In [3], D. H. Lehmer has analysed the incomplete Gaussian sum

where N and q are positive integers with N < q and e(x) is an abbreviation for e2πix. The crucial observation is that, for almost all values of N, Gq(N) is in the vicinity of the point ¼(1 + i)q1/2. This leads to sharp estimates of the shape Gq(N) = O(q½).