yep, been one of the people bigging up the 800 whilst bemoaning the lack of metal cover and the ineffectual glasses case thing supplied - well, now it's not just ineffectual, but downright stupid - had one "slip out" incident earlier that I managed to catch, now a second has landed the unit on the floor, smashed the casing and messed the buttons out of position so it won't even click back into place!

be warned! I certainly will be dumping that stupid slithery thing when and if I get this sorted out!

I'm truly sorry to hear about that.

If you need help with the technique of removing the faceplate to fix the buttons, let me know.

I sent my N800 off today (Jan. 25) to have the broken desk stand replaced, figuring the longer I wait, the more impatient I'll get about the downtime. Will report back on turnaround time.

Back on topic, I have to agree that abandoning the 770-style case with magnetically activated power management was an unfortunate decision. Many times I've taken the device out of my jacket pocket to discover that unintended contact through the soft case has activated some dialog box. Kind of like my cat walking across my desktop keyboard, leaving the evidence on-screen...

ive found a case for my n800 i got it at bestbuy .... its a nintendo DS case it fits perfict and it can still fit in my pocket ....but nothin beats the 770 all natural case ..stupid move nokia

Sorry to hear that flareup!

I'm not taking my N800 out of the house until Nokia release the damned protective case for it!

Hurry up Nokia! Texrat - any insider info on an ETA for the Nokia Case?

yeah, I had my n800 slip out of the soft case and onto the floor. Nocked the faceplate off..took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to properly get it back into place. Kinda afraid of what'll happen if I fall when it's in my pocket (I'm in Denver, so there's still ice everywhere outside)

Can you please link the item number from BestBuy?

Thanks,
Manny

Lots of DS and PSP cases fit the N800 perfectly as long as the cases aren't too "form fit" or "play-through" designed.

I have no idea about the Nokia case, sorry.

I HIGHLY recommend the Case Logic case I mentioned in another thread here. It holds the N800 securely and includes a very strong elastic loop to keep it from slipping out.

Here's how to remove the faceplate to put buttons back in place:

Open the stand. There are 3 very small slots along the front edge of the device that can only be seen with the stand open. At the bottom of each slot you can see a metal clip. These clips are V-shaped with one edge naturally joined to the faceplate and one clipping over a small tab in the slot.

To release the clips, take a small jeweler's screwdriver (or similar) and push the tabs gently back from the edge of the device, while also applying very slight upward pressure. The clip will slip off the tab and move up a tiny amount. Do this to all 3 tabs. NOTE: be VERY careful! This process can warp the faceplate if you're not cautious and in fact I only recommend this if there is no other recourse.

Once the clips are released, the faceplate *should* pop up a little. You may have to pry the front edge up a bit. There are 3 other clips along the top edge of the faceplate BUT they are of a different design. They have slots in them that mate up with plastic tabs on the case. When the bottom edge is freed, the faceplate will "hinge" up and at that point pulling gently forward on the faceplate will release it from the back tabs. From there you can lift it off and see where the buttons are supposed to be attached. Once they are straightened, simply reverse this procedure to replace the faceplate. You may have to pull the V-shaped lower clips out a bit if they were bent during the initial process.

Once the upper slotted clips are back on their tabs, lower the faceplate until all three of the V-shaped clips snap back over their tabs. There should be no springiness in the faceplate if you have done this correctly.

An old Psion Revo case I had in a drawer is much more sturdy (it's a firmer case, without being solid) and is a much tighter fit.

Aha, found it:
http://www.expansys.com/p.aspx?i=100493