Nokia's Chinese handset fails totally in 18 months. Review on Nokia 3120

1. I purchased a new Nokia 3120 phone in May 2005 in Bangalore. During the guarantee period of 12 months the phone worked well and all the advertised features were functional. About 13 months(one month outside the guarantee period of 12 months), the display and reception signal strength went intermittent(used to frequently blank out) .

   
   




2. The phone was handed over to Nokia’s service centre franchised to HAL Infiniti near Commercial Street, Bangalore. The repair centre staff was hopelessly inefficient

   
   

and constant chasing up with frequent visits were required to get the handset repaired. It was evident that other Nokia customers at the service centre were also in the same boat. The phone after repairs was handed back after about 15 days, with a repair period warranty of three months.

1. The phone failed again in about 40-45 days(10-15 days outside the repair warranty period). Therefore, it was back to the service centre again. This time, it was almost a nightmare trying to get the set repaired. Several phone calls and two visits(each visit with one-two hours of waiting) later, I was informed that the set had been despatched to Chennai for repairs. Then, I was told that the set could be collected back as it was “beyond repair” as its motherboard circuit had been “tampered with”. Arguments with the staff  that the service centre had repaired the phone earlier, etc were a sheer waste of time as this was evidently the very convenient legal way out for Nokia.

   
   




2. I also learnt that I was not the only customer in this predicament – they were scenes of angry customers having been similarly denied or deceived. Most models being sold in India are made in China and hence the shoddy quality and reliability of the hardware. I would strongly urge prospective customers to visit Nokia’s service centre to witness the chaos and anger there, before deciding to purchase their handsets. Nokia’s motto should be changed to “CONNING PEOPLE”