Nokia N75 for $20 at AT&T, But They Don’t Understand
I was doing research for a story over at MobileBurn this morning and noticed that AT&T has the Nokia N75 (refurb) listed for $20. Don’t be put off by the refurb label. You still get the same warranty as new, and most of the time refurb’d handsets are simply ones that people took for a few weeks and decided they don’t like. For $20 you’re getting the first US 3G S60 handset (albeit only UMTS) with a 2 megapixel camera, microSD card slot, and the greatness of S60v3.
I’ve already alerted my parents, hopefully they’ll take advantage of the opportunity to finally enjoy S60. My mom has been doing alot of MMS lately I noticed, and the 2 megapixel cam would be great for that.
However, what really annoys the crap out of me about it is that there’s no mention of S60 on the N75’s specs page. In fact, they even list one of the features as ‘Multitasking - use voice and data simultaneously‘. If you didn’t know it, you’d think that the N75 was just another featurephone, and not a decently powered multimedia machine. Alternatively, the Windows Mobile devices available proudly list that as a feature and benefit.
Even better, if you click to view the available accessories, you’ll find the AT&T iTunes Giftcard for $25 and $50 listed. Yes, because the N75 (or any phone other than the iPhone, currently) can play iTunes DRM’d tracks. I realize that you can play the iTunes DRM-Free tracks, but there’s nothing stating that for the un-educated public.
It’s not like this is anything new. I’ve seen the 6620, 6682, E62, and now N75 all hit AT&T’s shelves, and not a one was advertised with the cool abilities that S60 gives it. It’s really aggravating, and I can imagine that Dan Shugrue and team experience the same frustration. What do you think? What things could S60 do to get AT&T to advertise the S60 capabilities?
Ricky, in light if this post, what’s your take on the Engadget interview with Ralph de la Vega of AT&T where he blasts Nokia for no releasing US-spec devices quickly and having issues dealing with them? AT&T doesn’t get Nokia, but it seems like a strained relationship on both sides.
Craig,
Just read the interview (http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/26/the-engadget-interview-ralph-de-la-vega-ceo-of-atandt-mobility/)
And in regards to that portion, and what I know of the E62/N75 coming to AT&T, I believe that both sides are at fault.
Take for instance the N95-3. That’s still a very hot device, and miles ahead of anything else on the AT&T lineup in terms of capabilities, but yet we’ve not heard of AT&T looking at it?
There are a few phones also that aren’t mentioned, the 6282 and N80 that were supposed to launch on AT&T’s 3G network.
But that still doesn’t address the issue that I have of AT&T not properly advertising their handsets. Perhaps it’s an issue of Nokia not properly educating AT&T as to the capabilities (though I seriously doubt that), or perhaps it’s AT&T saying, meh, it’s a feature phone, it doesn’t run Windows Mobile.
Nokia designed the 6555 specifically for AT&T, so it could be a sign that the relationship has turned the corner. That said, I think Nokia realizes that the carriers won’t be buying all their best phones, and that carrier branding is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. As a result, I also see them continuing to sell phones unlocked and to try to continue to educate the consumer. I don’t know how the flagship stores are doing, but it is good that Nokia is opening up other channels, such as Dell. The N75 and E62 are good examples of why it is never wise to rely solely on carriers to distribute phones.
It’s sometimes -20 at Amazon with a 2 year contract. I’d rather get a shadow for 80$ through the T-mobile business unit on a 1 year contact. Unlock and sell it then put the money towards an E51. That’s just me. I obviously do not care about 3G when everywhere I hang out has wifi.
Ricky,
I’ve owned the N75 since AT&T started selling it back in late April. Yet, I get the feeling the N75 is Nokia’s “Bastard” child. I say this because the “Update” feature on the phone no longer works. When I go to Nokia’s web site, they don’t list the N75 on their Software Update page. Now, my Nokia PC Suite for software update doesn’t work (I’ve even checked to make sure I have the latest version). I tried several times e-mailing Nokia with no reply. The N95 and other “N” Series phones seem to get a lot the lime-light… but you’ll be hard press to get much attention on the N75. My phone has never had its software updated. I get the feeling Nokia’s N75 will quietly disappear into the sunset. Does this seem kinda unusual?
Major typo alert, you missed a negative at a rather crucial place!
“Yes, because the N75 (or any phone other than the iPhone, currently) can play iTunes DRM’d tracks.”
should be
“Yes, because the N75 (or any phone other than the iPhone, currently) **CAN’T** play iTunes DRM’d tracks.”
@Tom - that’s not Nokia’s fault, it’s AT&T. They specifically requested that the N75 (and E62, eventually) be disabled from using NSU. I know this cause if you unlock your N75, it becomes recognizable by NSU and you can then unbrand it. Annoying, huh? Just wanted to make sure your frustrations were properly focused.
@Marcus T - no typo, I was correct. I was being sarcastic. Thanks for reading carefully, though!
AT&T is dumping the N75 - I got mine from Amazon with a $25 rebate. Cost to me? -$25…they paid me.
Was just in an AT&T retail store and there was nary an N75 in sight. Just some craptastic Nokia generic handset was it.
It matters little that the N75 is $20 (or -$25). It’ll never get a firmware update and like everything else coming out of Nokia, it won’t officially run the latest Nokia software.
Nokia is supporting the N95 and the latest N8x models at the expense of everything else.
I got my N-75 for $20.00 and a 2 year sevice contract extension with AT&T. I chose the phone as it looked large enought to handle easily and I was excited to download music and listen while driving. The internet options worked fine but they are of no interest to me.
The first one they sent was broken, no one could hear me unless I used the bluetooth. The replacement phone would not “sync up” with any bluetooth device. My third phone seemed to work great so I bought a Nokia corded stereo headset and a 4 gig flash drive and downloaded my music. When I tried to play back the music I could barely hear it. I could hear phone calls quite loudly and the function beeps as well as the external speakers, they were blaring.I could barely distinguish which song was playing when I used the Nokia corded headset. You need to be in a library setting to hear the songs but it never gets loud enough to enjoy. I own Cakewalk PYRO 2005 audio software and all of my songs are adjusted to full volume. The headphones work properly.
I called Nokia and after they ran through some checks with me they said this low audio is due to AT&T’s software, it lowers the volume. An AT&T store manager I called confirmed this. I cannot try other headsets I own as the port is propietary. Nokia suggests I spend $200 on a bluetooth headset.If I am not happy they will allow me to return them. No thanks Nokia, not when I am on my third phone in 30 days. Sorry. They also said if I bought the phone from them I would hear just fine and they would stand behind it. I tend to believe them.
By now AT&T wishes they never heard of me. Sorry that I expect truth in advertising. They really push the MP-3 features on their website. Each time I call is like the first time. Their 30 day satisfaction guaranty is wearing down and they can’t wait until I have no recourse and am stuck with the phone. I have talked them into sending me a lesser phone, the sony Erricson 580i Walkman which I am told is a fine music player. Which is a shame really, it is a lesser phone and the N-75 is a good phone that I would be very happy with if it only did what it advertised. Maybe I should just use it as a phone and buy a decent MP-3 player since I only paid 20 bucks but I expected AT&T to stand behind what they sell and advertise, right?
I am told I can unlock and reprogram the phone with Nokia software to eliminate the low volume problem but I do not wish to circumvent the system and risk “bricking” the phone.
And like the user above mentions the Nokia webiste doesn’t even have software for the N-75 nor do the include it in their catalog. Like it only exists for AT&T. All their other phones have a part to convert their proprietary headset to traditional aftermarket headsets. Nokia tried to find one for the N-75 but to the sales associate’s suprise, they had no such piece of hardware for my particular phone.
Nokia claims it is a very good phone that works great if you buy it from them for just under $400. They state AT&T’s software has changed the phone into a lesser piece of technology and they want nothing to do with it if I bought it through AT&T. At first I thought that was a bit of attitude on their part but I am beggining to think they are right. This phone does seem like the ugly stepchild.
The fact that it is difficult to use at times,has a very short battery life that cuts out, no warning, has a proprietary headphone jack not allowing after market headphone use, low playback volume and the fact that they sent me three bad phones in a row has me feeling that a baisically good phone is being unsupported and ignored by AT&T and I am now in the process of getting rid of it while I can though I wish I did not have to. I like it but it’s just not worth this amount of trouble in such a short span of time nevermind the $100.00 I have spent in extra storage space and headphones that will not work with the sony phone I will replace the N-75 with. I trusted what I thought was a good product and now I am paying. Whoops….. It’s a shame.
If anyone feels I am incorrect or too harsh or missing something obvious I would very much appreciate hearing from you.