not all Nokia's are prone to this, my N75 is solid.

I agree with graydog. From what I have heard, Nokia model flips have a tendency to crack in this area. My mother's phone would only open half way, not even big enough for her to dial and the silver piece fell out, but she keep working with it, and it works now. Mine has not done it yet (no crack yet either), but I'm up for a new phone soon, but won't be able to get a Nokia as I am on a CDMA network as Nokia is not making compatible phones anymore.

Wife & I have two 6255i's. Mine developed crack along outside of one hinge. Very carefully superglued it back with C-clamp holding crack closed. I then sanded off about 1/2 of the thickness of it; covered with epoxy and sanded back to original thickness. It's fine so far (has been about two months). It looks original now. I didn't care about that but just wanted it not to break completely off. Not a job for the faint of heart though.

Evidently, a mfg. defect. They all seem to be doing it.
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Added Feb 2008:
Repair to hinge still doing fine.

Added Feb 2008:
Problem: Center button for menu, etc. so small I must use thumb nail to press it and so slick my nail slides off.
Fix: Scratch up button top with very sharp box knife or with small nail file. I did this to mine and it worked so well, I did my wife's also. She loved it. Now thumbnail does not slide off.

I purchased a Nokia 6255i in June 05 and a second for my wife in August 05. They have both developed cracks along the top hinges. One has cracks along the seams of the outer part of the hinges, the second has started cracking along the inner larger part of the hinge. I have turned one into Nokia for repair, but haven't been advised as to whether it is covered under warranty.

Is this a know issue with this particular model? I sent an email to Nokia regarding this and was advised they were unaware of it. They were my first two Nokias and more than likely the last. I love the phone's features but they don't do much good if the phone falls apart or spends most of its time in repair.