I'd rather not turn this into a Nokia vs. Apple customer support thread - I've never had a problem with Apple's support, each phone has been replaced, on the spot for free without an issue... all seven replacements - but my N810 initially stayed in the support centers.

It went back just a week after ownership, only to come back unfixed. I sent it back, it came back unfixed. I had to elevate my ticket numerous times... and finally got traction when I got American Express involved to finally demand a 30 day return.

I then got a proper replacement. Which... then had to go back for something REAL minor, but they fixed that and sent it back in mere days.

I've seen horror stories, can remember the horror stories I had with my prior Nokia 8890 and 8810 which drove me to lesser phones, but "greener" pastures in terms of support.

My 770 never had the WSOD issue, my N810 was somewhat problematic from the start, but has been flawless since. And if I had been pushed around like this about my $500 N900, I would have been a feature on CNN by now. Well that and I would have involved my credit card company and sought out a full refund. MasterCard, Visa and American Express are great at working out little details like this.

So... who has bets that the next phone will not see a difference in customer service in America? And worse... this has been a problem that I know of for over a decade.

Is it legal? Only if it's in writing that when you accept a refurbished phone, that you lose all rights to the original purchase date. And that will not stand up unless there was something you explicitly signed and/or read in some terms somewhere. Which... I doubt even exists.

Too bad your friend went totally gorilla on the N900. He could have kept calling until he got a sympathetic ear.