Nokia confirms it was shipping faulty 5800 XpressMusic touchscreen smartphones

According to a story published by Mobile-Review, Nokia's PR Director for Europe & Asia Viktoria Eremina confirmed that before January 27, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic smartphones were being manufactured with a faulty earpiece. A statement made by Eremina in an email to the publication said that as of late January, problematic 5800 smartphones being sent to service centers are being fixed by replacing faulty earpieces with units produced by a different manufacturer. Eremina confirmed that prior to January, replacement ear pieces were faulty, although the company was not aware of the issue with the original hardware at that time. Eremina assured customers that the phone is now safe to buy.

Mobile-Review published a lengthy study of Nokia 5800 defects involving hardware and software problem patterns that its users were experiencing. According to the site, the most reoccurring problem for users is that the top right corner of the 5800's casing loosens with time because of a slightly displaced screw, and that over time, the ear piece suffered creaking noises and spontaneous volume changing. The site took apart more than ten retail units and put them through tests to determine that common humidity was the cause of the flaws.

The information comes at the same time as reports concerning the North American release of the 5800 XpressMusic at flagship Nokia stores, indicating that the phone has been taken off the shelf. There are rumors that customers are unable to use the phone's 3G data connection.