Thread: Feedback on the Nokia N900 User guides
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assetburned is offline assetburned
2010-04-01 , 23:03
Posts: 197 | Thanked: 25 times | Joined on Apr 2010 @ Europe
#36
I don't know if this feedback is still necessary, but i will give it anyway.

Originally Posted by HSuhonen View Post
[*]How would you rate the current support offering for N900, in your own words? Please give your evaluation separately for a) the printed Get started guide, b) the in-device User guide (you can access it through File manager > Documents > User guides), and c) the User guide PDF on the Nokia Support site.
a) my phone didn't had a printed user guide. i can understand why, but it would be good to have one. it is still a different to have something printed or in digital form.
b) if you don't know that there is an user guide you won't find it. there have to be either a dedicated help menu or at least a short cut to it on the home screen and in the program menu (or somewhere else in addition to the home screen).
c) that just let me ask why doesn't you serve the phone with a cd and the user guide on it? i know it will be outdated somewhen but it would be cool to have something to search in with an PDF viewer

Originally Posted by HSuhonen View Post
[*]What’s your opinion on the current concept of providing end user documentation, that is, a short, printed get started guide in the sales box, and the longer guides available on the web and in-device? Do you expect Nokia to provide a longer User guide in the sales box, or is the Get started guide enough?
you should add both or at least allow the customer to order the longer user guide for free in printed form.
I can understand that nowadays only a limited number of people read these long guides, but for some of them it is important to have it. even the short starter guide is mostly ignored, but it is still better then nothing.

Originally Posted by HSuhonen View Post
[*]Maemo 5 doesn't have a help framework. What’s your opinion, should there be one for Maemo 6? What would an ideal help system be in your opinion?
yes there is a need for that. the system should be integrated into the system, not a stand alone program. maybe something that is customisable. i could think of a daemon that runs at the background and wait till the user stops at some point where some kind of input is expected. then (after a user selectable time) some help text pops up and display a text message of what is expected now or what could be done now by the user... in addition to that there should also be a searchable database where the user can enter either single words or whole questions to get an answer to his problem.

Originally Posted by HSuhonen View Post
[*]And finally, how do you see the role of the Maemo community in providing end-user support? Do you think the community could be more involved in the process of making the User guides (for example, as a content reviewer)? What would, in your opinion, be a good solution for the community to get involved?
a community is clearly not there to replace a proper customer help desk. a community is to help users with unusual problems and to inspire the producing company with ideas for new products or how the existing products can be improved. in case of the Maemo community for example to show what kind of programs are needed by the users.
the community can also give feedbacks where problem exists. if you read for example 3 times a week "heck how can i turn off this blinking light at the corner of the screen?" then there is a clear lack of knowledge what this light is good for. this could be solved by a proper help system inside the product or by writing and drawing it into a quick starter guide.
letting the community act as a reviewer of a manual is maybe the wrong way. inside a community are normally interested users who have some sort of knowledge about the product and the number of new users who doesn't know anything about the product (the people who should read the manual) are either not present, or they think they doesn't have enough experience to participate in such a review process.
_BUT_ if new user are ask specifically and directly some days after applying to a community they could give some feed back about the user guide. if they read it, if they found something confusing or what they miss in it.