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Lumia 900 software bug blunts Nokia's US offensive

Nokia has acknowledged a serious software bug in a version of its Lumia 900 handset that can sometimes kill the Windows Phone's data connectivity.The Lumia 900 went on sale on Monday in the US, where Nokia hopes its new flagship handset will finally give the company some market share.
Written by David Meyer, Contributor

Nokia has acknowledged a serious software bug in a version of its Lumia 900 handset that can sometimes kill the Windows Phone's data connectivity.

The Lumia 900 went on sale on Monday in the US, where Nokia hopes its new flagship handset will finally give the company some market share. In a blog post on Wednesday, Nokia US head Chris Weber and smart devices chief Jo Harlow said the problem had reared its head shortly after the launch on AT&T's network.

Lumia 900

Nokia has acknowledged a bug in a version of its Lumia 900 handset, which has gone on sale in the US. Image credit: Nokia

"In short, a memory management issue was discovered that could, in some cases, lead to loss of data connectivity. This issue is purely in the phone software, and is not related to either phone hardware or the network itself," the Nokia executives said.

According to Nokia, those who have already bought a Lumia 900 can swap it for an updated replacement, or can download the update themselves from next week. Whatever they do, customers can also claim what is effectively a full refund for the handset, which cost them $99 (£62).

"We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused," the executives wrote. "As a gesture of good will, every individual who has already purchased a Nokia Lumia 900 — or who will purchase one between now and 21 April — will receive a $100 credit to their AT&T bill from Nokia."

Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi was quoted by Reuters as saying the bug was badly timed for Nokia, which has always struggled to gain traction in North America.

"It's like they stalled their engine when everybody is looking at them at the start of their race," Milanesi said, adding that she thought the company was nonetheless dealing with the situation well.

The Lumia 900 will go on sale in the UK at the end of this month. A Nokia spokesman told ZDNet UK that UK iterations of the handset would not suffer from the bug, as "this problem is specific to the Lumia 900 sold by AT&T [and] it does not affect any other Nokia Lumia device".

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