** phone for free' so I gave him a good rating.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

My suggestion is to find a local unofficial mobile repair shop (ask your friends) and let them fix your N900. Just make sure that if they don't succeed in repairing it then you don't pay anything, and then you have nothing to lose.
Will probably cost less than buying a new phone and certainly the N900 is far superior to anything else currently on the market.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

I agree, there is nothing on the market quite like it.

However, my Contract is due up soon and i thought i would make the best of the bad situation.

I guess i could attempt to get it repaired - Its already broke so wahts the worst that could happen right?

Unfortunatly as much as i love the phone, it feels that all i do is in vein(or is it vain?) because its a dying/dead platform :(

I will have to make the dreaded move sooner or later and it kinda felt like a sign (cheesy i know)

Thanks

Craig

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Thanks for the offer, I feel if i put it on ebay for spares or repairs i would likley get more.

Craig

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

just noticed the Edited post.

Thanks for that, maybe that might be worth a shot. I never knew it was a franchise system.

Ill give another place ago, it should in theory still be under warrenty(i belive its 2 years?)

Craig

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

You should be happy that your contract ends soon - since the N900 is by nature always unlocked you can now use this opportunity to switch carriers if you wish.

About repairing - I also had to repair mine once (managed to completely smash the phone's LCD). Took it to an unofficial repair lab (had to because the N900 is not officially imported here), had to pay about 150$ but I'd never considered switching to another phone.

And about the platform - Yeah, Maemo's future doesn't seem very bright. MeeGo should have an N900 port (if a final version is ever released) and of-course the N900 will probably continue to be community-supported for a long time, which is more than you can expect from any commercial device.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

i hate Nokia care

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

I've sometimes managed to get my devices serviced without proof of purchase by arguing that they have been on the market for less time than the warranty period is. When did the N900 become available?

It's worth a try if all else fails. As some said already, I think, you can try it at different service centers too and see if one of them has a heart of gold.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Hi Craig,
Best bet is looking for a new handset and gettin the N900 fixed on the side. Like yourself my contract is up next month, and i'm also looking for a new phone. Nothing can compare to the frustrating yet satisfying N900, so i'll be getting something completely different.

Thinking about the Sony Playstation phone purely to play games because i dont want a high spec android phone to compete with my N900. Kind of sucks that Nokia havent released an official date for when the N950 hits the shelves!

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

maemo is a dying platform??? you know what i belive

"As long as this community lives, maemo and N900 will be alive"

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

your imei is unique and is on the nokia system it should still be under warranty.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Broken USB is a design flaw and should not need insurance to be covered. I would suggest you call Nokia and ask to speak to a supervisor. This is a known issue and would be a violation of the common law of merchantability in most locales.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implied_warranty

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

You are right but they still won't do it. I had the warranty certificate but I did not have the invoice with mt N97 a while back and even though they could "see" my phone in their systems with the help of the IMEI and warraty certificate security number, they refused to service it...

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

A good Nokia service center should look up the phones IMEI in their database, and see the production date, and therefore see if it's still under warranty. Some countries in europe grant you a 2-year warranty on a Nokia. (At least the Netherlands.) If still under warranty, they will probably have it fixed (or even better replaced with another model).

This way is not always the most convenient for your warranty length, for your N900 could have laid in a store for months before purchasing. So the factory warranty could be shorter than the official, but worth a try.

Also, remove everything from it before having it repaired (back cover, battery, stylus, microSD). And backup everything first.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Anybody else sense the OP read the "keep TMO clean" thers is thread yesterday and is just trolling, as no logic in either Nokia not wanting to repair the phone or the OP not getting it repaired himself, and the maemo os is as much alive now than it ever has been.

Once again if the OP just wants advice why not just search the forum or read a general mobile phone website ?

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

i think there are enough "trustable" unofficial shops everywhere that you can ask to fix your n900. just make sure you dont have to pay anything when they fail to fix it.

as far as other devices go: if i would be looking for a new device, i'd propably go for the desire z.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Absolutely! Look at the Commodore 64, Atari 8-bit, the COLECOVISION! Those are still "alive" because they have a community! :rolleyes:

As someone that owns all of those AND a 1974 Volkswagen Beetle, "alive" can have a very broad definition and it's not quite the definition you want for something as relatively new, to these other things I've mentioned, as the N900.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

like a stuck record.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Hi guys thanksf or the input and advice.

Maemo's community is very much alive and its the part of me that doesnt want to rid, however nokias support is dead/dyeing and the platform won't officially be brought out on any other device.

I will likley try another repair center but i gotta face facts that in the short term this isn't gonna last much longer.

Craig

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Ok looking at the 2nd part of the title of this post, I checked it out. The reason being is I am starting a new job and have a $120 a month phone allowance, and I am not using my personal line with my N900 here in the states for work. So what would one of you get, if another N900 have all the push email issues been resolved? If not what alternative droid wise would you go with with a keyboard, Im heavily leaning towards the Atrix right now. Pros, Cons?

Thanks for the suggestion!

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

I do like you Dan. You seem like an intelligent and likeable chap. Here it comes.

But.....

Why are you here? If the N900 Community support is dying away, as you are alluding to in a snidey way in your post, then the support for your ancient N800 is surely even more non existant.

You've never even used an N900, by your own admission.

I'm a former N95 and N97 user and I no longer frequent forums for such machines anymore, because they aren't relevant to me.....anymore.

And I certainly wouldn't dream of going back to an N97 forum and sneering to those who like the device about how much greater the N900 is. It's a waste of my time and I would be deluding if myself if I thought anyone wanted to listen to my crappy opinions anyway?

I just wonder what your angle is?

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Nah.

............

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

have you got the original box?

mine has been fixed for a different matter and i did not have my receipt just the box, i told them where i got it from and they sent it to nokia, about 10 days later was back but was not the same phone, but was fixed.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Speaking of repetition... as I'd said in the very same post where I "admitted" never using an N900... I've come to kick *** and chew bubblegum.

No, no.. I've come here repeatedly for both the community itself (which is good--I read far more threads than I thank or reply to) and I also hope to see something that might instill some pleasant disappointment in the current trend. So far, I'm still waiting for that next Maemo or MeeGo device or for far more openness... but I've been waiting and waiting. In the meantime, I'll make sure to contribute to discussions. I arrived during the time of the MAJORITY of the Maemo Internet Tablets (770, N800, N810, N810WE) before there was a disappointing turn toward the ME-TOO iPhone wannabe N900 with the smaller screen and the cell radio I never wanted.

I hope you're not implying that ITT->TMO members are no longer welcome in this community by singling those of us out that criticize Maemo and the N900. I suspect you're genuinely curious about why I continue to show up and forgot that I still seek out Maemo support even though I don't own or want an N900, and casually forgot there were far more devices running Maemo before the N900 came out.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Maybe Dan just enjoys amusing himself with the threads here that always have a tendency to go off topic. Besides that he probably just misses all the Maemo folks so very much.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

No kidding. :) Why does he make it sound like I singlehandedly destroy and mangle the entire site? I couldn't POSSIBLY hope to do what Nokia has so effectively done on its own to the Maemo community through its own actions and incommunication. Also.. I love you guys. :) No kisses, please.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

@ danramos

Too right, I'm curious lol.

A lot of bitterness from the Old Guard. There is a few of you guys who can't quite come terms with the way the whole Nokia / Maemo / Meego story has unfolded. I kinda feel sorry about how it's all turned out, for you.

Purgatory. If I believed in that sort of thing.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

oh ffs ppl you guys cant keep **** on topic

this thread is not about dan - its about the OP's efforts to get his phone fixed. he also wants an alternative, and no one has suggested one yet

talk about irony - ***** about posters "polluting" TMO when you are polluting the thread with ***** fests about Dan. If you dont like Dan that use the ignore button - stop with the bloody *****ing off topic posts.

To the OP - the issue with the Desire Z is the hardware keyboard hinge, I didnt really like it. You may also take a look at the Sony Xperia Pro I think - that has a hardware keyboard more inline with the N900 I believe. Also upcoming rumored is the Samsung Galaxy Q that may have the hardware keyboard if you wanna wait for that.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Do an advanced search on gsmarena.com with the specs you need.
For Android/keyboard's there's the HTC Desire Z, Motorola Milestone 2 and coming a bit later the Sony Xperia Pro (I like this one the best).

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Hey hey hey whats going on here - Mr Belding Voice

DanRamos has plenty of other threads he has posted with the same type of responses, I respect what he has said, and honestly not many people are the same level of user as he is, so while I respect his advanced view on things, they do not represent my current issues as I posed with my question in this thread. So to put things back on subj for this convo anyone help out?

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

From my experience...If you've followed the other threads, I think this thread will soon be talking about Dan's cat soon...

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

My cat totally loves my Samsung Galaxy Tab and my Droid, and while my Droid has a slide-out keyboard.. his paws REALLY don't like it, he can't recommend it.
Also--thanks so much for dedicating so much of this thread to me. I didn't even realize it until it was pointed out. :P heh

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

I personally prefer dogs than cats. They are more fun to have around...and more intelligent - Just like the N900!!!

But I wouldn't let the dog near my N900.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Same thing happend to me like a month ago, phone nokia customer service. They forwarded me to the nokia care center in my town and they didnt ask for proof of purchase from me.

The local shop will be un able to fix the broken port and will have to send to nokia directly, any way it took like 2 months to get a brand new one because they had non in stock supposidly.

If it is contract mobile, phone the contract company they will replace or repair it. They should also give you a phone to tied u over till it comes back.

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Okay guys, wading through all the arguments and what not.

I have a tempory solution.

I am into model cars which ironically use Lithium batteries to power them.

I have a very advanced charger(worth about £150) and has many advanced functions. I have managed to set it up in such a way to replicate the charging output of a nokia charger :D

The only downside is the battery has to come out of the phone to charge - but hey its better than nowt and will get me by for now!!


Craig

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

If you want to check your warranty, just go here

Nokia Warranty Checker

Its Nokia's own website to check if your still within warranty. Also I took my N900 which had a broken USB to the Carphone Warehouse in Oxford Street, London and they fixed it without requiring ANY proof of purchase and that is one of the LARGEST Carphone Warehouse stores in England!

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Also go on ebay or take a look at this thread and buy the best battery he says.

Best Battery For N900 Thread

That way you have two batteries making it much easier then being without your phone while the battery charges, you just have to simply swap them round :)

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

Who needs USB!!

You don't!

Get a standalone charger, two batteries. Just use backupmenu, make a backup, save it. Not too sure how you will reflash if it dies... :S

Hmm... JTAG? Damn..

Re: Dead N900 - What is the next best choice?
 

How about an induction charger?
Hack An Induction Charger To Work With Any Mobile Phone
Got to be better than having to remove the battery all the time (if it works!).