err…yeah, i’d be ticked off. let me put it this way:
i WAS wishing i could afford to face-the-task, and NOW i’m HAPPY I DIDN’T SPEND MY MONEY ON IT.

sure, donations are great. save the panda and all. but seriously, they used the lure of the n96 to get me interested… and to tell rubin that it won’t be sent out until it’s pretty much in everyone’s hands anyway… sheesh!

unless nokia plans to pull an apple maneuver (limit the stock to specific geographical areas) then i’d bet a week after rubin’s got the n96 someone will look at it and say, “hey! nice, how come your’s is numbered like that – mine isn’t”.

bummer.

@jared I hope the phone is numbered too. From the description, I think only the box is numbered.

[...] To be fair, Nokia do reply to him. I’m not into reposting the whole article so to read the full letters from both the customer and Nokia please head over to the original article. [...]

Eh, I think Rubin’s taking it to the extreme a bit. When I visited FaceTheTask.com, it was pretty clear to me, by reading only what’s printed on the site, that 1. I would get the device earlier than others *in my country*, and that 2. I wouldn’t really get a definite ship date.

I’m not sure what’s misleading, really.

I love Nokia more than any other mobile phone company in the world, but I have to admit (at least, in my personal opinion) they’re really, REALLY stupid (at times). This case would be a perfect example.

On top of that, if these special edition phones aren’t even numbered and it’s only the box that is “special”, that’d be another idiotic move from Nokia. Sure, a special edition device where there’s NOTHING special about the device itself..

“Due to the nature of the limited edition Nokia N96 we can not provide you an exact time of delivery.”

I’d really like to know what nature this is of the phone.

I’m actually getting really annoyed at Nokia for not giving a release date on the N96. When directly asked, the VP of Devices said “Some time in Q3″.
I’ve pre-ordered one, and really want to get my hands on, but there is no firm date from Nokia, and we’re almost in the middle of Q3….

I agree with Ricky, I too have read into the site, and don’t understand what is misleading to be perfectly honest.

I’m glad I came across this post this morning, as I will now not be purchasing one based on the information presented.

The premium incured for having the ‘honor’ of owning this phone a few weeks, if that, ahead of the official launch is not worth it in my opinion. That plus the fact the Nokia N96 has the small issue of the ‘Samsung INNOV8′ to contend with.

1200mAh battery anyone!?

For the record, I agree that the FaceTheTask.com site promo idea is slightly flawed in a few aspects, but it’s at least really clear as to what the details are.

@Adam – Nokia never gives precise release dates. They always give a quarter of the year, and believe it or not, they’re nearly always spot-on in that quarter release.

Q3 2008 is July-September, so if they release it anytime before October 1, they’ve hit their release target.

After reading this, I’m one of the dumb ones that bought it, not a lucky one!

It is stated, in a site after payment is accepted, quote: “Your Limited Edition Nokia N96 will be sent to you shortly”… this was almost a week ago…
And now they say it’s in September? What’s the meaning of “shortly” that they don’t get??

@Pedro do you have the rest of the email after your purchase? I should probably include that here too.

Yes I have Mark.
Here it is:

”
Congratulations! Your payment was accepted.
In the next few minutes you should receive an email from WorldPay with the from address showing shopper@uk.worldpay.com – it will confirm your purchase and the amount.
Your Limited Edition Nokia N96 will be sent to you shortly.
Please note:
•Your Limited Edition Nokia N96 will be sent to you on delivered duty paid basis.
•Delivery times may vary between different countries. We cannot state the preliminary delivery times as we cannot guarantee that we receive the country specific type approvals on time.
•Deliveries will be made only during working hours.
•Delivery cannot be made to P.O. Box addresses, hotels or hostels.
•Nokia will use its reasonable efforts to locate the address given in the registration, but will not take any responsibility for eventual delay or non-delivery in case of erroneous information or if the address cannot be located.
Any questions?
•If you have any questions about your order or if there is any mistake please contact us by sending us an email
•If you had any problems with the online payment system you can contact WorldPay at shopper@worldpay.com
By purchasing the limited edition Nokia N96 you are helping to support WWF’s work to protect the red panda. Find out more where your money will go.
“

Hi, I’m the guy that originally mailed Marc about my experiences. Some posters here state that the site is not misleading; I wonder why not? The site’s entire premise is “pay quite a lot now, get it sooner than regular”. After all, why would anyone participate in this if you would not get the phone earlier? I could just wait, like anyone else for the official release. The donation part is also not a reason in itself; I could choose to donate for the WWF on my own, I don’t need the facethetask.com website for this.

Needless to say, I’m not happy at all with this situation and I really don’t know what to do about it.

@Ricky and @Micky:

The site actually opens with the following sentences:

“This is what you’re here for. Those who get hold of the limited edition Nokia N96 *will have the Nokia N96 before it’s available in their country*. What are you waiting for?”

Ricky states quote “When I visited FaceTheTask.com, it was pretty clear to me, by reading only what’s printed on the site, that 1. I would get the device earlier than others *in my country*,”

It does not say “earlier than others in my country”. It says I will get the device before it is *available* in my country. This is a big difference, and, it turns out, apperently a lie.

Just received almost the same answer from Nokia that @Rubin posted here…

Here it goes:”Dear Pedro

Due to the nature of the limited edition Nokia N96 we can not provide you an exact time of delivery. We can guarantee that you will be one of the first to receive the device in your respective area. We are aiming to have the device shipped to you during week 35 at the latest. Please note that this time is subject to change without notice.

Best regards,

Nokia

facethetask@nokia.com“

[...] at The Nokia Blog a reader has complained that he won’t be getting his N96 any time soon, even though he paid [...]

Hi,

I ordered it a while ago. Got this in the mail today, figured I’d post it here to keep people updated:

—————————————

Dear panda friend!

Nokia, WWF and the red pandas of Nepal would like to say Thank You for purchasing the limited edition Nokia N96.

The campaign period is now over, the devices are all sold and you are one of the lucky 96 customers that will receive the Nokia N96 prior to the release date in your country.

The final touches are being made and the limited edition Nokia N96 box will be shipped to you via UPS as soon as it is ready.

If you have any questions please contact our customer care service. Contact details can be found at http://www.nokia.com/support

Once again, thanks for purchasing the new Nokia N96!

—————————————

Got another message from customer service:

=======================

Dear customer,

We sincerely apologise for the fact that we cannot at this moment state the exact delivery date for your limited edition Nokia N96. As soon as we have shipped your Nokia N96 you will receive an email through which you can track your parcel and the date of its delivery.

In the meantime, in appreciation of your continued patience, we’ll be arranging a delivery of a free Nokia Bluetooth Stereo Headset BH-503 in silver colour which you’ll be able to use with your Nokia N96 multimedia computer.

Our customer care is the best contact point for you to help with any questions you have. You can find your local customer care contact details at http://www.nokia.com/support.

Once again, we hope you accept our apologies. We assure you that we are doing everything we can to have your device shipped to you as soon as possible.

Respectfully,
Nokia

=======================

Hi Dario!

Got the same e-mails here.
I never expected from Nokia this kind of problems for the launch of a product, and for the publicity campaign they have done with the “facethetask”…
Now I hear that the release date for the UK will be October 1st, and I live in Portugal, where these things arrive much later.
So lets wait and see how this story ends, and when

@Dario and @Pedro Thanks for letting us know with the updates! Hopefully this ends with everyone happy =)

Will Nokia post the winners for the Face the Task contest?

Hi guys,

I also ordered the phone on Facethetask (somewhere around July 17th) and I’m still waiting…

BUT I had some news from WWF contact before these 2 last mails from Nokia.

This WWF contact, Ste Drayton, was clear with me when I ask a delivery date :

—————————

Hi Julien

Sorry for the small delay in getting back to you sir.

Your order was accepted – but now comes the tricky bit of getting Nokia to confirm the delivery date. A few people who have bought phones have not been getting responses so we are trying to step in and help if we can.

What we do know is that the first phones have already been delivered to those who ordered the other week. So the process is assuredly under way.

If you do have any queries or concerns in the coming days, please feel free to write directly to me.

Cheers

ste

———————-

Can you belive it ? Some should have their phone now, I search the web but found no ones who claims it.

One week later (August 5th) I asked her for some news, her answer :

———————-

Hi Julien

I’m afraid we don’t.

We wrote to Nokia yesterday and they wrote back today saying are “preparing” the emails which should have this information.

I’m really sorry about this Julien. Let me know if you want a refund or are still prepared to wait for Nokia.

cheers

Ste

——————–

So they are honest, they offer me a refund that I do not want.
But the delay…

Same answer one week later (Aug. 11) :

——————–

Hi Julien

I’m afraid we have not got a response ourselves from Nokia on delivery yet.

Let me know if you would like a refund or are still willing to wait
for Nokia’s response.

Sorry for all this Julien.

cheers

ste

———————–

Then I received the first Nokia email, confirming that everything is on his way. I forward it to Ste @ WWF. Her answer :

————————

Hi Julien

It does sound as if everything is under way, yes.

When you do eventually get your phone, may I ask a huge favour? Can you let us know?

It is just so we can tell other people who write to us that some phones are getting delivered.

No problem if you are too busy.

Apologies once more for all the delays and lack of communication on this.

Cheers

Ste

————————-

Seeing this make me realize that communication between WWF & Nokia isn’t so perfect. WWF doesn’t seem to know what Nokia is doing with the orders.

My guess :
1) No one get the phone at this time, WWF have wrong informations
2) Nokia has just get the authorization from network autorities to deliver the phone to public (August 12)
3) Making 96 box from orders to delivery must be done manually, and we can easily imagine that holidays & communication problems have slow down the process
4) All N96 (limited edition & normal ones) will get some delays, so finally we will get it before official release in *our country*

I keep waiting, very confident in Nokia brand

Hi Julien,

thanks for the update. The lack of communication between Nokia and WWF makes me feel a bit uneasy though. The fact that they’re offering you a refund says a lot as well.

Meanwhile the N96 has been confirmed for September 15th for Holland (according to KPN), so I guess we’ll receive it two weeks max before the nationwide release date.. which is a bit dissappointing, to be honest.

Hi Julien and Dario,

At first I thought of asking WWF for any news about the phones… but it’s Nokia job, and WWF couldn’t do anything about it, so I kept it with Nokia, with the results we know!
I think that if anyone has already received the phone, it would be known by now!
It’s good to know some dates.. let’s see what happens!
For Portugal, I have no dates, as none of the operators have any information about it, and the iPhone is the “thing of the moment”…

I’m not surprised about delivery dates from Nokia, it has always been the same problem since I’m waiting for releases (6800, 6680, N70, N95, N96 now). They always communicate dates that they couldn’t reach in time and you need to wait from 4 to 12 weeks before getting it.

So if we get that diamond on September that would be a massive effort from Nokia

I have some good news :

http://www.beyoung.fr/nokia-will-start-shipping-of-n96-limited-edition-on-september-1st,398.html

Hi Julien,

That’s great news! Thanks for the information!
I’m counting the days…

Best regards!

Thanks Julien. Keep us updated!

I’ve just received the Headset today &, at the same time, someone comment on my blog that he’s just received his N96 !
Time has come !

Woo! I hope it’s waiting for me when I get home Thanks Julien!

Alright, well, I haven’t got it yet, but I just received this email:

=======================

Dear soon-to-be owner of a limited edition Nokia N96.

We are excited to tell you that your country’s limited edition Nokia N96 is now ready to be sent to you and will arrive soon. You will receive the delivery details to track your order in a separate email within couple of next days.

Thank you for purchasing a Nokia N96, and helping the Red Pandas of Nepal.

Kind regards,

Nokia

=======================

What country are you in Dario?

Same e-mail here just a minute ago!

I think the headphones have already been delivered at my home this afternoon.

@Mark: Holland.

@Pedro: Yeah, just found a note from DHL that they tried to deliver something (probably the headset), but no one was home. Second attempt is scheduled for tomorrow.

I got the same mail too (France).

I also confirm : DHL is the carrier for the Headset (some pictures here : http://www.beyoung.fr/nokia-bh-503-arrive,400.html )

Got this:

=======================

Dear soon-to-be owner of a limited edition Nokia N96.

We are happy to bring you the news that your limited edition Nokia N96 has now been sent and will arrive soon. To track your parcel, follow the link below and enter your tracking number.

Thank you for purchasing a Nokia N96, and helping the Red Pandas of Nepal.

Your tracking nr: –

Follow your parcel here:

http://www.dhl.com

Sincerely,

Nokia

=======================

It arrived earlier today, I’m at work though.

I received that mail too but the handset is already in my hands

I didn’t receive any e-mail from DHL or UPS, but I already have the headset arrived yesterday!

Did anyone receive the phone already?

Yeah, I did, just not home. Got a text from back home that DHL delivered two packages.

I did too but everbody is ignoring my message.

Here are the pictures : http://www.beyoung.fr/nokia-n96-limited-edition-le-deballage,401.html

Hah, I read headset instead of handset

I’ve news that the phone arrived at my home, but I have still 4 hours of work ahead…

Be brave … or get sic to get back home earlier

Same here!! Sorry Julien!
Just saw the photos on your blog, and the microSD story…

OK ! So I repeat to prevent from misunderstanding : I HAVE THE NOKIA N96 !

DHL delivers me this morning (11 am.)

I’ll stick with the bravery… too much work!

I see in your photos that there is a paper with a “serial number” for the limited edition. Is the phone numbered as well?

Farfar (the company that handles the N96 operation for Nokia) confirms me by mail that we will get the micro-SD separately, don’t worry.

As far as I can tell there the phone is not numbered. Nor in the S/N neither on the case.

The number is written on the box cover and on the special Tshirt, that’s all.

Who’s n°1 ?

A manual would be nice though. Or am I missing something?

You’re not, the manual is downloadable here :
http://europe.nokia.com/A41189819

Number 18 here!

The phone software has some minor problems, like changing views, and on the Maps it rebooted some times…

But nothing serious!

Congrats Pedro!

Number 35. mine came with only 16 Gb. i thought it would come with 24 GB. anyone got the 24?

Ola Henrique !

16 Gb are for the internal memory.
8 Gb are for an additionnal micro-SD card wich will come by mail in next weeks (the cards are a little bit late so they send the box without it).
16 + 8 = 24

Did anyone receive the micro-SD card yet?

I received it yesterday but BE CAREFUL ! Using the card cause my N96 not to start anymore. The Navi button is lightened but the phone doesn’t start

I don’t know what to do. With this operation we never get any bill or something for warranty.

hello Julien,

i received mine too, but after your statement i am afraid to use it.

if you take the card out, does the phone starts normal?

thx,
Henrique

No it dont
I’m taking the Nokia to a Care service today.

I really think that the microSD thing is more a conincidence than the real cause of this bug.

More to come…

Hi there!!

Just tried the card on my phone, and it worked great! No problems at all!

I think that Julien’s N96 problem was bad luck for him, and not a widespread problem.
Julien, how is your problem going? Already solved?

looking for a Nokia angel to gift n96 to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Pedro,

My N96 is on his way to Nokia Care Main service. The Nokia care point try to figure out what happened but has no real touch on it. They assume it might be a software bug.

I hope I’m an isolated case, really !

A new Firmware was released:
New version: 11.018

Just going to try it now… hope it wont die in the process!