As much as I appreciate that sentiment, but Nokia is a publicly traded company and in they are compelled to maximize profit. I don't know if loosing market share is an option. over the past two years nokia has lost more than half its value and relative to the market is under performing. The NEED a big win, or series of wins. If this means letting the mass market buy a castrated version of their phone, let them have it.

Phones are becoming more more application platforms. The ovi store (like the iTunes/app store) is a content delivery system that 'guarantees' that the content has been certified and will work successfully on the device. It also creates an easy to use marketplace for content providers to sell their content. for this service, ovi takes a cut. (Just like e-bay).

With this in mind, nokia would be well off to get thier phones into the hands of the dull masses just to build enough of a market for developers to be willing to create content for.

Nobility is dead. The dollar (or in this case, the euro) rules.