Symbian was the best selling smart phone OS in every single quarter ever right up until Elop announced he was killing it, then it plummets off the scale and you think that's coincidence. Oh yes, that sounds entirely feasible.

As for competing with the iPhone, apart from the N8 NOKIA's Symbian phones are not designed to compete with the iPhone (or Samsung Galaxy or HTC Desire), my unlocked 5800 XM cost < 40% of my O2 locked iPhone, (in fact the 5800 offers more functionality than the iPhone but that's another debate). Due to the minimum hardware requirements of WP7 this is a sector NOKIA will not be able to compete in anymore. Symbian is great for the mid-tier where NOKIA could compete with the likes of the single-tasking bada on functionality or Android toting Chinese mobiles on hardware quality.

It's the N9 that would have been competing in the high value market and many reviewers who tried one stated it was the most exciting device NOKIA had produced in years, but Elop's going to kill that too. The media buzz around the N9 was killed off within 48 hours when Elop deliberately leaked a video of himself demonstrating the N9 hardware but running WP7. Who cares? Samsung already makes one of those and nobody gives a 8ugg3r.