This is the reply I got form their customer service today regarding the 770:
Sounds like they really want people to cancel..... And why do they refer to it as a "cable"...

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Thank you for writing to Nokia Customer Care. We appreciated hearing from you.

I have checked my system concerning your order and have found that your confirmation order #57319XXX is still on back order status. We are looking to receive inventory by the end of December. Did you want to keep this item on back order, or would you like for us to cancel it so that you can try to obtain the cable from another source? Please contact us after you have decided whether to keep this item on back order or if you would like for us to cancel the order for you.

Thank you again for writing to us, and we hope to hear from you soon with your decision at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely,

Crystangella
Customer Care
NokiaUSA.com
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I tried submitting a story about the 770 being onsale at CompUSA and how Nokia aren't shipping the pre orders to Slashdot but they ignored the submission. Not surprised with the editors seemingly smoking crack the whole time these days based on the stories they do run. Perhaps someone else might like to try? A lot of Slashdot geeks would have pre-ordered units I imagine after they ran the story about the 770 a few weeks ago.

Hmmm.... well, I realize that Nokia screwed up the launch, and the CompUSA issue should be a total embarassment (not to mention I'd bet Nokia makes more profit selling direct than through dealers) but to whine about paying $100 more because of a coupon you found seems a bit childish.

There isn't really any such thing as a free lunch kids. Me, I'm far from rich but it's been worth the extra $$$ to me to have it in my hands now and not later.

My .02.

Hm, I got an e-mail from NokiaUSA regarding my Nov 14th order. I'm not sure if my order is messed up, or if it's an automated e-mail, or if more people can expect this e-mail, or what. Going to call later on when work isn't busy.

Just got an email too. Makes it sound like it's MY problem they couldn't complete the order.

Me too. What's strange is that I canceleld my order yesterday.

The nice lady said, as per script, they expected them to ship before the end of the month, but had to 'double check' the billing info. I think they want to see how many people fail to respond to the email, thereby freeing up more stock for CUSA!

I asked if 'before the end of this month' meant 'before xmas', as the 770 was a gift. She said she didn't know, but that my order (11/14 in the A.M.) was at the head of the list. She also said that they recieved 'more orders than they expected. Yeah.

I'm just gonna let it ride, and if I get it before xmas, I'll return my CUSA one. Or maybe keep it for myself. I quite like it.

I recieved the same email a few minutes ago and just got off the phone with them. They're "reconfirming" orders from mid November (my order was on 11/15). The "promised" ship date is "by Dec 30", they *hope* it will be sooner than that. Yes, they're checking if people are getting fed up with the wait. The nice lady I spoke with *ASSURED* me she's at the US distribution warehouse and she doesn't know where the retail stores are getting their stock as they don't have any. No matter - I can wait (present for me ) and saving $100 vs CompUSA (assuming they have ANY left on hand) is better than instant gratification. I can keep using my 5-year old Vaio 505 in the meantime; it will give me a good basis of comparison when the 770 arrives.

This may not be a popular thing to say, but from a business perspective, I understand why they think what they have done is a good idea. They probably feel that there is a bigger upside to getting 770 displays into compusa stores during the holidays than there is to honoring the commitments they made to early, direct sales. I hope they are right, since strong sales are required for the long-term viability of this platform and any hope of a new, improved version anytime soon. It will also encourage competitors. Hopefully, some of these new competitors won't mistreat their
customers.

As for the downside of their actions, Nokia assumed, and I think from the posts on this board correctly so, that most people who placed pre-orders would just go to compusa and get one. Others will not cancel their online orders because of the price difference, which is also understandable. But, I suspect that very few people who really want one are going to get something else because they have been mistreated - nokia has very little real competition for this device. If one thing is evident, it's that nokia isn't all that worried about us getting angry at them.

It was a very bitter pill to swallow, but now that I have capitulated and bought one from compusa, I want to get down to the business of porting apps and trying to improve it.

Getting one from compusa, waiting for your pre-order, or walking away on principle are the only three choices we have right now. There really isn't a "right answer" because this isn't a moral issue. Just pick whichever one makes your feel best, or at least makes you feel the least dirty, and reconcile yourself to it - you'll feel a lot better afterwards.

Exactly, pre-orders identified you as a die-hard, and die-hards will buy them anyway. Here's the anatomy of the situation.

1.) #*$&#$& Nokia, that was underhanded and very very poor of them
2.) I just got mine at CompUSA.

...

*shrug*