Mike, swedish Nokia is there to sell (and repair) phones to people of Sweden. Anything they announce about availability of N9 is probably rock solid.

However, they can not vouch for the several years of support, because somebody else decides/decided on that.

One of the major reasons Apple is the biggest smart phone manufacturer today is "loyality" to/of the customer. IOS always supports last 2-3 devices. It means that people who bought iPhone 3GS, will most likely have latest ios, and continue to spend their money in apple store.

Keeping people to your platform is more important than selling a brand new cell phone.