Hi,

I am currently a but unsure about wether or nor to get a N900 (due to MeeGo and the USB-plug issue).

Now I just stumbles across http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=36675 which shows jet another hardware issue (at least is some batches) so I am really loosing faith in both Nokia's commitment to the maemo-community and their quality assurance.

But on the other hand I think I still would have a lot of fun with a N900...

So my questions are now:

1) What are the known hardware-issues for the N900?

I know about the USB-plugs coming loose and light being reflected back in to the lense -is that all I have to worry about?

2) Is there any chance that some hardware issues will get fixed by Nokia in later batches?
How did Nokia handle hardware defects in previous models - were later batches better or did the problems persist?

Many thanks!

I was awed when reading a long thread by someone making stands for the N900 to sit on. What was awe-inspiring was the countries that people were ordering them from. What a variety!

The reason this is relevant is this: A LOT of people are buying N900s. Then if you consider the number of complaints about hardware we've seen here, there are almost none, relative to the number of N900 owners there are.

So I don't think you should put much anxiety into worries about the N900 hardware. I find it pretty solid.

The durability of this phone is very good (the edge and back from the screen is metal) , when you go to an iphone HTC etc forum you will read issue's with peoples phone.

Indeed, the only hardware flaw I have noticed is that they should have made the kick stand across the whole back of the N900 so I can still operate the touch screen.

The light reflecting back onto the camera issue is somewhat muted by the fact the N900 does not take all that great photos with the flash anyway (though better than most smartphones I suspect), so I generally only use it in daylight.

Quite frankly, all the problems I have with the N900 are software problems and they are slowly working away at those. Hopefully the firmware update at the end of the month (or so I read) will sort some of the more annoying ones. But even despite all the issues, its still far more usable than my Xperia X1 ever was. The main reason the N900 gets annoying is I find myself using it so much, my Xperia I would not touch for days because it was so horrible to use.

As said above, I think the popularity of the N900 that shows up all these flaws. Its the sheer fact its such a brilliant device that drives us nuts over the software issues, not because it compared badly to other devices, but because you just expect so much more of it. I never use IM on the PC anymore, just login on my N900 and never need to remember to sign out when leaving the house, because I'm taking it with me.

knock on wood, but the USB connection is still in working order here. and the light being reflected back was easily solved by taking a black permanent marker and painting the blue edge of the lens cover black.

after only a few weeks of use, the faceplate (is that what you call it in english) around the hardware keyboard became lose. the whole part below the ZXCVB...-keys comes off. i hit the plate instead of the keys when i type. (it even sometimes gets in the way when opening/closing the device.)

Had that problem four days ago, got a T6 screwdriver, removed it, cleaned the underside of it, flexed it slightly and reassembled it, and now it's better than when it came out of the box.
It's only two screws and you don't have to turn off your device.

you got me interested. are we talking about the same thing though? this image from the service manual seems to indicate it's clips that hold the part, not screws. also, it says you need to basically open the whole device to even get there: