Nokia Corp. said Friday its top N8 model, aimed at making up lost ground in the smart phone market, has had power problems with some handsets not turning on after recharging.
The fault was limited to “a small number of handsets” and will be fixed in line with Nokia warranty rules, Nokia spokeswoman Eija-Riitta Huovinen said. She gave no details of whether the problem was regional or how many handsets were affected.
“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback about the N8. This problem involves really a small number,” Huovinen said.
The N8, which looks like Apple Inc.’s iPhone, features a 12-megapixel digital camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a 3.5 inch display. It is built on Symbian 3, a new version of the Symbian software with photo uploading connections to social networks like Facebook and Twitter.
Available also in North America, Nokia’s worst market, the N8 was meant to compete with the iPhone that has set the standard for today’s smart phones and Research In Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerrys that are the favorite of the corporate set.
More recently, Google Inc.’s Android software has also emerged as a choice for phone makers that want to challenge the iPhone.
And the N8 has been beset with problems.
It was unveiled in April with deliveries expected in the summer but Nokia did not start shipping it internationally until the end of September.
The latest fault, though relatively small, comes at a bad time as the fourth quarter traditionally means strong growth in the wireless industry.
“This doesn’t help the Nokia brand, that’s for sure. The problems have been mounting for the past few years and every little negative headline adds to that,” said Neil Mawston from London-based Strategy Analytics. “It’s not a great start for their supposed iPhone or Android killer.”
Nokia’s share price was down more than 1 percent at euro7.41…