Manufacturer recalls plague handsets

Four manufacturers have issued recalls due to problems ranging from overheating to dropped E-911 calls. AT&T was forced to recall the Quickfire GTX75 (made by UTStarcom) after reports of the handset overheating when improperly connected to the AC charger. AT&T pulled the Quickfire off the shelves and sent out a notice to users explaining how to properly hook up the Quickfire handset to the charger.

LG put a recall notice out about 30,000 of its 830 Spyder handsets after several customers had difficulty keeping a connection with (or had trouble with the quality of) voice calls to E-911. The company is recalling two software versions for the touchscreen slider: T83LGV03 and T83LGV04 (you can find your software version by selecting Setting in the cell phone’s menu, then Phone Information, then Version). The handsets were sold at various dealers in several states from September 2008 to November 2008. Affected customers should be contacted, but if you think you’re one of the unlucky ones you can find information about a free software upgrade and contact information for LG.

Next up is the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic NAM, which was released Stateside this week. Within a few days, the forums were reporting that the touchscreen wouldn’t connect to 3G. In addition to that problem, Mobile-Review released a report outlining some serious issues with speaker failure — the Web site noted that 10 handsets had experienced the same failure. Nokia is aware of the problem, which it pins on the speaker supplier. Handsets manufactured after February are apparently not affected. Nokia PR has issued a statement saying that service centers should be able to replace the speakers with product from a different supplier.

Lastly, RIM’s BlackBerry Bold took a hit when NTT DoCoMo had to halt sales of the smartphone in Japan — also due to overheating. RIM has said the battery is not the source of the problem, despite earlier reports, noting that the cause of the overheating is still under investigation and both companies hope to rectify the issue quickly and resume selling the handset. Initial reports are that about 30 of the 4,000 handsets sold in Japan were affected, but this will mark the second time that the Bold has experienced trouble — the U.K. telco Orange suspended shipments of the Bold last year due to software glitches.