Nokia Lumia 800 - Buy or Not?

[Hands0n]

Continuing in what is becoming a series of "Buy or Not" threads I decided to start one up on the new Nokia Lumia 800, their current flagship Windows Mobile 7 handset that is just about to hit the streets.

What are your thoughts on the new smartphone? Is it something that you're interested in or are going to actually get?

Please vote and then comment below.

[Hands0n]

I've given it some thought. Those of you who know me will have predicted this response already :)

Having read up on the WP7 Mango version, the latest, it seems that very many of my early negatives around the first release of the OS have been resolved one way or another. Certainly, things such as cut and paste, multi-tasking and overall improvements have occurred. By all accounts there have been 500 separate improvements and developments in Mango over the intermediate Nodo version that followed the original. Videos of the OS in action reveal that the OS has come on leaps and bounds, including good integration with social media such as Twitter, Facebook and others.

I'm not entirely convinced about WP7 being the one for me to displace either iOS or Android - but it may just be that, in the Nokia Lumia 800, there is sufficient to at the very least make me take WP7 seriously, very seriously indeed. In any event, if I really don't like it I can always eBay the thing.

Pricing looks to be reasonably sensible for a SIM-free, being around the £450 mark on day one. I guess that the first few months it will hold that price, only dropping as either interest wanes or Nokia bring out more sophisticated models.

So the remaining question is "Should I buy into a hardware version 1 of a device from Nokia?". I think others have said it much more eloquently than me, if there is one thing Nokia can do it is make hardware. The design thought gone into with the Lumia 800 is exceedingly high - even to the point of doping the plastic case throughout with the colour, such that scratches will not reveal the substrate material. Painted materials, for instance as with the HTC Titan aluminium unibody case, scratch easily and make the handset look scruffy very quickly.

Unless Nokia/Microsoft have totally screwed up the Lumia 800 I do believe that it will represent a significantly advanced Windows 7 smartphone. I'll let you know when I get one :)

[miffed]

mmmm - I'd like to say "yes" , but I am afraid its a no for me !

I think Nokia are in a position where to become relevant , they have to do *something* significantly better than everyone else - and I really can't see anything in this handset that would make the existing players think "whoah , we need to up our game !"
The silly thing is , I feel nokia DID do this with the N8 ..... they stuck the most amazing phone camera in the world in it - (shame the rest of the phone sucked)
I think they'd have an instant win if they put that exact camera into this handset ! - I am not saying it is necessary , but on the whole customers are pretty stupid and live by the rule of spec - I suspect most of them will look at the Nokia's 8MP offering , and they won't see any reason to choose this over an iPhone 4S , and SGS2 or any other flagship handset sporting an 8MP camera !

As far as I can see Nokia are trying to use the Nokia badge as a USP , and it ain't gonna work IMO (not at this stage at least - maybe when they've re-established themselves it might )

[3GScottishUser]

I like the look of the phone but I'm not sure it's right for me as I like the clunky Android OS now.

I will go and have a look at it when it's launched but I would like to compare it to a handset with Ice Cream Sandwich before commiting to buy.

[DaveC]

Problems for Nokia is that they have just become one of a bunch and they are really going to have to differentiate their phones from the likes of HTC.
There seems to be some sort of tiff between Nokia and O2 at the moment. Does not seem like a good policy to alienate a major UK carrier when you are trying to claw your way back.

Would I buy one? Not at the moment. There a couple of apps I use on a day to day basis which are on both my Android and iPhone, neither of which are available on Windows.

[miffed]

My friend manges a 3 store , sounds like they are really going to push these , they had a secret pre launch seminar in london , and all are to be given free handsets.

[miffed]

So far one of the most annoying things about WP is the Marketplace , specifically that apps that are free or 69p on android or iOS seem to be £3.99 on WP ! This is ridiculous ! These apps need to be accessible to the point that people think nothing of buying them. Unless this is sorted out WP willl fail and take Nokia with them IMO.

[Wilt]

I think that is just because so few people use WP at the moment so the devs jack up the price to make up for it. It should balance out when/if adoption increases.

I think adoption will increase with the Nokia phones though, it's been all over the tech blogs that Microsoft have a large advertising warchest... It looks like they are taking the xbox way in.

[Hands0n]

The price of, and lack of, apps is going to be the make or break for Nokia with the WP7 range. If they alienate the buyers at an early stage it will set precedent for some time to come. Particularly dangerous, to Nokia/Microsoft, are those who will be coming to WP7 from iOS, Android and dare I say, even BlackBerry. As Miffed has said, there is an established price level in people's minds for apps on smartphones. It is no good Nokia/Microsoft trying to sell these as premium software for a premium handset, people simply will not buy that, literally.

As for the rest of it - the hardware looks really well baked, the new WP 7.5 Mango OS looks equally well matured. So that will likely get people into the system, but will they be able to keep them there?

[hecatae]

I can purchase a sim free LG Optimus 7 E900 for £179.99 from handtec if I want WP7, cant see any reason to pay extra for a nokia logo

[blush]

I just watched the Nokia official YouTube video of the phone and I am not really even tempted. The demo looked quite drab and boring, very little graphical content. Everything was white text on a black background and the American voiced video was nonsense. I really want Nokia to do well but too little still too late.

[Hands0n]

I can purchase a sim free LG Optimus 7 E900 for £179.99 from handtec if I want WP7, cant see any reason to pay extra for a nokia logo

One reason might be to get Mango 7.5 on the handset :D It seems that the unbranded LG Optimus 7 is not having a good experience updating to the latest Windows OS and LG are not being entirely helpful or prompt: http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/92343.aspx

[hecatae]

One reason might be to get Mango 7.5 on the handset :D It seems that the unbranded LG Optimus 7 is not having a good experience updating to the latest Windows OS and LG are not being entirely helpful or prompt: http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/t/92343.aspx

a developer unlocked handset is not the same as an unbranded handset. Latest update adds wifi tethering

[miffed]

I am not sure the WP7.5 OS is actually 'ready' for mainstream whinging yet ! Personally I like it , but in the same way I liked iOS when everybody else was moaning that it didn't do this , and didn't do that .....

Bit of a gamble for Nokia in that respect ! As I said personally I'd buy it (the OS) but I imagine the masses will have a problem with it - not sure what exactly ... time will tell !

[Ben]

I didn't like the look of browsing in IE at all. It looked far too much like browsing in IE.

I still want to play with an 800, but there's no 'buy' pull for me right now.

[Wilt]

I didn't like the look of browsing in IE at all. It looked far too much like browsing in IE.
IE is an okay browser these days. I personally don't use it but I'm no longer actively trying to shift others from it like I was back in the IE6/7 days.

[miffed]

I have to say the browsing experience on Windows phone is pretty awesome , as good as anything else out there if not better IMO , on the HD7 it was brilliant , now I have a 7 Pro it is not quite as great due to the smaller screen. I imagine on the HTC Titan it will steal my own "Best mobile phone browsing experience on the planet" title from the Dell Streak.

[3GScottishUser]

I suspect there will be a big market for the new Nokia Windows phone as all of the reports have stated that it is a simple device to use and it's sleek lines and usability coupled with an attractive price might just make it a good alternative for those who find Android a bit too techy.

Question is, is it too late?

I know many who would have chosen the Nokia/Windows phone option but have now got Blackberrys or Android phones.

My prediction is that RIM's Blackberry and price concious Apple customers might be the primary buyers of the Nokia Lumia 800. It'll also find favour with those who have been slow to upgrade to smartphones who have been put off by the compexity of them.

Nokia and Microsoft have been shrewd to promote the social connectivity which will appeal to many put off smartphones by applications based software.

Apps worked for lots of folks and made the smartphone attractive but I think theres a big market out there for a device that can do apps but focusses on simple social networking on a mobile device primarily.

[miffed]

I do agree that WP7 has missed the boat somewhat . the type of customer that is likely to buy it now , is not the type of customer that would have bought WM6.5 - these people have now largely swiched over to Android. You only have to look at sites like Modaco and XDA Developers to see that the kind of people that used to cook ROM's for the old WM6 devices have gone that way.

[gorilla]

I feel weird right now. I have absolutely no opinion on this debate. That is how far Nokia have fallen in my estimation. I just don't view them as being relevant.
Of course, I'll never say never and one day I might buy another Nokia handset, but for now I would consider Android and iOS over everything else.

[miffed]

This is true ! I think it is interesting watching whats left of Nokia's loyal following blindly welcoming WP with open arms - look around and see how some of the loyal Symbian websites are now selling their souls to remain loyal to Nokia , when it is pretty obvious that the platform to jump to, from Symbian would logically (IMO) be Android !

[Ben]

If there's one thing that appeals, it's that Windows Phone Nokia's should be great right out the box, and if the customer is running Windows 7 it should all be a pretty seamless experience.

Certainly better than Android can offer with the myriad of different manufacturers pushing their own skins and software.

But will the user experience be right?

It's not impossible to imagine Windows Phone becoming the second biggest smartphone OS as predicted if Nokia really get behind it and the proposition clicks with the customer amid 'complicated' Android offerings.

[Hands0n]

Wait ... Just a minute ... There is something very wrong here.

The "old" Nokia technorati loyalists were wedded not only to the hardware but also Symbian. That highly customisable and easy to develop for OS [so we were told]. Developers were able to do all manner of "stuff" to their Nokia/Symbian devices. Full SDKs were available, all was great.

But fast forward to 2011 and Windows Phone 7 OS. No one can tell me that it is as liberal and liberated as Symbian supposedly was/is. Microsoft have very stringent requirements that must be met by any intending manufacturer. There will be no fragmentation of WP7 if Microsoft have their way. Hell, even the hardware must conform to a basic standard - think non-removable/swappable SD, button layout, the entire UI is completely inflexible other than permitted customisations. There is little to choose from, when critiquing about inflexibility, between WP7 and iOS. Both manufacturers have very fixed ideas.

There is no way in hell that WP7 can be considered in the same context as Android, that bastion of OS anarchy that Google gave birth to.

So yes, it is somewhat comical to witness the Nokia/Symbian die hards pledging allegiance to the great and glorious Nokia.

[hecatae]

http://www.nokia.co.uk/gb-en/products/phone/lumia800/buynow/

£399 on pay as you go from 3

[Hands0n]

http://www.nokia.co.uk/gb-en/products/phone/lumia800/buynow/

£399 on pay as you go from 3

Thats a nice find :)

I'm really in two minds - this year has been so very disappointing for me in terms of iOS and Android flagships. I've stayed away from those two. So maybe, just maybe, I should treat myself to one of these if, for no other reason, to have and preserve the first Nokia WP7 device to come out of the new partnership.

[Hands0n]

Bummer! Our very own Dan is out in Vienna having a jolly old time with Nokia and has reported that the Lumia 800 (and its 710 sibling) will not support Tethering. You can read his report here http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2011/11/02/nokia-lumia-confirmed-no-tethering-here/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+coolsmartphone%2FhuIR+%28Cool smartphone+News%29

That pretty much does it for me then. No tether means no sale. While I may not use tether very often I do, nevertheless, make use of the technology from time to time. What I cannot accept is buying into a smartphone that does not suport tethering when my main two platforms iOS and Android so readily can.

So thats strike three then. No new smartphone for me in the close of 2011 then. That just sucks.

[miffed]

Also I have lost count of the amount of times I have heard the Nokia loyal declare "the iPhone isn't really a smartphone as it doesn't have a user accessible file system .."
Suddenly not quite so important all of a sudden , eh ? :)

[Ben]

Is the no tethering thing really that big of a deal? I keep a MiFi in my bag, I don't need to demolish my iPhone battery life any quicker than I do already by enabling tethering. Plus, to be fair, I'm on Vodafone, so I often have to switch the Three MiFi on anyway if I want usable data *rolleyes*.

[Hands0n]

Yea, no tethering is the deal breaker for me.

I actively use tethering on my Three The One Plan with All You Can Eat data quite a lot. Especially so when I am away from my MiFi which is routine. Tethering on Android is not as heavy on the battery as it seems to be on iPhones. I have used the Nexus S for over five hours and then switched back to normal use for social apps, texting and a couple of short phone calls on the way home.

Like Ben, I have also had to tether my Vodafone-equipped iPhone to my Three-equipped Android in order to access the Internet on the iPhone! *rolleyes* indeed.

[blush]

I originally had no plans to buy a Lumia 800 when they first came out but was out shopping in London one day and there was a Nokia stand with lots of demonstration units. The stall had about twenty or so Lumia 800's available and there was virtually no interest with only one other person having a play. I had a look and was really impressed with the device, the white on black screen appealled and the phone looked quite hardy without being fragile like the iphone 4. When I found an unlocked Lumia 800 on ebay for £330 I was overjoyed.

I carried the Lumia 800 round with a Three sim and my O2 sim in my iphone 4s initially and found the lack of settings and ability to tinker a bit frustrating and decided the Nokia was not for me but a few days later gave the phone another go. Three weeks on I carry both the Nokia and the iphone around but find myself using the Nokia most of the time and the iphone is pretty much a backup. I really like the screen and although the resolution is not as good as the iphone I love the white on black, its just so simple and easy to read. The twitter app for the Nokia is great and most of the built in apps are great. The lack of apps available for Windows 7.5 is a bit annoying but for basic functions I enjoy using the Nokia more than ios.

I still have not seen a single Lumia 800 in the wild other my own phone, I see countless iphones, Samsungs and Blackberries but Nokia's market share of smartphones must be very low. I dont understand why there is so little interest in this handset. I have been back three times to the shopping centre in London and on each visit the Nokia stall has maybe one person checking out what Nokia has to offer.

[Wilt]

I think this will be a difficult one for Microsoft & Nokia to crack. People don't like Windows (God knows why they insist on plastering this brand on every product), and most people haven't had a Nokia since the 3310.

[Hands0n]

See? I'm attracted to the Lumia 800 but the one thing that kills it for me is the lack of a forward facing camera for videocall, skype WHY. Its not that those apps are available yet, Microsoft has confirmed that Skype is coming. But as and when they do, what will come of the "flagship" Nokia WP7 smartphone? It won't look so clever then (no pun intended).

I am not for a moment suggesting that Nokia's Lumia 800 and 710 are failures in the market for that reason alone. There are probably a myriad of reasons why that would be. But I do believe that Nokia, and Microsoft, have made a massive boo-boo with this design. The buying public cannot software update a camera into the device. The vast majority, if not all, other smartphones - even WP7 models - have forward facing cameras. It is just so short sighted when considering that, for the vast majority of folk, this will be a 24 month (18 month at least) commitment to hardware. That is a long time these days where smart buyers will try to future proof their spend as best they can. With the Lumia 800 they cannot really do that in this respect, and possibly others.

Sorry Nokia and Microsoft, but for me at least, the lack of comparable hardware has indeed been a deal breaker.

[Ben]

Really glad to hear you're having a positive experience, blush.

I do think Nokia will make some headway with the WP7 handsets but it's going to be a long and arduous battle. It'll take a few generations of the handsets to generate interest because they're not really doing anything 'new' - iPhone was massive because it was new, and Android was massive because it was basically an iOS for the masses. WP7 doesn't really have anything to propel it, but if it's good enough and Nokia's new handsets are good too then, slowly, it'll gain some traction.

[Hands0n]

When I last looked at WP7 on a demo Samsung Omnia 7 loaned to me by Three/Brando one of the many things I noticed was that the Windows apps were consistently priced significantly higher than Android and iOS.

Just taking a brief look at the Windows MarketPlace (WM) and Android Market (AM) today I see:
Angry Birds £2.29 (WM) and £Free (AM)
Fruit Ninja £1.49 (WM) and £0.77 (AM)
Rail Planner £4.99 (WM) and £3.49 (AM)
OS Maps £0.99 (WM) and £Free (AM)

And so it goes on ... Generally where there is the same, or a close peer, app the WP7 version is consistently more expensive.

I don't want to appear to be having a big downer on WP7, the reverse is true. I actually like what I've seen in its first iteration, and Mango appears to have resolved a lot of the shortcomings of that. The Nokia hardware, omitted front facing camera excepted, is a delicious bit of manufacturing. But the whole is greater than the individual parts. There are aspects that make this a difficult device to like, even though it is the purest eye candy about today, especially in Cyan.

When I see these discounted to sub-£300 I'll buy one, not on contract but SIM-free. The likes of sub-£300 Nexus and other high end smartphones will put Nokia under some considerable pressure to drop these from £499 and compete. But will they respond?

[gorilla]

What about a Jil Sander Mango phone (http://www.expansys.com/lg-jil-sander-mobile-lg-e906-16gb-225951/) for £150 from Expansys?

[Hands0n]

What about a Jil Sander Mango phone (http://www.expansys.com/lg-jil-sander-mobile-lg-e906-16gb-225951/) for £150 from Expansys?

Seriously Chris, how on earth do you find this stuff? Jeez. :)

So, the Jil Sander is none other than the LG E906, otherwise known as the LG Optimus 7 E900 to give that it's full handle. The cheapest I can find a SIM free Optimus 7 is £170 (£183 incl shipping) from Portagadgets.com --> http://www.portagadgets.com/uk/LG-Optimus-7-E900-Black-Unlocked-No-Contract-Smartphone.html#googlebase This one is listed as WP7, but the OTA Mango 7.5 update has been available for it for some time.

So, Jil Sander LG E906 for £150 or for another £33 a pukka LG Optimus 7 E900. It is tempting, just to get the WP 7.5 Mango experience. Neither will have much resale value on eBay, I suspect.

And neither are a Nokia Lumia 800 :)

NB: Just in case anyone reading is interested, here's the Expansys blog review and Jil Sander promo video of the E906 smartphone http://www.expansys.com/blog/?p=1495

Edit 2: Trousers £260 down from £500, Jacket £450 down from £900. Makes the phone too cheap not to have :p

[Ben]

That looks like fun for £150... let us know what it's like! :)

[Hands0n]

That looks like fun for £150... let us know what it's like! :)

Jeez Ben. Have I become that predictable? :o Ordered, not processed yet, should be here Tuesday if they get it in the post today. 83 in stock if anyone else is considering.

[hecatae]

Jeez Ben. Have I become that predictable? :o Ordered, not processed yet, should be here Tuesday if they get it in the post today. 83 in stock if anyone else is considering.

was considering, even wrote an article over on MoDaCo about it: http://www.modaco.com/page/news/_/windowsphone/lg-e906-jil-sander-reduced-from-299-r145

it's got pretty colours but I think it may look too feminine.

[Hands0n]

it's got pretty colours but I think it may look too feminine.

This, you're saying, to the fella who actually wants the Nokia Lumia 800 in Cyan? ROFL :D

I did wonder about the signature "Electric Blue" stripe of Jil's, but decided I could live with that, and it'd be the least of my worries with WP7.5 :)

[hecatae]

This, you're saying, to the fella who actually wants the Nokia Lumia 800 in Cyan? ROFL :D

I did wonder about the signature "Electric Blue" stripe of Jil's, but decided I could live with that, and it'd be the least of my worries with WP7.5 :)

please review the exclusive Jil Sander application when it arrives.

See Cyan I can cope with, this electric blue textured blah blah blah I cant

[Hands0n]

I will do :)

[blush]

I have been in the Lumia 800 owners club for around a month now, my time as an owner has been troubled! I initially loved the phone, the physical device looks great although on trying a demo unit I found Windows Phone 7.5 a bit hard going. I have struggled on with very poor battery life and lack of wifi tethering but my time has been very love hate, one minute I enjoy using the phone and the next I hate it.

Apple IOS is so easy to use and WP7.5 makes some simple task such a chore. I have been having lots of problems with the on screen keyboard, I have to recheck every word and generally end up with the cursor travelling in reverse than forward! There is an incredible lack of settings and I have given up attempting to get my Outlook calendat from my PC onto my phone. Looking through forums this seems quite a common problem. I kind of figured Outlook on the PC would easily work with Outlook on the phone but I was very wrong.

I emailled the support email address yesterday about the terrible battery life and lack of wifi tethering.



Thank you for contacting Nokia Careline.

We appreciate that you have chosen Nokia as your preferred device. Please be advised that Microsoft takes very seriously meeting (and exceeding) the requirements outlined by agencies such as the FCC in the USA. They felt it was really important to fully address the concerns raised by recent FCC regulations before enabling this feature and are optimistic they can deliver on these requirements though a software update and are working diligently on that now.

Our aim is to introduce wifi tethering as an update to existing products early in 2012. As of now, we will be unable to provide the exact date of when the tethering will be available on the Nokia Lumia 800.

With regard to the battery issue of your device, kindly provide us the following information so we could assist you further:

1. Best contact number:
2. Complete mailing address:
3. Post code:
4. Where and when did you purchased your device?
5. Full charge capacity of your device (on your device diall ##634#, this will open the diagnostics tool. Accept the disclaimer, Go to Battery Status test then from there you will see the Full Charge Capacity)

Kindly give us a feedback so that we may be able to provide you with further assistance. If you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Hopefully this battery issue can be sorted quickly because I am getting about half a day of moderate usage and I find the phone powering off completely by about 2pm.

[gorilla]

This is one reason why Android is my preferred choice - there are many resources and potential fixes available and a huge developer community offering support. I just don't see this yet with windows and your experience above demonstrates that owning a windows phone could be frustrating.

When you say you are having problems with outlook, is that like you can't add an item on your pc and it shows up on the phone? If it is then what on earth are MS playing at? Just use google calendar ;-)

[blush]

The Nokia website suggests you use Outlook Hotmail Connector which is an outlook plugin which links to a live.com account but downloads the calendar on the server to Outlook but not changes the other way. Elsewhere on the Microsoft Windows Phone website it says to use calendar sharing. I like to look back as far as possible on my calendar and have entries back to 2007. The outlook online sharing method only seemed to work with the birthdays on my calendar.

The Nokia discussions website has lots of entries of victims like myself trying to get Outlook by Microsoft in sync with err Outlook by Microsoft! Pathetic.

[Hands0n]

Blush and I have been exchanging findings between his Lumia 800 and my Jil Sander (LG E906). The Jil Sander has tether out of the box, so if LG can manage it on a device that is over a year old it beggars believe that Nokia/Microsoft had trouble doing so.

The Outlook Calendar issue is completely unforgivable. In iOS and Android you can two-way sync Calendar items effortlessly. In fact, there is nothing you have to specifically do to enable such behaviour, it just happens. At worst you may have to set up your smartphone to retrieve a specific depth of calendar entires ie. days, weeks or months, that is all.

I will be writing up my WP7.5 findings, trying as much as possible to ignore the Jil Sander (JS) hardware itself as that is largely irrelevant to what I had set out to do. Right now I am trying to use the JS as much as possible and in lieu of the iPhone and Galaxy Nexus smartphones. It is not without challenges.

[htcaddict]

It's actually one of the phones I've been looking at for quite some time now. I'ts actually quite neat and it's finally a somehow promising model from Nokia. I'm just not sue about the OS. I remember my old HTC Cruise booting 20 mins on Windows phone. Has it really changed since then? The things you criticise about the OS don't really bother me THAT much. Little cool apps is not really a problem either. What I'm wondering is whether Windows Phone is good enough to work effortlessly on a phone like Lumia? I wouldn't want to spend hours being angry at my phone :P

[Hands0n]

@htcaddict - Before you buy the Lumia 800 do take time out to read all the forums on the issues people are having. There appear to be serious and significant battery problems, camera problems and a few other bits and pieces that are not being seen on other makes of WP7 device.

The start up time for WP7 on pretty much all devices, they all share the same CPU speed, is approximately 20 seconds. Yes, thats right, 20 seconds! It is fast in that respect.

If you can, take some time out to play with the WP7.5 software, it isn't bad, but it isn't good either if you're used to iOS or Android. In time it may be, but Microsoft have only committed to two releases this year, one as an update (Tango) and the other in 4Q/2012 to spread WP7 goodness to budget range handsets, whatever that means.

That old adage applies more than ever here, Caveat Emptor, or Buyer Beware!

[htcaddict]

@htcaddict - Before you buy the Lumia 800 do take time out to read all the forums on the issues people are having. There appear to be serious and significant battery problems, camera problems and a few other bits and pieces that are not being seen on other makes of WP7 device.

The start up time for WP7 on pretty much all devices, they all share the same CPU speed, is approximately 20 seconds. Yes, thats right, 20 seconds! It is fast in that respect.

If you can, take some time out to play with the WP7.5 software, it isn't bad, but it isn't good either if you're used to iOS or Android. In time it may be, but Microsoft have only committed to two releases this year, one as an update (Tango) and the other in 4Q/2012 to spread WP7 goodness to budget range handsets, whatever that means.

That old adage applies more than ever here, Caveat Emptor, or Buyer Beware!

"Significant Battery Problems"??!! That's always the dealbreaker, isnt it? Come on! Smartphones have been big for the last 4 or 5 years, why does the same annoying thing keep popping up almost every time I find a good phone?... Even with my Hero, I eventually gave up and made it a brick by buying an extended-life battery:P