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As I mentioned in my previous blog, my Nokia N8 battery is now packing up. It happened rather suddenly and currently I am lucky if the battery lasts from sunrise to sunset with power saving activated. When I purchase the phone, I understood from what I had read, that the Nokia N8 battery was not ordinarily replaceable, so I phoned Nokia Careline. They were again helpful and suggested I bring the phone in for the fifth time. As the warranty on the battery was one year, they would replace it.
I reminded the very helpful assistant, that I had previously said if the phone packs up again, I would ditch it. Unfortunately I am struggling to do that, as it really is a great CAMERA smartphone. So I asked her what I would pay for a replacement battery if they could source one. Now I may not have heard correctly, but I think she mentioned a figure in excess of U$50 in South African Rand terms.
I then Googled the battery (BL-4D) and was surprised by the number of hits. Not only that, there were also numerous YouTube videos showing how the battery can (easily) be replaced at home. I bought a battery for two pounds Sterling and paid three pounds Sterling to have it posted to me via airmail. I won't do the math for the price comparison as it makes me feel sick. That is a tenth of what I was going to pay if I sourced the battery in Pietermaritzburg.
So what is Nokia trying to achieve here, the battery is available as it is used in other phones, and it is in my opinion, easily replaced by anyone who can play with Lego. The only real problem is the two torx screws that have to be removed, ideally they require the correct size torx screw driver. I used a dog-standard 1.2 mm precision flat screw driver and can change the battery in less than two minutes.
Unfortunately the new battery did not solve my problem. In fact it was worse that the first. So I have now swopped the battery twice, as I put the original battery back. I will do it at least one more time as I would like to make a video for YouTube to support my two minute claim. The prototype for the video is included here should you wish to view it.
(You can also watch this video on YouTube)
I personally cannot understand why the Nokia N8 was designed so that the battery was not easily replaceable. I also cannot understand why a replacement battery with a greater capacity is not generally available. I have a neat Canon PowerShot SX210 compact camera. It came with a 1500 mAh battery. I immediately bought a second 3500 mAh battery and cannot recall ever being left in the lurch by the camera because of a flat battery, despite extensive heavy use of the camera on various trips.
Returning to the Nokia N8, at the end of the day I will be ditching what I consider to be a GREAT CAMERA phone, when it is working. I am certainly not going to replace it with another Nokia. I have gathered from various sources that Nokia is struggling and trying to stage a come-back. The least I can do, is wish them the best of luck!
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