Slider properties/what does it control?

Hi

So, my To rch FEELS solid still.

I have a strange problem, as, the sound (speaker, alerts, etc) goes out randomly. The way it seems to regain sound, is when I open and close the slide (although that sometimes can take 5 or 6 times to open and close, for that to occur.)

At first I thought it was an app that corrupted the sound. I isolated a few apps I thought would be the culprit, aren't. Then I touhght it may be the OS (.337), but, not enough people have reported this problem (2 did). Now, the fact that I had my Torch for a month, problem free before this started, makes me think it could be hardware, since my newest apps aren't the culprit.

So, besides a nice magnetic property of the slide, are there any other contacts or such in the slide mechanism, that could be triggering (or a reason to remedy) a speaker problem?

I hope AT&T warranties the Blackberry after 30 days.